Association of Flight Attendants-CWA Alaska Airlines Master Executive Council
June is Pride Month! AFA-CWA supports all LGBTQ Flight Attendants and workers in their fight for protections on the job and their communities.
Stop by the Seattle base and pick up your PRIDE AFA pin and wear it through the end of June! As a reminder, you will need to switch back to the regular AFA pin on July 1st.
This message is for pre-merger Virgin America Flight Attendants
Your Council 18 and 35 Presidents as well as other members of your Master Executive Council (MEC) conducted interviews earlier this month for the new MEC Scheduling Committee Vice Chairperson—Legacy Virgin America position. The MEC would like to thank the candidates who demonstrated willingness to represent our Flight Attendants. After thorough deliberation, SFO-based Flight Attendant Bianca Dew has been appointed to the position.
Bianca began her position with Virgin America in 2015 as an SFO-based Inflight Teammate, which is also where she is currently based. After working on the line for some time Bianca upgraded to the role of an Inflight Team Lead, then proceeded to gain some more working knowledge as a Flight Attendant before upgrading to an Air Transportation Supervisor. Prior to coming to Virgin America, Bianca earned her AA in Behavioral Science and a BS in Kinesiology. Her previous role before becoming a flight attendant, was in finance as a mortgage loan specialist/banker. Bianca currently resides in Washington and in her free time she enjoys hiking, reading, a variety of outdoor activities, and traveling.
The MEC Scheduling Committee Vice Chairperson – Legacy Virgin America works under the umbrella of the MEC Scheduling Committee and is responsible for working with management to advocate for Flight Attendant interests in all matter pertaining to Legacy Virgin America Flight Attendant schedules. Additional information about the position can be found by clicking here.
In Solidarity,
Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Lisa Pinkston, Terry Taylor, Mario de’Medici, Melissa Osborne, Tim Green, Brice McGee; and MEC Scheduling Committee Chairperson Jake Jones
The deadline for Legacy Virgin America (L-VX) Flight Attendants to submit the Dues Check Off Form is June 29 for the July 15 pay period. Those forms not received by the deadline will be sent an invoice for the monthly dues payment. To avoid an invoice and to authorize payroll deduction, please submit your DCO forms by the deadline. The Dues Check Off form can be downloaded from the AFA Alaska website or you can pick up a copy in the file room in both SFO and LAX villages. Once you’ve completed the form, mail it to AFA International Membership Services (the address is on the bottom of the form) or place it in the AFA lock box (located in both SFO and LAX file rooms) and we’ll mail it in on your behalf. For more information about dues please see our April 30 communication AFA Dues for Legacy Virgin America.
In solidarity,
Melissa and Jamie
AFA Council 35, which has represented pre-merger Virgin America Flight Attendants based at SFO and LAX, will soon be realigned as part of the merger process. The election process is currently underway in both SFO and LAX for Local Executive Council (LEC) Officers who will represent the Flight Attendants of their respective domiciles. Once the election results are certified on July 31, pre-merger Virgin America Flight Attendants based at LAX will become part of Council 18 (which currently represents pre-merger Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants also based at LAX) and Council 35 will solely represent Flight Attendants based at SFO going forward.
AFA has established a series of committees in order to represent Flight Attendant interests in different areas that are important to our profession and the quality of our working conditions. The volunteer Flight Attendants who serve on these committees provide an important level of representation to their flying partners and help to support the LEC Officers within the Local Council.
Each Local Committee is led by a Local Committee Chairperson and may also have Local Committee Members based on the workload and need of the committee. All of these positions are appointed by the LEC Officers. The Local Committee Chairperson works with the Master Executive Council (MEC) Chairperson of the committee, who is responsible for coordinating the activities of the committee across the entire airline.
Local AFA committee positions include:
In addition, Local Committee Chairpersons have additional duties and responsibilities that can be viewed by clicking here.
Further AFA email communications about how to express interest and get involved as a Local Committee volunteer will be coming out over the next month. In the meantime, you can review the volunteers page of the AFA Alaska website for additional information.
