Dear Seattle Flight Attendants,
There is a lot happening right now and we want to try and address your questions and any rumors that are out on the line. It’s important to remember there are resources available to you, along with your LEC Officers, where you can find answers to your questions. It’s important that we curtail rumors and bad info on the line and address issues with factual responses!
We hope that this newsletter addresses the top concerns and provides you with the necessary resources to seek your answers, too.
AFA-CWA Local Base Meeting June 21, 2017
1:00 – 4:00 pm
Hampton Inns and Suites, 28th Ave
(across from AS Fight Ops)
You have 2 options to get from the airport to the hotel:
1. Call the hotel directly for the shuttle (206) 244-5044
2. Call MVP shuttle (206) 243-3211. MVP is available for AS employees with their ID. The shuttle will drop you off at the Flight Ops building (just across from the hotel).
If you are driving to the meeting, parking at the hotel is free.
Andy Schneider has confirmed that she will attend the meeting to discuss recent concerns with Crew Access.
Council 19 LEC Officer Transition Process
Your current LEC Officers and the LEC Officer-Elects have been working together over the past month training and transitioning for the new officer term, which begins July 1, 2017.
Starting in June, LEC President Officer-Elect, Terry Taylor, will be included in all local base communication. This means that Terry will be cc’d in on all emails, alerted to texts, and updates with phone calls that the current LEC President, Laura Masserant, receives. This will ensure that Terry is up to speed on all events/issues that affect the Flight Attendants of Council 19.
Also, beginning June 1, Terry will be the point person for all performance meetings. Laura will step down from all performance/grievance related issues to ensure continuity of the grievance process during the transition process.
Virgin America Updates
Did you know that Virgin America (VX) F/As have are now part of AFA and the Alaska MEC? Their 3 domiciles (SFO, LAX, and JFK) make up AFA Council 35. The transitional council has a Local Council President, Melissa Osborne, and a Local Council Secretary, James Ikehara. Read more about James and Melissa at:
https://afaalaska.org/vx/officers
Melissa and James have attended the past 2 MEC meetings and they have been very busy! If you would like to know what they are doing to get their VX FAs ready for integration you can find updates on the AFA website:
Melissa and James are answering questions in their updates, such as: VX travel, merger and integration appointees for VX FAS, along with a multitude of other questions. It’s a good rule of thumb for all of us to stay up to date with our brothers and sisters by adding Council 35 to your AFA newsletter preferences and receive their newsletters (see how to do this below).
Seniority Integration Questions?
Your officers are hearing questions about seniority integration. We want to remind everyone of the AFA-CWA Constitution and Bylaws language which stipulates how seniority will be addressed:
‘Date-of-Hire’ Principle Used, ‘Bidding Seniority’ Actual Term
Section X.C.2.a.(2). of the AFA-CWA C&B ensures that, “…the ‘seniority date’ of a Flight Attendant shall be the date from which each Flight Attendant accrues competitive (bidding) seniority as a Flight Attendant as of the date of the merger agreement between the affected airlines.” The term “date-of-hire” is common terminology among Flight Attendants and is the principle contained within the C&B. This term describes our principle but not the actual wording that refers to bidding seniority.
Receiving newsletters from other domiciles
How can I receive newsletters from other councils? It’s easy! Simply locate the manage your subscription link located at the bottom of every AFA newsletter that you receive and add councils to your subscription list.
You can add all AS/VX councils, as well as other airline councils who participate in the newsletter system.
Crew Access Update~Adjusted Trip Trading Dates for FA to FA Trading and June Open Time
AFA and management have agreed to adjust the trip trading dates so that Flight Attendant-to-Flight Attendant trades will no longer occur on the same day as Open Time. This is effective in June for July trading. Because Flight Attendants did not have an opportunity to bid for the new trading dates in June, the parties have agreed to keep Open Time trading on the 15th and instead move FA-to-FA trading up a day to the 14th. Starting in July for August trading and beyond, FA-to-FA trades will go back to the contractual trading date of the 15th and Open Time trading will occur a day later on the 16th.
For more information on this Letter of Agreement click the following link:
https://afaalaska.org/committees/scheduling/as-adjusted-trip-trading-dates
Your officers hope that you find this information helpful. Remember, you can reach us at sea@afaalaska.org.