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AFA Update – August 16, 2019

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In This Edition

  • Hotel Crew Room Blocks Card Now Online
  • REMINDER: Human Rights Committee Forming
  • TAKE ACTION: Stop Toxic Fumes!
  • Cabin Air Quality Resources

Hotel Crew Hotel Room Blocks Card Now Online

Hotel Committee

Your AFA Hotel Committee has succeeded in their effort to have the Crew Hotel Room Blocks card uploaded to an easily accessible location on both the Inflight website and the IMD.  The Crew Hotel Room Blocks card (commonly known as the “purple card”) is a quick reference card that provides information about appropriate hotel room features and room locations.  This card can be shown to hotel staff when you are assigned a hotel room that does not meet the requirements of the company’s contract with the hotel in order to hopefully remedy the situation on-the-spot. 

Going forward, the Crew Hotel Room Blocks card will be published on the first page of the monthly Hotel Hotline document.  The Hotel Hotline can be found on the Flight Attendant website under Hotel, Travel & Station > Hotel Hotline.  On the IMD, you can find the Hotel Hotline under ASFASupplemental > Hotel Hotline.

If you have any questions, please reach out to your Local Hotel Committee.

REMINDER: Human Rights Committee Forming

Human Rights Committee

In 2018, the AFA Board of Directors approved the creation of Human Rights Committees across AFA, with committees to be formed at each Local Council and MEC.  Members of the Human Rights Committee will work to promote activities that foster greater understanding of one another and the diversity of our membership in order to build the strength of our Union through our common struggles and goals rather than allowing others to divide us by our differences.  This work will involve close coordination with local community and CWA allies to engage in efforts that advance both human rights and worker’s rights.

As part of the formation of the Committee, volunteer involvement opportunities are available both at the local level (Local Human Rights Committee Chairperson) and the airline level (MEC Human Rights Committee Chairperson).  If you are interested in filling the role of Local Human Rights Committee Chairperson, please refer to recent communications from your Local Executive Council (LEC) Officers or contact your LEC President.

MEC Human Rights Committee Chairperson

Information about the MEC Human Rights Committee Chairperson can be found in the August 2, 2019 AFA Update.

The MEC will hold interviews for the position of MEC Human Rights Committee Chairperson during the September MEC meeting on Tuesday, September 17.  Interested candidates should submit an expression of interest and resume online at https://forms.gle/bns2FHqC11PLe3889.  The deadline for submissions is 5 PM Pacific time on Tuesday, September 10.  After that time, MEC Secretary-Treasurer Linda Christou will contact qualified candidates to schedule a specific interview time.

Please note that in order to submit an expression of interest, you must have a Google account. If you do not have a Google account, you can create one for free at https://accounts.google.com/signup.

TAKE ACTION: Stop Toxic Fumes!

Government Affairs Committee

The Cabin Air Safety Act of 2019 aims to protect airline passengers and crew from the harmful effects of toxic cabin air.

“Our workspace is the public’s travel space and in that space today, crews and passengers are breathing toxins and it has to stop,” said AFA International President Sara Nelson.

Call your Representative and Senators today and tell them to cosponsor the Cabin Air Safety Act. The House bill is H.R. 2208 and the Senate bill is S. 1112. 

Call Your Representative: 866-937-4359

Call Your Senators: 877-750-7411 

“Hi, my name is_________. As a constituent and a Flight Attendant, I am calling to ask you to cosponsor the Cabin Air Safety Act of 2019. Flight Attendants and passengers can be exposed to toxic fumes in the cabin. We need the FAA to intervene and implement protections. Support clean air onboard for passengers and Flight Attendants!”

AFA’s efforts to improve the cabin environment span the last three decades, from advocating for smoke-free skies to stopping poisonous pesticide spraying to addressing the dangers of contaminated bleed air. We advocate that the airline industry either end the use of engine bleed air for cabin air supply like on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner or mitigate the circulation of contaminated air. In 2015, AFA was an active member of the ICAO task group that published Circular 344, which advises airlines to enhance their operational procedures to minimize onboard exposure to smoke and fumes. This led to an FAA Safety Alert published in 2018. This is progress, but it doesn’t go far enough. 

“Most Americans go to work with the expectation of breathing clean air. Flight Attendants don’t have this guarantee, and it is past time for that to change,” AFA President Sara Nelson said.

