AFA Support for JCTE Cutover—Base Sits
The JCTE cutover milestone is one of the last steps we’ve been anticipating to achieve Full Integration. AFA members from multiple committees to include CSI, EAP, Scheduling, PBS, Reserve and your Council 35 officers will be in base during the upcoming cutover period. Base sits began January 25 and will continue through Feb 9. AFA is available to support you during this transition so please don’t hesitate to stop by and ask questions or reach out for help. For a list of committee members and their contact information, please visit the SFO Committee Member Roster. As a reminder, the Crew System Integration (CSI) team will be in SFO Feb 5-9 and 15-16 to offer bidding and trading support as scheduled.
Good-Bye Doctor’s Notes
As of midnight January 31, 2019, base leadership will not be permitted to ask for a doctor’s note for normal absences. At that time L-VX Flight Attendants will transition to §32 of the JCBAwhich defines the Attendance Policy for all Alaska F/As. As a reminder, all points accrued under the L-VX Reliability Program will roll-off after 12 months, and any new points assessed on or after 1/31/19 will roll-off after 18 months.
SHP and L-VX Commuter Policy Sunset
On 1/31/19 all unused Stuff Happens Passes will be fully retired as defined in the L-VX Commuter Policy. The sunset for the SHPs and the Commuter policy occurs when L-VX F/As transition to a single contract. For your reference, the Alaska F/A commuter policy can be found in the JCBA §28.G.
Good-Bye Work Rules and Hello JCBA
Now is the time to familiarize yourself with your new contract! L-VX Flight Attendants will be covered under the full provisions of the JCBA beginning 1/31/2019. There are a few remaining transition items addressed via the L-VX Transition Agreement such as Uniform Allotment and application of 480 TFP requirement. You are responsible for knowing the entire JCBA, however there are several sections that would be especially helpful to review. Listed below are the sections and some of the topics each section addresses:
§ 8: Hours of Service
- Duty periods
- Compensatory provisions for violations of rest and duty
§ 10: Scheduling
- Bidding parameters
- Reassignments
- Pre-cancellationsDeadheading
§ 12: Exchange of Sequences
- Trading
- Open-time
§ 21: Compensation
- Pay scale
- TFP calculation
- IROPs pay provisions
§ 32: Attendance Policy
- No-fault attendance policy
- Tracking absences
- Quarterly point adjustments
- Point values per absence
- Point roll-off
For additional information on transition items or specific dates of implementation please review the Transition Agreement and the Implementation Timetable. For any questions regarding the JCBA and understanding the provisions, please direct your inquiries to your Council 35 officers at SFO@afalaska.org or the Joint Negotiation Committee at JNC@afaalaska.org.
New Pay Days Starting in February
Last November, Alaska Payroll sent an email with details of the payroll transition for L-VX, which will begin in February. Your first Alaska paycheck will be 2/5/19. Your last paycheck from Rainmaker will be 2/15/19. All L-VX Flight Attendants have been auto-enrolled into the Alaska bi-monthly pay schedule. To opt-out of the bi-monthly pay period, you must submit a request to payroll. For detailed information about pay changes, please visit Airbus Inflight Pay Changes on Alaskasworld.
Old L-VX Discipline Audits
AFA has discovered that old discipline notices (PIPS) are still in many Flight Attendant personnel files. Your Council 35 officers have requested an audit of all L-VX performance files to remove any old VX discipline, however the request was denied by the performance management team. Therefore, your Council 35 officers encourage all L-VX F/As to request an audit of their own files. If an old expired discipline is discovered, the F/A has the right to request the removal. Additionally, all reliability related disciplines issued are in effect only while the point level remains. If you have a reduction in points that brings you below a disciplinary level, please ensure that the discipline associated with the elevated points is removed. If you have any questions about auditing your performance records, please reach out to your Council 35 officers.
Inflight Service Committee Report It Campaign
The inflight Service Committee (ISC) is requesting that everyone remember to report all catering discrepancies through the Report It app. When reporting catering issues, please separate each issue in an individual report. The ISC is committed to advocating on your behalf for catering and service concerns and would like to thank everyone for their participation!
VX AFA Email Address Officially Retires
As of July 31, 2018, Council 35 will be representing SFO-based Flight Attendants only. All L-VX F/As based in LAX are now represented by Council 18. Therefore, the previous email address vx@afaalaska.org will be retired January 31, 2019. To contact Council 35 officers in SFO, please email us at sfo@afaalaska.org. To contact Council 18 officers in LAX, please email LAX@afaalaska.org.
FAQs
Who do I contact if dues haven’t come out of my paycheck yet?
Your Council 35 officers do not have individual account information, therefore please send all dues related inquiries to AFA International at AFA Membership Services.
How do I contact Council 35 officers?
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. Using your personal email account, please know that concerns received by Council 35 are held in confidence and will not be shared for follow up without the permission of the original sender. Avoid using your alaskaair.com email to share concerns as those accounts are not private and subject to audits. To get the fastest and most thorough response, please email sfo@afalaska.org. All officers can respond to emails sent to that address which facilitates a more efficient use of resources. Please allow at least 24 business hours for a response to any method of contact.
In solidarity,
Your Council 35 Officers –
Melissa, Aladrian and James