In This Edition
- MEC Officer Election Results
- Council 30 (ANC) LEC Officer Election Results
- REMINDER: MEC Committee Chairperson & Appointed Position Interviews
- Grievance Committee Update
- Dues – Know Your Obligation
- At Risk Drinking–How Much is Too Much?
- AFA Statement on Boeing 737 MAX Hearings
- We Support Delta Flight Attendant Efforts to Join AFA
MEC Officer Election Results
Master Executive Council (MEC)
As the term of office for the current MEC Officers will end on December 31, 2019, your Master Executive Council (MEC) conducted interviews this week for the upcoming MEC Officer term. We would like to thank the candidates who expressed a willingness to serve and interviewed for the positions.
In accordance with the AFA-CWA Constitution and Bylaws, each of the six Local Executive Council (LEC) Presidents is afforded one vote for each officer position. After thorough deliberation, the LEC Presidents have elected the following candidates:
| MEC President | MEC Vice President | MEC Secretary-Treasurer |
| Jeffrey Peterson | Brian Palmer | Linda Christou |
The newly elected MEC Officers will serve a three-year term of office from January 1, 2020 through December 31, 2022. More information about their duties and responsibilities can be found in the AFA Constitution and Bylaws and the AFA Alaska MEC Policy Manual.
Council 30 (ANC) LEC Officer Election Results
Local Council 30 (Anchorage)
The following AFA Flight Attendants were elected to Local Council Officer positions representing the Flight Attendants based in Anchorage:
| LEC President | LEC Vice President | LEC Secretary |
| Matthew Cook | Karen Ferrell | Lisa Pinkston |
View the certified election results here >
These officers will serve a term of office from January 1, 2020 through December 31, 2022.
The Master Executive Council (MEC) congratulates the officers-elect and we sincerely thank all those who stepped forward to run in the election.
REMINDER: MEC Committee Chairperson & Appointed Position Interviews
Master Executive Council (MEC)
As a reminder, the term for those currently serving in MEC Committee Chairperson roles and other appointed positions will end on December 31, 2019. Your MEC, of which the six directly elected Local Executive Council (LEC) Presidents are voting members, will be conducting interviews for these positions during the December MEC meeting. The October 4, 2019 AFA Update contained the initial announcement of these upcoming interviews including a list of positions, information about qualifications and duties, and a link to the online expression of interest form.
If you have questions about MEC Committee Chairperson or MEC-level appointed positions or the interview process, please contact MEC Vice President Brian Palmer at brian.palmer@afaalaska.org.
Grievance Committee Update
Grievance Committee
Your MEC and Local Grievance Committees have been very hard at work ensuring disciplinary due process and contractual compliance on your behalf. AFA filed several contractual grievances in response to the recent Open Time trading and Vacation Open Time trading systems crashes.
The Joint Collective Bargaining Agreement (JCBA) increased the number of arbitration dates from 10 to 13. Terminations are usually prioritized in order to return a Flight Attendant back to work as soon as possible. However, we seek a balance between discipline and contractual cases. AFA and management mutually decide which cases to arbitrate based on many factors.
Many of our disciplinary grievances come about from Flight Attendants writing up and/or turning in other Flight Attendants for behavior they may find undesirable. We know that many of you have friendly relationships with managers or supervisors, but if you mention an issue to a manager/supervisor, s/he has an obligation to move the concern forward. This could result in discipline or termination when that was not your intent of discussing the issue with management. Some disciplinary cases are ultimately escalated to arbitration; if you turn in someone who is suspended or terminated, you will most likely be required to testify at an arbitration hearing. A more preferential option is to utilize AFA Professional Standards, who will reach out to the Flight Attendant to try and help solve the problem without involving management and the possibility of discipline.
Rumor Control
Rumor: Around 200 to 300 Legacy Virgin America Flight Attendants have been terminated since ratification of the Joint Collective Bargaining Agreement (JCBA).
Truth: The rumor is false. Since we ratified our JCBA on April 3, 2018, there have been approximately 60 terminations to date including both Legacy Virgin America and Legacy Alaska Flight Attendants. This number is slightly higher than prior years, however given the increase in the overall number of Flight Attendants it isn’t entirely disproportionate.
Subject of Most Recent Discipline
In order to keep terminations low, we want to give you an idea of what areas management has recently focused on in regard to disciplining (including terminating) Flight Attendants. See below:
- Sick leave and FMLA abuse. Terminations on the rise due to travel audits among other things. Anything written in the comments posting of trip trades can be seen, even if eventually deleted. If the company determines abuse, it results in termination.
- Drug/Alcohol violations
- Social media violations. This includes sending friend requests and/or following passengers on social media using personal information gained from Block2Block.
- Required item violations. This includes lost or forgotten IMDs or other required items.
- Theft. Anything other than an opened/used bottle of water, unused pilot crew meal or purchased food removed from the aircraft will result in termination.
