Grievance Committee

Initial Recommendations for the new iPhone 6+ Inflight Mobile Device

March 8, 2015 22:59

Pick up begins in some localities beginning tomorrow, March 9^th

Our new Inflight Mobile Device (IMD) the iPhone 6+ will be ready for pick up in some localities beginning tomorrow, March 9^th. Distribution will continue through the system over the next six weeks or so. This is a very exciting development, as the iPhone 6+ will eventually replace our Flight Attendant Manual and it will also contain our contract. (Yes, a printed version of the contract will also be available and so far we’re looking on track for publication in middle to late spring.) Keep in mind that nobody is required to carry the IMD until Wednesday, May 6^th. “Early Adopters” of the IPhone 6+ IMD are converted to the general policy starting tomorrow, which means many of the special protections of that program will no longer apply.

The IMD is a tool of convenience but exposes a flight attendant to many potential liabilities

The Inflight Mobile Device is an extremely adaptable tool of convenience. However by nature of its functionality, the IMD exposes a flight attendant to many potential personal liabilities. AFA was hoping to have ample opportunity to thoroughly vet all implications of the Company policy surrounding the IMD. Unfortunately, the policy itself and related materials were going through changes right up to the publication of Inflight bulletin 2015-0057 “Your iPhone 6+ Pick Up!” on Thursday, March 5^th. Additionally, Management announced to AFA the official start of full distribution only very recently.

AFA cannot overstate the importance of exercising caution with the IMD

AFA cannot overstate the importance of exercising caution with how you use the Inflight Mobile Device. In our opinion, simply adhering to Company policy does not provide adequate protections. Just because the iPhone 6+ can be used in a more expansive manner does not mean you should use it that way.

Location, location, location

Although the location services can be manually turned off, by default the iPhone 6+ IMD is configured with the location function on. Between the required app “Airwatch” that comes pre-installed and the device’s pre-existing location features, the IMD could be used as a Global Positioning System (GPS) tracker by Alaska Airlines management. So far AFA has not become aware of any intent by management to use it in such a manner. However, we believe management might go there if a flight attendant were under investigation for pending discipline and management thought the IMD would provide additional information in any way.

Utilize the IMD as a work tool only

AFA urges you to utilize the iPhone 6+ Inflight Mobile Device only as a work tool. Turn it on to ensure you’ve synced your IMD within 24 hours of check-in and to verify the battery’s charge level. Otherwise it should remain off until shortly before scheduled check-in. If you are coming off of a layover then turn on the IMD shortly before boarding. If you use the device in any capacity while at work then assume a supervisor is looking over your shoulder each and every time. Turn the IMD off after the last passenger steps off the aircraft at the conclusion of your sequence (or after you check your email if you’re on Reserve).

Maintain a clear separation between anything personal and the IMD

Do not sync the Inflight Mobile Device to any personal devices. Do not attach any personal accounts to the IMD (email, social media, etc.). Do not download personal media (e.g. photos, music, etc.) to the IMD. Do not purchase or access any apps for personal use. Essentially, you must maintain a clear separation between anything personal and the IMD or else you are exposed to unnecessary liability.

Summary of Initial Recommendation

In summary: use the Inflight Mobile Device at work (or minimally while off-duty) only for work-related purposes and adhere to Company policy. Then you will receive all the benefits of an extremely flexible work tool with none of the drawbacks of personal liability. Finally, the IMD should never leave the five “safe zones” while on duty: in the approved carrying pouch attached to the cart, in beverage cart drawers, in galley compartments (although be aware the device could be easily forgotten here), in a crew bag or on your person. While off duty, the IMD ideally should never leave your crew bag except briefly to charge and to sync the device at the appropriate time in preparation for duty.

More information will be forthcoming

More information will be forthcoming in regards to the iPhone 6+ Inflight Mobile Device.

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In solidarity,

Your MEC—Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Gesch, Becky Strachan, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow and Stephen Couckuyt; and MEC Grievance chairperson Jennifer Wise MacColl

Grievance Update — Applying Alaska Air Group Date of Hire to Non-revenue Travel Priority

March 6, 2015 18:28

Background

On May 1^st, 2012, Alaska Airlines management unilaterally made a significant change to the employee travel pass policy. Effective that day, almost all Alaska Airlines employees who had previous service with Horizon Air had their year of hire adjusted to their Alaska Air Group (AAG) date of hire for the purposes of non-revenue travel priority. Over three hundred (300) employees had their travel seniority changed—approximately one hundred fifty (150) of them flight attendants. All former Horizon employees hired after July 1, 2012, have received their Alaska date of hire as their travel seniority.

AFA and ALPA filed grievances in response

AFA and ALPA filed grievances in response to that change. This was not something we undertook lightly, because many of our flight attendants are former Horizon employees. Ultimately, however, the Master Executive Council (MEC) filed the grievance because we felt—and still feel—that the Company’s actions abrogated our seniority. Seniority is the bedrock of our contract and the guiding principle governing our work rules. The grievance was intended to protect our contract and the workgroup as a whole, not to hurt a group of flight attendants.

