AS/HA Merger – Page 5

Commuter Policy Survey Now Open

April 21, 2025 09:00

We recognize that commuting—by air or ground—is a significant part of your daily routine. Our Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) is dedicated to ensuring that the commuter policy adequately protects all Flight Attendants. As we prepare to negotiate this important section, it’s essential that we gather your feedback.

To facilitate this process, we’ve created a Commuter Policy Survey that compares the provisions in the Hawaiian and Alaska contracts. Your input is crucial in helping us understand your priorities and concerns. The survey is currently open and will close on May 5 at Noon PT. We encourage you to take a moment to click the survey link and share your thoughts, so the JNC can accurately represent your interests.

Click this link to access the survey >

If you have any questions about the survey or need assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the JNC at jnc@afaalaska.org.

Joint Contract Negotiations Session 2 – April 2025

April 18, 2025 13:00

Our JNC met with management this week, on April 15 to April 17; the next negotiation session is scheduled for May 20 to May 22
Commuter Survey to be released on Monday, April 21
Hawaiian Flight Attendants ratify Contract Extension

Negotiations Update

Our AFA Alaska + Hawaiian Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) met this week for three days of collective bargaining with management. The JNC met with management on April 15 to April 17 in Seattle, WA. This marks the second joint negotiating session, with the first held in March. (see Joint Contract Negotiations Begins). At the negotiating table for this session were:

Representing Management:	Representing AFA and our Flight Attendants:
Ryan St. John, Vice President, Finance, Planning and Investor Relations Alaska	Tim Green, Joint Negotiating Committee Chairperson
Matt Prainito, Vice President of Inflight Alaska	Martin Gusman, Joint Negotiating Committee Member
Carmen William, Manager Director, Labor Relations	Jeffrey Fuke, Joint Negotiating Committee Member
Mike Link, Labor Relations Program Manager Alaska	Virgina Fritz, Joint Negotiating Committee Member
Gloria Chow-Vanderwell, Managing Director of Inflight Services Alaska	Heather Reier, Joint Negotiating Committee Member
Karen Themelis, Senior Labor Relations Business Partner Alaska	Paula Mastrangelo, AFA Senior Staff Negotiator
Kalani Sloat, Senior Director, Labor Relations Hawaiian
Allen Thieman, Managing Director, Crew Scheduling and Crew Pay Hawaiian

During this negotiation process, we started by tackling simpler topics and non-money-related issues where both contracts have similar terms. Once we settle these easier points, we will move on to the more complex issues that involve significant financial considerations.

We’ve agreed to use the Alaska contract as a base while negotiating relevant provisions and terms from the Hawaiian contract.

Section by Section Progress

Tentative Agreements (TAs) reached in this session:

Section 20 – Board of Adjustment (HA CBA Section 24)

Sections in ongoing discussion:

Section 13 – Uniforms (HA CBA Section 6)
Section 18 – Reduction in Force (HA CBA Section 16)
Section 27 – Association General (HA CBA Section 22)
Section 30 – Training (HA CBA Section 26)

Survey: Commuter Policy

Our JNC is reviewing the Commuter Policies (AS CBA Section 27 and HA CBA Section 34-28) and is looking for your feedback. The Committee is sending a Commuter Survey to your personal emails next week!

Survey opens Monday, April 21 at 9 AM PT
Survey closes Monday, May 5 at 12 PM PT

Every Flight Attendant commutes to work whether by air or by ground, and we want to make sure your voice is heard. Please make sure to complete the survey before it closes!

Hawaiian Extension TA Results

Hawaiian Flight Attendants voted to ratify a Contract Extension through February 2028. This Extension includes continued pay increases, retirement improvements, better profit sharing, and a strong foundation to build upon as negotiations for a Joint Collective Bargaining Agreement (JCBA) continue. The Contract Extension was ratified with 88% voting for the agreement.

Introducing Our Negotiations Support Representative

April 8, 2025 09:00

This message is for both pre-merger Alaska and Hawaiian Flight Attendants

Last week, our Master Executive Council (MEC) conducted interviews for the Negotiations Support Representative position, a key role supporting our Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC). We’d like to sincerely thank all candidates for their participation and willingness to serve our Flight Attendants. After careful consideration, we’re pleased to announce that Lea Franzoi has been selected for this position.

