AFA Alaska

Association of Flight Attendants-CWA Alaska Airlines Master Executive Council

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AFA Online Issue Reporting Is Here!

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This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants

Your AFA Alaska Master Executive Council (MEC) is excited to introduce the new AFA Alaska online support center.  This new system is designed for you to document and report scheduling and reserve concerns, situations where you might be facing discipline, potential contractual grievances, and any other issue where you might need AFA support.  The system will also allow AFA representatives to better track issues that are occurring, identify trends, and address and resolve issues with management.

You can access the system using the following link:

http://support.afaalaska.org

Reporting New Issues

You can report a new issue in the system by opening a ticket, just follow these steps:

  1. Visit http://support.afaalaska.org/
  2. Click the blue “Open a New Ticket” button
  3. Fill in your personal information (including a non-company email address)
  4. Select the help topic that relates to the issue
  5. Fill in the issue-specific information and provide details

From this screen, you’ll also be able to attach pictures, PDF files, screenshots, and other information that will help your AFA representatives to have more information available about the issue.

Once you’ve opened a ticket, you’ll receive a confirmation email and with a ticket number.  Behind the scenes, your ticket will be assigned to an AFA representative who will assist you with the issue.

Checking on Open Issues 

With your ticket number, you’ll be able to track the status of the ticket online, add additional information and attachments for your AFA representative to have available.  To check on your ticket:

  1. Visit http://support.afaalaska.org
  2. Click the green “Check Ticket Status” button
  3. Enter your email address and ticket number
  4. Click the “View Ticket” button

Questions?

If you have any questions about the AFA online support center or need assistance with an issue, you can always contact your LEC Officers.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Melissa Osborne, Tim Green and Brice McGee

Zika Letter of Agreement

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AFA and Alaska Airlines management have entered into a letter of agreement (LOA) to facilitate eligible Flight Attendants to avoid flying to areas affected by the Zika virus. The provisions of this agreement are voluntarily available to Flight Attendants who are pregnant, attempting to become pregnant or whose partner is attempting to become pregnant.

The AFA Alaska contract page has been updated to include the Zika LOA, which is now in effect.

If you have any questions, contact your LEC president.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Tim Green and Brice McGee

Flight Attendant Check-In App and Elimination of Scanners Sideletter of Agreement

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Collective Bargaining Agreement sections modified:

  • 8.D. [Hours of Service/Check-In and Debrief];
  • 24.L. [General and Miscellaneous/Company Provided Inflight Mobile Device (IMD)];
  • 28.I. [Domiciles/Company Provided Commuters, Printers and Scanners at Domicile(s)];
  • 32.C. [Attendance Policy/Attendance Policy Definitions]; and
  • 32.E. [Attendance Policy/Control Procedure]

Your AFA Master Executive Council (MEC) and Alaska Airlines management entered into a side letter of agreement that requires Flight Attendants to check-in exclusively via the company-designated app on their IMD beginning no later than January 31, 2017.

>>> Click here to view the Flight Attendant Check-in App and Elimination of Scanner Sideletter of Agreement <<<

Why did the MEC agree to this? First, we are keeping pace with advancing technology and the overwhelming trend in our group away from utilizing the hard-wired scanners. Less than 7% of Flight Attendants check in via the scanners as of this writing. Secondly, we secured several improvements to our contract, including but not limited to the following:

  • If a Flight Attendant unsuccessfully attempts to scan in while s/he is in the approved geographical area, s/he may call Crew Scheduling to be checked in; Crew Scheduling will report this as an “Inability to Remotely Scan In.” Only in the case of three or more instances of an Inability to Remotely Scan In within a bid month will such an event be considered a performance issue and handled under the Company’s progressive discipline policy. However, any instances of an Inability to Remotely Scan In that are due to circumstances beyond the Flight Attendant’s control (e.g., such as but not limited to a malfunctioning application or IMD, or atmospheric conditions causing interference with the IMD or GPS location function) will not be considered for the purpose of progressive discipline.
  • Management will provide sufficient training for the use of the IMD and related Company-required applications.
  • We created an Information Technology (IT) Review Process that provides Alternative Dispute Resolution committee members to review all claims brought forward by a Flight Attendant and allows for the possibility of compensation at one (1.0) TFP if the parties agree that IT support was provided by the Flight Attendant over and above reasonable maintenance.

This side letter establishes a significant improvement over the previous policy that did not allow Crew Scheduling to check-in Flight Attendants; now Flight Attendants who attempt to check in via the app may be checked in by calling Crew Scheduling if they are having trouble with the app, and s/he will be checked in with no questions asked.

Contact your Local Executive Council (LEC) president if you have any questions or concerns.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Tim Green, Brice McGee; and MEC Grievance Committee Chairperson Stephanie Adams

Open Time Negotiations Survey – Take 2

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As reported a few weeks ago on afaalaska.org  (“Open Time Negotiations Survey Suspended Due to a Technical Problem”), the Open Time negotiations survey went offline because of an unforeseen glitch. Shortly thereafter the Master Executive Council (MEC) made the decision to leave the survey down in order to address membership feedback sent to leadership (“Update on Open Time Survey Suspension”). After much consideration AFA is re-posting the survey. Previously submitted surveys are on file, so it is not necessary to re-take the survey unless you wish to revise your responses.