Recent developments

ALPA recently settled its grievance, and now management has informed us that it will respond to our grievance by rolling back the travel seniority of Alaska flight attendants and pilots who are former Horizon employees. The Company is not rolling back the travel seniority of former Horizon employees in any other work group.

AFA believes the grievance is not resolved

AFA has told management that we do not believe that the grievance is fully resolved. The MEC is evaluating its options and determining its next steps. We will, of course, keep you informed of any developments. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please contact your local officers.

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In solidarity,

Your MEC—Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Gesch, Becky Strachan, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow and Stephen Couckuyt; MEC Grievance Chairperson Jennifer Wise MacColl; and AFA Senior Staff Attorney Kimberley Chaput

Too Fatigued to Fly

January 8, 2015 20:25

Crewmember fatigue is a serious issue facing pilots and Flight Attendants and has gained considerable media attention over the last several years. New federal regulations addressing pilot fatigue contained in 14 FAR 117 took effect January 4, 2014. Despite the advances being made for pilots, federal regulations addressing rest and fatigue for Flight Attendants continue to lag behind.

Our Fatigue Policy: There Isn’t One

Neither our contract nor the Flight Attendant Manual addresses the issue of Flight Attendant fatigue. No provision exists for a Flight Attendant to call in “fatigued”. Despite numerous requests from AFA to discuss a fatigue policy, management will not enter into a discussion at this time. This leaves us as Flight Attendants with very few options when we are too fatigued to continue working.

I’m Too Fatigued To Fly, What Are My Options?

If you are unable to continue flying due to fatigue, management’s position is that your only option is to call in sick online (SO). Calling in sick online will remove you from your trip and you will receive corresponding attendance points and, if you have available sick leave, be paid sick leave for any flying not yet completed on the pairing. You’ll have the ability to submit a point reduction form to mitigate any points if you haven’t already submitted one for the quarter.

Write It Up—File an ASAP

The ASAP Event Review Committee (ERC) has starting tracking fatigue-related events separately for reporting purposes. If you experience a fatigue-related event, please document it on an ASAP report. The Master Executive Council (MEC) is tracking the information from these reports in hopes that the company will see the importance of entering into a discussion and eventual development of a fatigue policy to help improve safety for our Flight Attendants, coworkers, and passengers alike.

If you have any questions about Flight Attendant fatigue, please contact one of your Local Executive Council (LEC) Officers. Contact information is available on afaalaska.org under the Local Council menu.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC—Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Gesch, Becky Strachan, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow, Stephen Couckuyt and MEC Grievance Chairperson Jennifer Wise-MacColl

Maternity Leave Grievance

September 25, 2014 20:00

This is an important communication regarding the Maternity Leave provision of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, Section 15.D and Company policy as stated in a newly published Maternity Leave Handbook. If you are currently on/or beginning MLOA please read this entire article.

Over a year ago, management reached out to AFA to express concern that Section 15.D.2 (shown below), might be in violation of The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978.

…[A] Flight Attendant may continue to work through the twenty-eighth (28th) week of pregnancy. After the twenty-eighth (28th) week of pregnancy, the Flight Attendant will be presumed disabled due to her pregnancy. After the twenty-eighth (28th) week of pregnancy, or whenever such Flight Attendant’s Doctor determines that she is unable to work due to her pregnancy, whichever occurs first, the Flight Attendant will request maternity leave.

Management asserts that presuming a Flight Attendant is disabled due to pregnancy after 28 weeks may be discriminatory under Federal Law. Since adoption of the original language in 1994, the Association is not aware of any Flight Attendant who has requested to continue working after 28 weeks of pregnancy. AFA and management had a series of brief discussions regarding a change to the language, which would preserve the intent of the language and eliminate any concern with compliance under the Act. Management proposed much broader changes to the language than AFA felt were necessary and unfortunately the discussions quickly ended.

Management advised AFA that it was considering imposing a new company policy allowing a Flight Attendant to continue working after 28 weeks. AFA responded that an immediate grievance would be filed, due to the clear contract language in Section 15.D.2.

In July 2014, AFA became aware that management had posted a new Maternity Leave of Absence Handbook online, without notice to AFA or communication to the Flight Attendant group. On page 4 of the handbook a single sentence was added,

If you do not intend to continue to fly after the twenty-eighth week of pregnancy, your leave may begin on the date indicated on this form (the first day of the twenty-ninth week of pregnancy).

Based on this change AFA has filed a grievance.

Why is this happening now?