- Harassment
Recent and Upcoming Arbitration & Mediation
| Arbitration | Wednesday, September 25 | Disciplinary Grievance |
| Arbitration | Tuesday October 22 | Disciplinary Grievance |
| Arbitration | Thursday November 14 | Disciplinary Grievance |
| Arbitration | Tuesday December 17 | Contractual Grievance |
Recently Settled Grievances & Mediations
None
Grievances Recently Granted by Management
None
Grievances Recently Filed and Awaiting Response from Management
Grievance No.: 36-99-2-161-19- Violation of §12.E Withholding Trips from Open Time. This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §12.E [Exchange of Sequences: Open Time], past practice and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when its Jeppesen Crew Access (JCA) failed to immediately place all uncovered sequences or portions of sequences including but not limited to sick calls, Management Drop(s), Personal Drop(s), leaves of absence, jury duty, bereavement leave.
Grievance No.: 36-99-2-162-19- Violation of §12.C.1 Real-Time Trading Procedures Grievance 36-99-2-28-17 Mediated Settlement. This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §12.C.1 [Exchange of Sequences: Trading Procedure], past practice, its mediated settlement of grievance 36-99-2-28-17 and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when it agreed but failed to adhere to its July 5, 2017, mediated settlement of grievance 36-99-2-28-17: To have AFA and Alaska representatives meet with Jeppesen to explore the capabilities of the system and how to align the front-end with the “real time” experience of the back-end user. This is a continual violation as such meeting did not take place in a reasonably timely manner, and sufficient action was not taken to rectify the underlying system issues.
Grievance No.: 36-99-2-163-19- Violation of §12.F.9.a Cancellation of Open Time Trial and Back to Book. This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §12.F.9.a [Exchange of Sequences: Open Time Trial], past practice, its sustained response of grievance 36-99-2-35-17 and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when on July 7, 2017, it sustained grievance 36-99-2-35-17 Violation of §12.F.9.a Cancellation of Open Time Trial and Back to Book; however it has continually failed to provide sufficient IT resources for reverting to the Open Time System in place in the 2006-2010 Flight Attendant Agreement as modified by the arbitration award (AFA No. 36-99-2-18-11) [“Withholding Open Time” award]).
Grievance No.: 36-99-2-165-19- Violation of Vacation Trading Past Practice. This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement § 14 [Vacation], an established past practice, and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when it violated an established past practice for a real-time, electronic vacation trading system and the subsequent failure of that system to allow SEA-based Flight Attendants to access and trade vacation at the established start time.
Grievance No.: 36-99-2-170-19-Violation of §19.A Investigatory Meetings. This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement § 19.A [Grievance Procedures], past practice, and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when on or about October 29, 2019, at Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), it conducted an investigatory meeting related to a slide deployment with all Flight Attendants assigned to work flight 623 (IAD-SFO) while they were on duty, without providing adequate opportunity to obtain Union representation in the form of an AFA Grievance Representative, and without providing the option of conducting the meeting on their day off with accompanying pay of four (4.0) TFP.
More Information
For more information, including the status of previously filed grievances, please visit the Grievance Committee Activity Page.
Questions?
Please contact your Local Grievance Committee if you have any questions about the Grievance Committee update.
Dues—Know Your Obligation
Membership Committee
Each of us has an obligation to ensure that our AFA dues payments are current and up-to-date. Section 26 of our collective bargaining agreement outlines the requirement for each of us to pay dues as a condition of employment. If you receive a notice that dues are past due, it is important to remedy the past due amount immediately. Failure to remedy a past due amount may result in termination of employment.
How Do I Know If I Have a Past Due Amount?
If you have a past due amount, you will receive a statement from the AFA International Membership Services Department sent to your mailing address on file with AFA. The statement will show for which month(s) dues have not been paid.
What To Do If You Receive a Past Due Notice for AFA Dues
If you receive a statement indicating that you owe dues, the easiest way to make a payment is through the AFA Membership Services website. You can also contact the Membership Services Department to discuss options for a payment plan if you are unable to pay the owed amount immediately. More information about payment options can be found here.
What If I Don’t Pay The Amount I Owe?
If you don’t pay the amount you owe within 15 days of receiving final notice from AFA, AFA will provide notice to the Company that you have not made the required payment. At that point, the Company will terminate your employment in accordance with Section 26.D of our collective bargaining agreement.
Questions?
If you have any questions about dues, please contact your Local Membership Committee or AFA International Membership Services at (800) 424-2401, ext. 707.
At Risk Drinking–How Much is Too Much?
Employee Assistance Program (EAP)/Professional Standards Committee
How much alcohol is too much? It could mean drinking too much at one time, drinking too often, or both. It’s important to be aware of how much you are drinking, whether your drinking pattern is risky, the harm that some drinking patterns can cause, and ways to reduce your risks.