If you are interested in serving as an Employee Assistance Program (EAP)/Professional Standards Committee Member, this particular position involves an application process. You may review the informational page on the AFA International website for more information and complete the online EAP representative application if interested.
A ratified JCBA triggered an election for officers in both SFO (Council 35) and LAX (Council 18). Nomination ballots have been sent and the deadline to nominate someone for an officer position is June 13. All the nominees that have submitted a commitment to serve will be on the ballot for the officer election. Officer elections open July 11 and close July 31 and the elected officers will have a short term of nine months before the next election opportunity begins again. Election cycles are codified in the AFA Constitution and Bylaws, and both councils will be slotted into their appropriate cycle which begins again July 1, 2019. For more information regarding elections, please visit the AFA elections web page. Keep in mind, you must be a member in good standing to serve as an officer and participate in voting activities.
Purple ribbons are available for those interesting in supporting Alzheimer’s awareness month. Ribbons can be worn under your AFA pin for the month of June. You will find them in the file room in both villages.
A number of concerned L-VX members have asked about the legality of bag searches while on duty. During our research of the legality of these searches, Council 35 officers referenced the following grievance summary from November 2012 regarding AS policy on F/A bag searches:
Bag Searches Initiated by Management While on Duty
Several Flight Attendants have asked for more information regarding management’s right to conduct bag searches while on duty. There is a settlement agreement from a past grievance in which management agreed to search a Flight Attendant’s bags only if there is “reasonable suspicion or evidence of wrong-doing.” If the aforementioned “reasonable suspicion” exists, management may search any Flight Attendant bag regardless of whether it is a Company-issued bag or a personal bag such as a food tote or purse. Management does not need a court order or a search warrant to effect such a search. This is largely due to the fact that when you are an employee on Company property, you do not have many of the same rights as a private individual outside of work.
Without “reasonable suspicion or evidence of wrong doing” management cannot initiate a search. This means that random searches are not allowed. For example, if a supervisor decides to search all the Flight Attendants flying through a particularly station on a particular day, AFA would consider that a violation of the settlement agreement. If a FA is part of a crew and management has a reasonable suspicion or evidence that a particular Flight Attendant on that crew has violated Company policy (such as theft), management could initiate a search of that individual’s bags (the one under suspicion) but not the entire crew.
If a Flight Attendant is asked to comply with a bag search, the FA should immediately contact a Local Executive Council (LEC) officer to assist the FA with representation.
PSS cutover brought all Flight Attendants under the same travel program. This event provided an opportunity for L-VX F/As to register for the AS commuter program. The AS commuter program is not the same as the Commuter Policy, which provides guidelines for commuters that encounter challenges getting to work. Registering for the commuter program allows F/As to list for flights to and from work at a higher boarding priority, however all L-VX F/As are still following the VX Commuter Policy which was implemented in January of this year. The VX Commuter Policy will sunset at full implementation when all F/As will follow the AS Commuter Policy.
As of January 30, 2019, all SHP accruals ceased in order to align with the VX Commuter Policy. As a result, AFA has seen an increase in denied SHP from inflight management. When calling in SHP to CSS, 4 points and a No Show (NSH) code will automatically be put on the F/As line. If the SHP is not approved by the F/A’s supervisor (sometime days later), the NSH and corresponding points remain. Many F/As have called CSS to use the SHP only to discover later that they did not have an SHP in their bank. If you believe you have an SHP available for use, your Council 35 officers recommend that you get verification of your SHP eligibility in writing from your supervisor prior to calling CSS to use it.