About minimum flying and other undesirable options…

What was the feedback? Members expressed frustration with the last question in particular: “Some changes MAY be required in order to negotiate a better Open Time system. IF that becomes necessary, I would prefer to see them in the following order, with 1 being the change I would be most willing to accept and 8 being the change I would be least willing to accept.” Although there were several concerns, feedback was mostly centered on apprehensions that the survey seems to suggest a monthly minimum is a possibility.

A survey can be used as a communication tool to both membership and management in addition to being an informational tool for the Negotiating Committee and leadership. In this case, the reference to minimum flying in the survey was definitely not intended to communicate AFA’s desire to actually seek or even allow minimum flying. In fact, it was intended to do the exact opposite. Management tends to bring up minimum flying in every negotiation, so we wanted to have additional ‘ammunition’ to respond to such a proposal.

Be assured the entire MEC and the Negotiating Committee are adamantly opposed to a monthly minimum. We know changes to “the 480” were very controversial in this current contract, so we were (and are) highly confident the membership would rank any reference to minimum flying as dead last. It was unintentional and unfortunate that the survey would cause so much controversy. The survey was designed to simply determine priorities in a comprehensive list of possibilities that either the union or management might voluntarily address or be forced to address in one way or another.

The MEC and the Negotiating Committee will go so far as to say that we’re encouraging you to take (or re-take) the survey and rank “minimum flying” last on the list. We will also tell you that we fully understand you do not wish to accept any of the items on the list in that last question, and we will proceed with crafting our opening proposal accordingly. If you are opposed to answering the last question altogether, then you have the ability to completely skip it (just don’t fill in any of the bubbles). There is also a “free form” comments field at the end of the survey if you would like to provide additional feedback.

Take 2

*** Note: Previously submitted surveys are on file, so it is not necessary to re-take the survey unless you wish to revise your responses. ***

Pursuant to AFA Alaska Collective Bargaining Agreement §12.F.9.b. [Exchange of Sequences: Open Time Trial], AFA and Alaska Airlines management will begin negotiations on a successor Open Time system due to cancellation of the Open Time Trial. AFA is surveying the membership regarding Open Time in order to guide the Negotiating Committee in writing our opening proposal for negotiating a new Open Time system.

Your candid responses are appreciated.

You must enter your Arctic number in order to take the survey. We’re asking for your Arctic number to ensure each Flight Attendant receives one vote and is not for tracking purposes. If a survey is submitted more than once with the same Arctic number, only the last response will be counted.

If you have any creative solutions or ideas regarding Open Time, please share them in the free form comments field at the end of the survey.

The Master Executive Council (MEC) knows that many of you are tired of taking surveys about Open Time, but this is a different survey than the satisfaction surveys that went out during the Open Time Trial. Now that the MEC has canceled the trial, it is extremely important that every Flight Attendant take this negotiations survey. AFA very much wants every voice to be counted regarding a new Open Time system.

>>> To take the Open Time Negotiations Survey click here. <<<

The survey will close at noon Pacific Time on Friday, October 7th.

Thank you in advance for your feedback!

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Satterlee, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Tim Green and Brice McGee

Your Negotiating Committee – MEC President Jeffrey Peterson, Kristy Stratton, Lisa Pinkston, Christina Frees and AFA Senior Staff Attorney Kimberley Chaput

Side Letter of Agreement CBA §30.E. [Trainers Performing Probationary Observation Flights or Initial Operating Experiences (IOEs)]

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Your AFA Alaska Master Executive Council (MEC) and Alaska Airlines management have entered into a side letter of agreement that allows qualified Flight Attendant Trainers to certify Initial Operating Experiences (IOEs) for Flight Attendant trainees.

 

A copy of the side letter of agreement (signatures pending) can be found by clicking here. You may also find the agreement on the “contract” page of the AFA Alaska website: http://afaalaska.org/contract.

 

Previously only management employees holding a Flight Attendant-qualified FAA certificate could certify IOEs for trainees. This agreement modifies §CBA 30.E [Trainers Performing Probationary Observation Flights], which already provided for Trainers to conduct Probationary Observation Flights, and incorporates IOEs into that provision.

 

This side letter of agreement was supported by our Flight Attendant Trainers and developed with input from that group. The major benefit of the agreement is that a larger pool of certifying personnel allows IOEs to be conducted during training. In the past, graduating trainees had to fly their IOEs immediately following graduation.

 

In addition to being worried about flying their IOEs, trainees also had to be concerned with positioning themselves to their respective new domiciles prior to their start date. Depending on how closely the start date followed graduation, this may have been a stressfully short period of time. With IOEs finished prior to graduation, trainees can truly celebrate graduation without worrying about possibly flying the next morning. They can also focus exclusively on moving to their new domiciles.

 

IOEs for Class 2016-01 begin today, so you may see some Flight Attendant Trainers out there certifying IOEs in the next couple days. Congratulations to the first graduating class of 2016 and thanks to our Flight Attendant Trainers for their continuing efforts to get our trainees out to the line!

 

In solidarity,

 

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Satterlee, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow, Stephen Couckuyt; LEC Presidents-elect Tim Green and Brice McGee

AFA LOA 2016-05-03 Trainers Performing Probationary Observation Flights or IOEs PENDING

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