Many people are surprised to learn what counts as a drink. In the United States, a “standard” drink is any drink that contains about 0.6 fluid ounces or 14 grams of “pure” alcohol.
What is “Low Risk” Drinking?
“Low risk” is not “no risk.” Even within these limits, alcohol can cause problems if people drink too quickly, have health problems, or are older (both men and women over 65 are generally advised to have no more than 3 drinks on any day and 7 per week). Based on your health and how alcohol affects you, you may need to drink less or not at all.
What is “at risk” or “heavy drinking”?
For healthy adults in general, drinking more than these below single-day or weekly limits is considered “at-risk” or “heavy” drinking: remember too much + too often = too risky.
Men: More than 4 drinks on any day or 14 per week
Women: More than 3 drinks on any day or 7 per week*
Remember, as safety sensitive professionals, Flight Attendants must also comply with company policy that requires no alcohol use 10 hours before duty and no BAC above a 0.00%. If at an international destination, Flight Attendants must also comply with the myriad of laws dictated by other countries. Any use of alcohol within these restricted parameters should be considered “too risky” for your personal wellness, flight safety and career retention. If you are questioning your drinking and have concerns, please contact your AFA EAP thru the confidential helpline at (800) 424-2406 or the Flight Attendant Drug and Alcohol Program at (855) 333-2327. Help is available 24/7.
*Alcohol use impacts women differently than men due to physiological differences such as lower body weight and having lower levels of alcohol dehydrogenase enzymes in the stomach that help eliminate alcohol. Consuming more than one drink per day places women at risk for health concerns such as heart disease, breast cancer, and, for pregnant women or women trying to become pregnant, fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. For some women, no alcohol use is recommended.
AFA Statement on Boeing 737 MAX Hearings
The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA) issued the following statement following hearings in the Senate and House last week with Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg:
As AFA President Sara Nelson testified in June before the House Transportation and Infrastructure committee, “Flight Attendants continue to receive questions from the traveling public about the 737 Max. There remains confusion about the progression of 737 aircraft models. It is common for crew to receive questions when working the 737NG about whether the aircraft is safe. This signals a fundamental question about the progression of the 737 aircraft models and whether or not the Max should have been designed as an entirely new aircraft type. This is an example of questions that will need to be answered within the process to safely return the 737 Max to flight and regain public confidence.”
“We have been clear throughout this process and repeatedly in public forums, that we will not work the 737 MAX until and unless we have full assurance from regulators around the world, our colleagues in the flight deck, engineers, and our airlines that the 737 MAX is safe,” Nelson said. “This week took a step backward in this process, not forward.”
We Support Delta Flight Attendant Efforts to Join AFA
Last Friday, AFA launched a new effort to help Delta Flight Attendants become AFA Members! Thousands of Flight Attendants at Delta Air Lines have asked AFA to join them in efforts to become full members of our union. Now is the time to affirm our full support of their efforts to join AFA. Watch the welcome video from AFA International President to Delta Flight Attendants by clicking here.
As long as Delta management retains control of pay, benefits and working conditions at the industry’s most profitable airline, our bargaining power at each of our airlines is cut short. As long as Delta can claim to speak for the 25,000 Flight Attendants at the airline, our efforts to achieve proper staffing, rest, job security, and safety standards through government regulations are undermined.
Right now, we can start to correct this by helping to lift the voices of Delta Flight Attendants and protect their rights under the Railway Labor Act as they organize. And, when Delta Flight Attendants vote to join AFA we will strengthen our voice, our bargaining power, and our standing in every issue that affects our jobs like never before.
AFA Endeavor Flight Attendants are a Delta wholly-owned regional airline, and this effort directly affects their representation too as we address issues like concerns about toxic uniforms and the ability to share in Delta’s success.
Already, talk of AFA at Delta has encouraged management to improve the wage scale, announce plans to implement 10 hours minimum rest by February 2020, and promise to implement certain provisions of the United contract that produce more compensation for Flight Attendants. But, as long as Delta Flight Attendants are without a contract like management at Delta has for themselves, promises can change and our ability to move our careers forward will not reached its full potential.
AFA has a long history with Delta Flight Attendants, and we have always thought of all Flight Attendants as part of our AFA family. Interestingly, over 40 percent of the seniority list has been hired at Delta since the last union vote nine years ago. The energy and excitement for our Flight Attendant union is palpable. Help us welcome Delta Flight Attendants to our union today as we work together to build power for aviation’s first responders. Visit afacwa.org/deltawelcome to learn more about how you can support Delta Flight Attendants.
Show Your Support!
It’s easy to show your support for Flight Attendants at Delta Air Lines who are working to earn representation through our Flight Attendant union. Put on your AFA pin, take a pic, and post it with a brief note of support and the hashtag #SelfiesForSolidarity