The catering dept is data driven and takes information submitted via Report it! for review. Therefore your reports are needed to address errors and other concerns as it relates to catering and safety. Examples of catering issues that should be reported are: missing items, broken or dirty dishes and glassware, catering errors, poor quality of food, incorrect catering procedures (double vs. single catered flights), catering supplies causing injury and F/As unable to complete the service due to turbulence and short flight time. If you encounter these issues or suffer any injuries from catering items, please document the event through the Report it! App and also provide a report for any sustained injuries. For questions and concerns regarding catering please contact the Inflight Service Committee.The L-VX contact for the ISC is Zac Codd (zachary.codd@afaalaska.org) who has stepped up as the interim Service Committee member to address L-VX catering issues.
The first dues payment for Legacy Virgin America (L-VX) Flight Attendants is scheduled for July 15. The easiest and preferred way to pay your dues is through payroll deduction. You can sign up for automatic payroll deduction of dues by completing a Dues Check Off form. This form can be downloaded from the AFA Alaska website or you can pick up a copy in the file room in both SFO and LAX villages. Once you’ve completed the form, mail it to AFA International Membership Services (the address is on the bottom of the form) or place it in the AFA lock box (located in both SFO and LAX file rooms) and we’ll mail it in on your behalf. For more information about dues please see our April 30 communication AFA Dues for Legacy Virgin America.
Once officer elections are complete, the newly elected Local Executive Council (LEC) officers will select committee chairs and members. If you are interested in participating in a committee or getting involved, please visit the volunteer page of the AFA website for more information about each committee and their responsibilities.
Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP) is an FAA program that allows Flight Attendants to self-disclose unintentional violations of CFRs or company safety policy without fear of disciplinary action from management or enforcement action from the FAA. Examples include improper door procedures, minimum crew violations and unintentional company policy/Work Rule violations. The intent of the program is to improve procedure, processes, and training through increased reporting of safety-related incidents that might otherwise go unreported. ASAP can be reported online and through your company-issued IMD through the Report It app. For questions, please contact Bradley Young, the ASAP Event Review Committee (ERC) Observer, and ASHSC Interim Chair for Airbus at bradley.young@afaalaska.org.
As of today, only a small percentage of L-VX F/As have not signed up to become members. It’s important to note that at Alaska Airlines, you are obligated to pay AFA dues regardless of your membership status (§ 26). As a reminder, this form cannot be completed online. The hard copy paper form must be submitted directly to an AFA representative or mailed to the AFA International Office in Washington D.C. You can download and print an application, or pick one up from the bag/file rooms the next time you pass through either SFO or LAX Villages. Please note, that only AFA members may attend Membership Meetings, vote for officers, hold a position as an AFA officer or committee member or vote on Tentative Agreements (TAs).
Pdays will continue to accrue and be available for use until full integration. Anyone that has leftover Pdays in their bank at full implementation will be given the opportunity to “sell” them back to the company for full value.
The training pay provision can be found in the JCBA §30. Transition training will be paid at 6 TFP (6.78 hours) (5:19 hours) per 8 hour day. Transition Training is scheduled for 16 hours in 2 days of training therefore L-VX F/As will receive 12 TFP (13.56 hours) (10:38 hours) for this training event.
The best way to contact Council 35 officers is via email. Emails are easier to forward for follow up and to have a record of information. All emails and concerns received by Council 35 are held in confidence, and will not be shared for follow up without the permission of the original sender. To get the fastest and most thorough response, please email your concerns to vx@afaalaska.org. All officers can respond to emails sent to that address which facilitates a more efficient use of resources.
Please let us know if you have any questions or thoughts! You can reach us at vx@afaalaska.org.
In Solidarity,
Your Council 35 Officers – Melissa & Jamie
It has come to AFA’s attention that many L-VX Flight Attendants have received Reliability Reports with errors and incorrect steps of discipline. Your Council 35 officers strongly suggest that every L-VX F/A carefully review reliability reports for the following issues:
· Incorrect points
· Points not rolling off
· Points related to FMLA or MED LOA not converted/removed in a timely manner
· Skipping steps of discipline
· Discipline (PIPs and Warnings) not received within 12 business days of occurrence
Per the Letter of Agreement splitting reliability from performance, management is required to follow strict guidelines to handle reliability policy issues. When a discipline step level is reached (Oral, Written, or Final), the notice needs to be provided to the F/A within 12 business days. Steps must be progressive—unless a large amount of points are assessed within a short period of time, the first step should be an Oral Warning (or PIP#1) followed by a Written Warning, and a Final Warning. These steps need to be issued in sequence. Additionally notice is given via email and certified mail. The postmark date of the certified mail should be within 12 business days of occurrence that triggered the level of discipline.