Setting aside the legal arguments regarding the language, it appears the inflight management became concerned with this language because some Flight Attendants (depending on their respective state laws) qualify for both Short Term Disability and Unemployment. For example, a Flight Attendant could get STD because of her pregnancy, but could also claim unemployment because she was not being allowed to work when she was capable of doing so. In the last year, management has been reporting to Washington State that Flight Attendants are on a voluntary medical leave as opposed to a required leave, or due to disability. Alaska is reporting to the state that Flight Attendants who go out on Maternity Leave are able to perform their duties but are voluntarily choosing not to work. This has resulted in Flight Attendants’ having their claims denied and then having to go through the appeals process to obtain unemployment. Most have had to hire attorneys to assist with the process.

State law stipulates the terms of unemployment, and the state (not the employer) ultimately determines if an employee is eligible for benefits. Flight Attendants for many years have qualified due to the unique situation in which they find themselves. They are medically disabled from performing their Flight Attendant duties; however, they are perfectly capable of working in a normal job. It is truly unfortunate that management is making the process more difficult for Flight Attendants. They have changed they way they report a maternity leave status to the state; they have removed the mention of unemployment from the Maternity Handbook; and they have unilaterally implemented a new policy allowing Flight Attendants to continue working after the 28^th week of pregnancy.

It is very concerning that these changes were made with no notice or communication to the Flight Attendant group. If management is so concerned about correcting what they see as a violation of Federal law why didn’t they immediately communicate it to Flight Attendants?

If you are preparing to go out on a Maternity leave, the changed policy requires you to do the following:

Fill out the Maternity Notification From (S-131)
- This notifies the company of your pregnancy
- It gives you the option of choosing whether you want to continue to fly.
You may receive an email from your leave coordinator asking when you would like to go out.

If you choose to continue working, you can do so until you elect to go out on leave (sometime after 28 weeks) or until your doctor determines that you are not fit to fly, whichever is earlier. If your doctor allows you to work until delivery, that would be acceptable under this policy.

If you are currently out on a Maternity Leave, there may be benefits to returning to work under this new policy. Please contact your leave analyst to do so:

Sabrina Blevins (last names A-K) at (206) 392-6124
Beth Swanson (last names L-Z) at (206) 392- 6122

The bottom line is that AFA does not condone discrimination based on pregnancy. The language in Section 15 was agreed to by the parties and has been in place for decades—through three contracts! It stipulates that Flight Attendants are disabled from performing their Flight Attendants duties, which is directly related to the physical requirements of our daily job and the limitations of advanced pregnancy. We do not agree that Alaska has the unilateral right to change a 20-year-old contract provision without our agreement—especially when its action can have a negative effect on our flight attendants! This is especially true given that we have never had a Flight Attendant raise an objection to the language in 15.D.

This new policy places a tremendous amount of pressure on pregnant Flight Attendants, who are often relatively junior, to continue flying in order to obtain pay and medical coverage. The practical reality is that Flight Attendants may be forced to continue flying, resulting in an increase in sick online due to pregnancy. In the extreme, it could cause a Flight Attendant to risk her health and safety by continuing to fly when she otherwise would not have done so. AFA objects not only to the new policy but the way it has been implemented, with little to no information nor explanation of what choices a Flight Attendant has available to them.

AFA will be providing a list of requested edits to the Maternity Leave of Absence Handbook. In the interim, if you are going out or are currently out on Maternity Leave and have questions, we strongly encourage Flight Attendants to contact their local AFA Maternity Representative for assistance. You’ll find contact information at http://afaalaska.org, then by selecting your base from the local council menu.

In addition, there will be a Seattle Maternity Roundtable on October 16, 2014 from 12:30 – 3:30. If you are considering starting a family or are currently pregnant, this is an excellent chance to receive important information regarding Maternity Leave.

In solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Gesch, Becky Strachan, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow, Stephen Couckuyt, MEC Benefits Chairperson Terry Taylor and MEC Grievance Chairperson Jennifer Wise-MacColl

Management Pressure and Trading While on Probation

September 12, 2014 05:00

The Master Executive Council (MEC) has recently become aware of situations involving Inflight management discouraging new hires from exercising their contractual ability to trade, reposition, or give away trips or reserve days. This kind of pressure violates our contract.

Have You Been Pressured Not To Trade?

When you were on probation, did a member of Inflight management discourage you from exercising your contractual rights to trade? We’re looking for first-hand examples of Inflight supervisors or managers discouraging you from:

Asking for personal drops
Trading or giving away pairings (either on your line or picked up)
Repositioning, trading, or giving away reserve days or block

Share Your Example With Us

If you have a first-hand example of an Inflight supervisor or manager pressuring you not to exercise your contractual right, we’re looking for your feedback. Flight Attendants currently on probation: please participate! However, be assured that AFA will hold any responses from probationary Flight Attendants in strict confidence until the completion of probation.

Click here to complete a response form

Questions?

Send an email to probation@afaalaska.org

In Solidarity,

Your MEC—Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Gesch, Becky Strachan, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow and Stephen Couckuyt

Initial Recommendations for the new iPhone 6+ Inflight Mobile Device

Pick up begins in some localities beginning tomorrow, March 9^th

The IMD is a tool of convenience but exposes a flight attendant to many potential liabilities