Cabin Air Quality Resources

Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee – Air Quality Subcommittee

Your AFA Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC) and Air Quality Subcommittee have worked with AFA International to put together a number of tools and resources to use in the event of a cabin air fume event.  Some of the resources available are listed below.

Air Quality Fume Event FAQs

The Committee has compiled a comprehensive question and answer document to help provide information about many of the questions and concerns that have been received about cabin air fume events.

You can access the Q&A document by clicking here.

Air Quality Exposure Quick Reference Card

The Air Quality Exposure Quick Reference Card is a wallet sized card that explains what to do in a contaminated cabin air exposure event.  The card can be kept in a badge holder behind your company ID or in your wallet.

The card was recently updated by the Committee and now includes information about the Airbus fleet.  If you currently have an older version of the card, please destroy your old card and replace it with a newly updated one. The updated cards are currently being distributed to each domicile.

Look for more information from your Local Council about where to pick one up at your base.  You can access and print the card on the AFA Alaska website by clicking here.

AFA Alaska Website

Additional air quality information, including a flow chart that describes what to do in a cabin air fume event, can be found at afaalaska.org under Committees > Air Safety, Health, & Security (ASHSC) > Air Quality.

Questions?

If you have additional questions about cabin air quality or the AFA resources available, please email airquality@afaalaska.org or contact a member of your Local Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC).  

AFA Reminders – May 30, 2019

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In this edition:

  • AFA Census closes on May 31
  • Report adjoining hotel rooms on CrewCare
  • FDA requires stronger warnings about rare but serious incidents related to sleep medications

AFA Census closes on May 31!

The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA 2019 Census is a project to better understand the demographic make-up of our union, including your aspirations, needs, and preferences. We also want to know in what areas of your community you may already be engaged in making a difference for you, your family, and the place where you live. All of this will help us build power together so we can continue to advance our Flight Attendant careers.

The University of New Hampshire Survey Center (UNHSC) is conducting this very important data gathering effort. You should have received emails and possibly a phone call to encourage you to complete the Census. You may have a pre-filled email from “Sara Nelson via UNH” with the subject line “AFA Census – Response Requested.”

Our contract with UNHSC ensures your information remains confidential within AFA. It does not allow UNHSC to share any of your information with outside organizations. A summary of the final results will be shared with AFA members.

The AFA census can be accessed using the following link: https://unh.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9TguTDVCSOZJEmF.

Reminder: report adjoining hotel rooms on CrewCare

A message from your Hotel Committee

As previously published on April 9, your Hotel Committee needs your assistance in reporting instances of adjoining rooms with connecting doors assigned to crews on layovers.  If you are assigned an adjoining and connecting room, even if you are able to switch rooms, please make note of the hotel, room number and date and file a CrewCare report on the situation.

CrewCare reports are automatically routed to Alaska management, API (Accommodations Plus International, the company’s hotel contractor), and your AFA Hotel Committee Members.  Representatives from API and management use the data from the reports to follow up on each situation with the corresponding hotel.  CrewCare can be easily accessed from the Hotel, Travel, & Station menu of the inflight website or by using the CrewCare icon on the home screen of your IMD.

Management has asked that we report these situations each and every time that they occur.  The more information that we are able to provide, the more effectively each hotel can be held accountable.

FDA requires stronger warnings about rare but serious incidents related to sleep medications

A message from your Employee Assistance Program (EAP)/Professional Standards Committee

Updated warnings for eszopiclon (Lunesta) zaleplon (Sonata) and zolpidem (Ambien, Ambien CR, Edluar, Intermezzo, and Zolpimist).

At the end of April 2019, The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that the agency’s most prominent warning will now be required on certain prescription insomnia drugs.  The warning follows FDA’s review of 66 cases of serious injuries and/or  deaths resulting from various complex sleep behaviors after taking these medicines. These complex sleep behaviors have included  falls, burns, near-drowning, exposure to extreme cold temperatures leading to loss of limb or near death, self-injuries such as gunshot wounds, carbon monoxide poisoning, fatal motor vehicle collisions with the patient driving and suicide. The new warnings will be required for eszopiclone (Lunesta), zaleplon (Sonata) and zolpidem (Ambien, Ambien CR, Edluar, Intermezzo, and Zolpimist).