If you have discover any of these issues, please submit an online issue report and describe your discrepancy. You can also upload all supporting documents to include:
1. Reliability report(s)
2. Email providing notice of discipline showing date of notice
3. Scan/pic of certified mail postmark date
If you were previously on an L-VX Special Accommodation leave, or need information about leaves available to L-VX F/As, please visit the Absence Management page on Alaska’s World for a list of medical leaves available for your individual situation.
For additional questions and assistance, please contact your Council 35 officers at vx@afaalaska.org.
In solidarity,
Melissa and Jamie
This message is for pre-merger Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants
On May 17, AFA filed grievance #36-99-2-130-18, requesting that Alaska Airlines management investigate the circumstances regarding the Company’s alleged violation of Section 12.C.3 “Trading Procedures”. The grievance contends that the Company’s Jeppesen Crew Access (JCA) Open Time Trading System failed to synchronize time across the system, resulting in some users being able to complete their tasks while others are temporarily blocked from trades, pick-ups and/or drops.
After investigating the concern, management provided the following email response:
Jeppesen found two issues that need to be resolved. The first issue has to do with the worker processes that handle the request and what it thinks is the current time, which is stored in a variable Jeppesen refers to as “NOW”. Each worker process has its own NOW variable and if a worker process has been idle, its NOW variable gets out of date and when the first request comes in, for example when Open Time trading begins, it still believes the Trade window is still closed because NOW lags behind the system time. The second issue is the Transaction Report timestamp is the time it logs the transaction is logged and not the NOW time.
Jeppesen has proposed the following solutions to address these two issues. The first is the worker processes will ensure the NOW variable is updated with the latest system time, rounded down to the minute (Note: The NOW time granularity is at the minute level), so if a worker process has been idle, it will have the current system time. The second change is to add the system time used in the processing of the request to the message so the FA and the transaction log knows what the system time is. For example “Trip window has not yet opened for 24198” will be changed to something like “Time HH:MM, trip window has not yet opened for 24198”. Jeppesen and AS believes these changes will resolve the issue.
Jeppesen will be providing an update in the next week concerning the interim solution. We are expecting Alaska Airlines management to sustain the grievance and work with us on improving your Open Time processing.
In Solidarity,
Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Lisa Pinkston, Terry Taylor, Mario de’Medici, Melissa Osborne, Tim Green, Brice McGee; and MEC Scheduling Committee Chairperson Jake Jones
Note from your Master Executive Council (MEC): This information was prepared by AFA International as a resource for Flight Attendants.
Click to enlarge
The Dues Pie Chart depicts where all funds at AFA are budgeted. About 80% of dues dollars are directly allocated to fund the work at each airline, i.e. Local Councils, Master Executive Councils, Negotiations, and System Board. The remaining budgets at the International Office support Government Affairs, Air Safety, EAP, and Communications Departments, each of which provides expert services that are Flight Attendant focused and provide resources for the local leaders and committees of Flight Attendants at each airline. 100% of our dues dollars are allocated to priorities that provide Flight Attendant representation.
There are four distinct areas where dues money is spent:
Each base has a Local Executive Council (LEC) with elected Officers who provide direct representation and deal with local grievances and other issues. These Local Officers will answer your phone calls and make sure member interests are represented in front of management. For example, in the event of discipline or a contract violation, Local Officers will address the issue where it happened and work to get swift resolution. Additionally, elected Master Executive Council (MEC) Officers provide representation at the corporate level. At both the LEC and MEC, there are committees that solve problems in areas such as safety, schedules, hotels, grievances, etc. These committees also enforce the contract specific to their area of expertise, produce newsletters, and participate in union meetings. The role of your LEC and MEC Officers and committee representatives at each airline is to ensure you are represented by Flight Attendants who know your job because they share it with you at your airline. AFA promotes this autonomy at each airline where your representatives, assisted by experts, negotiate with management and develop and maintain the relationship between airline management and the Union.