About Lea

Lea has been a Honolulu-based Flight Attendant with Hawaiian Airlines since 2006. Her involvement with the Union began when she filled a vacancy as the Hawaiian MEC Secretary-Treasurer from August 2022 to June 2023 and again from August 2023 to February 2025. Drawing on her strong organizational skills, Lea is eager to contribute to the team’s success by supporting the needs of the Joint Negotiating Committee and collaborating to ensure that Members stay well-informed throughout the joint contract negotiations process.

Born and raised on the island of O’ahu, Lea holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Hawai’i Pacific University. Since 2012, she has been commuting from Las Vegas. In her free time, Lea enjoys outdoor activities and traveling with her husband.

About the Negotiations Support Representative

As the primary note-taker during negotiation sessions, Lea will ensure accurate documentation of all discussions, proposals, and related materials. Her extensive knowledge of the current Hawaiian collective bargaining agreement, along with her strong organizational skills, will be invaluable in managing communication strategies for the JNC.

Lea will also develop engaging informational content for our Members, coordinate social media activities, and collect feedback to amplify our Members’ voices. Her proficiency with digital tools and ability to create compelling communications will significantly benefit our efforts to promote transparency and engagement within our Flight Attendant group. She’ll work closely with the MEC Communications Committee to ensure all communications and activities contribute to strengthening our position at the bargaining table.

Merged MEC Committee Chairperson Interviews

April 5, 2025 11:00

This message is for both pre-merger Alaska and Hawaiian Flight Attendants

As we move forward with the integration of our Master Executive Councils (MECs), our MEC has had important discussions regarding the timing and process for merging our various MEC committees. During this week’s MEC meeting, we developed a plan that outlines how and when these mergers will take place. We’ve set a specific date for the first group of committees to merge: June 1.

As part of the committee merging process, our MEC will elect a Chairperson for each newly merged committee from among the combined Alaska and Hawaiian Flight Attendant groups. The newly elected Chairperson will coordinate activities across both airlines and support the Local Committee Chairpersons from all eight Local Councils— both pre-merger Alaska and pre-merger Hawaiian. The MEC will conduct interviews during the May MEC Meeting for the following roles:

Other committees will merge later in the process. We’ll keep you informed about the integration timeline for each committee, including interview schedules, as we approach those dates.

General Qualifications

Qualifications for all MEC-level Chairperson positions include:

Current Alaska or Hawaiian Airlines AFA Member in good standing
Previous experience as a Committee Member or Chairperson is preferred.
Previous committee-specific training preferred.
Strong ability to lead and coordinate a diverse team in a collaborative environment.
Ability to attend meetings as required, both via videoconference and in person.
Strong computer skills, including a good working knowledge of Google Workspace (email, calendar, Drive, and other applications) and Microsoft 365.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to write membership communications, respond professionally to internal and external emails, prepare reports, plan meetings (including scheduling, logistics, and agenda preparation), and take minutes.
Ability to meet deadlines, delegate responsibilities, and follow up on assigned tasks.

Duties and Responsibilities

Details about each committee’s duties and responsibilities are available on the respective committee pages of afaalaska.org. Additional information regarding MEC Committee Chairperson duties and responsibilities is available in this document.

Time Commitment and Flight Pay Loss Reimbursement

The time commitment for each position varies and may change based on current workload levels. Specific information about time commitment expectations and Flight Pay Loss for each position will be provided during the interviews. All positions operate in line with AFA’s spirit of volunteerism.

Term of Service

Candidates who are successfully elected will serve for the remainder of the current MEC Officer election cycle (January 1, 2023, to December 31, 2025), as well as for the upcoming cycle (January 1, 2026, to December 31, 2028). Their official term will begin on June 1, 2025, and conclude on December 31, 2028.