Bargaining for pay and working conditions is one of the core representation activities performed by the Union. We start with a membership survey, schedule meetings with management, conduct caucuses with the committee, develop contractual language, support membership engagement and information programs, and we work with AFA-CWA professional negotiators throughout the process including all direct negotiations/mediation with management. The end result is improved contractual language with higher pay, better working conditions, and improved benefits.
The first step in any grievance is to try to resolve the matter locally. Some airlines have negotiated an alternative dispute process for a faster, collaborative resolution. If that fails, then the final stage for resolution, whether disciplinary or contractual, is an appeal to a neutral arbitrator. An AFA-CWA attorney will work with our Grievance Committee to present our case to the neutral arbitrator. We defend the contracts we negotiate.
While your LEC is the face of the Union to local management and the MEC to corporate management, the International Office is the public persona and brand of the Union. Our presence and name recognition can legislate or improve federal regulations, remove obstacles from the bargaining table, better our position in negotiations and improve our experience on the job across the profession. The International Office maintains the professional staff of attorneys, negotiators, and other personnel that provide administration, accounting and membership services to members and elected leaders. We all work together to support the programs that encompasses our profession.
If you have questions about AFA dues, please contact your LEC President.
In Solidarity,
Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Lisa Pinkston, Terry Taylor, Mario de’Medici, Melissa Osborne, Tim Green and Brice McGee
Terminal 1 and 2
On May 20th, our morning OGG, HNL and LIH flights started departing out of T2 using Gates 20, 21, and 22 (these are the gates our SJD & PVR flights arrive into).
Baggage check-in will remain at T1, and passengers for three of our Hawaii flights will head over to T2 to depart out of gates 20, 21, and 22.
Knowing which terminal to go to for your flight is key, as well as knowing where the closest KCM for these gates is located.
Transition Training
Everyone must go through both Recurrent Training (RT) and Transition Training (TT) this year. Recurrent Training certifies you on Boeing aircraft and TT certifies you on Airbus aircraft.
It is currently planned to start bidding for both aircraft types in January 2019 for flying in February 2019.
Next Year’s RT will certify you on both aircraft.
Being as SAN does not have a training facility we are the only base that is provided with a hotel/hotels and travel pay. Travel pay is based on the shortest route flying between SAN and the base you choose to do recurrent. Depending on the flight schedules for your travel day your TFP for travel could fluctuate, for example in order of highest tfp for travel to lowest.
ANC: SAN-SEA-ANC, SAN-PDX-ANC
LGB: SAN-SEA-LAX limo LGB, SAN-PDX-LAX limo to LGB or SAN-SFO-LAX limo LGB
SEA: SAN-SEA
PDX: SAN-PDX
Keep in mind you are not required to take those flight but that is how your pay will be determined for travel purposes. If you have questions please reach out to your Scheduling Chair San.Scheduling@afaalaska.org or your Officers SAN@Afaalaska.org
Pairing Changes
As we move toward fleet integration, flying is being shifted from Boeing to Airbus, and from Airbus to Boeing. Our pairings are changing more than they typically do because of seasonal flying changes. We expect more changes in the future.
We’ve heard from many F/As who are unhappy with these changes, and who are upset that their preferred pairings are no longer available. This is not limited solely to San Diego. Unfortunately, it is likely to continue. We’ve all seen the ‘network realignment’ articles on Alaskasworld.
Please know that your officers and the SAN Scheduling Committee continue to advocate for improved pairings, but ultimately the company’s decisions are based on cost. Both our Scheduling Chairs and Crew Planning are very aware that these changes are unpopular. We have been told that a communication from Crew Planning on this subject is forthcoming, but do not have a specific date.
Professional Standards
Conflicts and/or issues with Coworkers
In San Diego we are lucky to have a great team of Supervisors and Management staff.
Please keep in mind that many personal conflicts should be taken to your Professional standards team and not taken immediately to management. Often AFA EAP/ Professional Standards can resolve the problems or issues without Management becoming involved. Once management is aware of the situation that could lead to someone’s discipline and or possibly even termination.
Our Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Chair and Reps can be found here: http://afaalaska.org/san/committees
Calling out Sick or Sick Family
Less is more
When calling in sick, the only thing that scheduling needs to know is that you are calling in either sick, sick family, FMLA or Workers Comp period. They do not need to know why, what symptoms or anything else related to the illness. You don’t need to apologize, and you don’t need to explain.
Contacted by Management?
Know Your Rights
If you receive a call from any Inflight Supervisor, it is best to first clarify if the conversation could lead to disciplinary action. If the answer is “Yes,” at this point you can request that the union be involved in any further conversations. However, even if the supervisor states that the conversation won’t lead to any discipline, if at any time you feel the questions to be leading or uncomfortable you can once again end the conversation by saying you will only continue with a union rep present.
Having a union rep there is insurance. It is an advocate and a second set of ears to ensure that your point is understood clearly by the company and not misinterpreted.
Keeping Current with AFA Information
There are several ways to keep up to date with your Council #15 news! In addition to your regular email updates, the information can be found at: afaalaska.org/san
Are you on Facebook?
Like the Official Council #15 page at: https://www.facebook.com/AFA-Council-15-San-Diego-249262698862442/
We also have the SAN AFA and SAN TRIPS pages that are not public and you need to ask one of your friends who is in the group already, or one of the Officers to add you.
Receive the most important information via text (we do not send out all communications via text, just the ones that are the most important!). Register for texts at: https://www.remind.com/join/afalec15
Do You Have Questions, Issues or Concerns?
On June 1 we will have 378 F/As in San Diego and possibly growing to 395 by the end of the year and in an effort to keep track of everything in one place we are asking that if you have questions, issues or concerns that you please go to https://support.afaalaska.org and ‘open a ticket.’
We particularly ask that you use this resource for scheduling, pay and reserve concerns. We need the information requested on the form to research your concern. If you would like to talk to an officer or committee chair, please go to www.afaalaska.org/contact, and look through the officer and/or committee lists for contact information for your local representatives.
In Solidarity,
Brice, Melanie and Stephen
This message is for pre-merger Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants
Your Master Executive Council (MEC) conducted interviews earlier this month for the new MEC Grievance Committee Payroll Representative position. The MEC would like to thank the candidates who demonstrated willingness to represent our Flight Attendants. After thorough deliberation, the MEC has appointed Kiara Jenkins to the position.
Kiara Jenkins spent her childhood on the island of Guam and, in 2008, graduated from Olympia High School in Olympia, WA. Before pursuing a career as a Flight Attendant, she worked at Starbucks as a supervisor and coached club and high school volleyball for 3 years. She has been ANC, SEA, and LAX-based since joining the Alaska family in 2011. Previously, she served as the Government Affairs Committee Chairperson for Council 18 in LAX. On any given day, Kiara can be found hosting homemade dinners for friends, barbecuing outdoors, or spending quality time with her family.
The Payroll Representative works under the umbrella of the MEC Grievance Committee and is responsible for working with management to advocate for Flight Attendant interests in all matters pertaining to Flight Attendant pay. In addition, the Payroll Representative also works closely with the Benefits, Scheduling, and Reserve Committees to handle and assist in the resolution of Flight Attendant pay concerns and issues. Additional information about the position can be found by clicking here.
In Solidarity,
Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Lisa Pinkston, Terry Taylor, Mario de’Medici, Melissa Osborne, Tim Green, Brice McGee; and MEC Grievance Committee Chairperson Stephanie Adams