Expressing Interest and Interview Scheduling

The MEC will interview eligible candidates during the May Regular MEC Meeting on Tuesday, May 13, and Wednesday, May 14. If you are interested in interviewing, please plan to bid around these dates or adjust your schedule accordingly.

Eligible candidates can choose to interview in person in SeaTac, WA, or virtually via Google Meet videoconferencing.

To express your interest, please submit an expression of interest and your resume using the online form (link below). The submission deadline is 5 PM Pacific Time on Tuesday, May 6, 2025. After the submission deadline, an MEC representative will contact eligible candidates to arrange specific interview times.

Click here to submit an expression of interest form >

Please note that a Google account is required to submit the expression of interest form. If you don’t have a Google account, you can create one for free at https://accounts.google.com/signup.

Questions?

Any questions about MEC Committee Chairperson position duties and responsibilities can be directed to MEC Vice President Brice McGee at mecvp@afaalaska.org.

Joint Contract Negotiations Begin

March 21, 2025 11:00

Our Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) has completed the first week of negotiations for our Joint Collective Bargaining Agreement (JCBA).

Normally, this update would have been published sooner; however, a lot has been happening at both Alaska and Hawaiian:

February 28: AFA Alaska TA2 was ratified for the Alaska Flight Attendant Contract
March 1: Merged Alaska + Hawaiian Master Executive Councils (MEC) officers’ term began
March 3 and 4: JNC Negotiations Training
March 4-6, 10, 11, 13, 17: JNC Negotiations planning meetings took place
March 11: AFA Hawaiian reached TA on Contract Extension
March 18: JCBA Negotiations began

*Our Joint Negotiating Committee is (L-R): Jeff Fuke, Paula Mastrangelo, Tim Green, Heather Reier, Virginia Fritz, and Martin Gusman*

With the MECs of both carriers merged, we were now able to begin JCBA negotiations. This JCBA bargaining is unique as we merge two strong and complex contracts on the heels of negotiating successor contracts to both the Hawaiian and Alaska Contracts. As a result, our opening proposals in joint contract negotiations were broad and brief. Key highlights of our Opening Proposal:

Each contract section will be addressed individually.
The Alaska CBA will be used as a basis for language purposes.
Our commitment is to combine the best of both contracts.
We will be seeking improvements over the current contract provisions.
Big decisions like TFP vs Block Pay, Open Time systems, etc., will be decided downline after surveying members and consulting with the MEC.

For our first session, we focused on the less controversial sections and passed proposals on the following:

Non-Discrimination
Purpose of Agreement
Savings Clause
Status of Agreement
Probation Period
Seniority
Grievance Procedures
System Board of Adjustment
Association Security
Training
Leaves of Absence

Tentative Agreements were reached on the following sections:

Non-Discrimination
Purpose of Agreement
Savings Clause
Status of Agreement
Probation Period
Association Security
Medical Examinations

As we move forward, the JNC will normally meet with management for one session per month. Your input will be crucial as the JNC pinpoints the most beneficial language from our two contracts. Our plan involves consulting with our MEC and the relevant Alaska and Hawaiian AFA committee chairs. This will ensure the JNC possesses the necessary working knowledge to fully understand each contractual provision. Then, we will develop section-specific Member surveys to determine our negotiating priorities.

The JNC will be conducting several membership surveys throughout JCBA negotiations that target specific areas of the contract. This will give you the opportunity to provide us with the most current feedback on many key contractual sections, including:

Reserve
Pick Ups, Drops, Trades, and Exchanges / Exchange of Sequences
Scheduling / Hours of Service
Sick Leave
Vacation
Commuter Policy
TFP/Block Hours

Our first Survey about the Commuter Policy is currently being developed and will be sent out in the near future. Please anticipate these surveys throughout negotiations as we approach key sections.

We value your feedback as we work together to create the best possible contract for our combined group. Please reach out to us with any questions or ideas you may have so that we can ensure we leave no ideas on the table.

In Solidarity,

Your Joint Negotiating Committee – Tim Green, Martin Gusman, Jeff Fuke, Virginia Fritz, Heather Reier, and AFA Senior Staff Negotiator Paula Mastrangelo

Commuter Policy Survey Now Open