“While these incidents are rare, they are serious and it’s important that patients and health care professionals are aware of the risk. These incidents can occur after the first dose of these sleep medicines or after a longer period of treatment, and can occur in patients without any history of these behaviors and even at the lowest recommended doses,” said FDA Acting Commissioner Ned Sharpless, M.D.  In addition to the warning, the agency is requiring the addition of a contraindication to not use these medicines in patients who have experienced an episode of complex sleep behaviors after taking them. The warning and contraindication are intended to make the warning more prominent and reflect the risk of serious injury and death.

Adjoining Rooms: What You Need to Know

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A message from your Hotel Committee

We all know that being assigned an adjoining room with a connecting door is a common occurrence at many hotels throughout our system.  But did you know that adjoining and connecting rooms are not supposed to be assigned to Flight Attendants unless the room next door is occupied by another Alaska crew member?  While this isn’t specifically part of our collective bargaining agreement, Alaska includes this language in every contract between the company and our crew hotels.

Don’t Hesitate to Speak Up

If you are assigned an adjoining room with a connecting door, we encourage you to ask the front desk staff for a different room.  Request to speak to the hotel manager on duty to help resolve the situation if necessary. If the hotel is full or unable to provide an alternate room, respectfully advise the hotel staff that you’ll be reporting the issue to Alaska management.

Take Action: Report Each and Every Situation

If you are assigned an adjoining and connecting room, even if you are able to switch rooms, please make note of the hotel, room number and date and file a CrewCare report on the situation.  CrewCare reports are automatically routed to Alaska management, API (Accommodations Plus International, the company’s hotel contractor), and your AFA Hotel Committee Members.  Representatives from API and management use the data from the reports to follow up on each situation with the corresponding hotel.

How to File a CrewCare Report
1. Log-in to the inflight website
2. Open the menu
3. Click “Hotel, Travel, & Station”
4. Click “Hotel Links”
5. Click “My Crew Care”
6. Open the menu
7. Click “Feedback”
8. Click “Provide Feedback”

Management has asked that we report these situations each and every time that they occur.  The more information that we are able to provide, the more effectively each hotel can be held accountable.

Have Questions?

Your Local Hotel Committee can help!  You can find contact information on your Local Council’s committee page or on the Hotel Committee page of the AFA Alaska website.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Lisa Pinkston, Terry Taylor, Mario de’Medici, Melissa Osborne, Tim Green, Brice McGee; MEC Hotel Committee Chairperson Laura Hinojosa and Vice Chairperson Jodi Snow

[AS] Layover Hotel and Transportation Reminders

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This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants

The busy summer travel season is nearly upon us and is anticipated to be one of the busiest travel seasons on record.  Along with the increase in travel comes the possibility of irregular operations and things going awry pertaining to layover hotels and transportation.  As a reminder, management has a responsibility to provide hotel accommodations and corresponding transportation to and from the hotel to Flight Attendants on a layover.  This information is contained in section 34 of the contract.

If you have a problem with your hotel or transportation, report it!

Management, in conjunction with their hotel vendor API, uses a website called My Crew Care to collect feedback from crew members on hotel and transportation issues. My Crew Care, can be accessed through the Flight Attendant Website from the main menu > Hotels > Hotel Links > My Crew Care.

In order to take action on issues with layover hotels and transportation, your AFA Hotel Committee needs to know when you have a problem.  Reports submitted through My Crew Care are automatically routed to your AFA Hotel Committee so they can track issues and trends in our layover locations.

Save A Shortcut to My Crew Care on Your IMD

You can save a shortcut to My Crew Care on your IMD so that you have easy access to report hotel or transportation concerns when you’re on the go.  The shortcut will appear just like any app icon on your IMD’s home screen.  When you tap the icon, you’ll be taken directly to the My Crew Care website.

To add My Crew Care as a shortcut on your IMD home screen:

  1. Tap on Alaska Inflight Website
  2. Tap on the hamburger menu
  3. Tap on Hotel & Station
  4. Expand Hotel Links and select My Crew Care
  5. Tap on the Share button at the bottom of the screen
  6. Tap on Add to Home Screen
  7. Change the name to “My Crew Care” and tap on Add
  8. Press and hold until the shortcut icon “wiggles” and move it to your desired home screen

Management has put together a version of this instructions with screenshots included for easy step-by-step reference.  You can access these instructions by clicking here (login required).

First Time Using My Crew Care System?

When you open the My Crew Care site for the first time, you’ll need to register with your alaskaair.com email address.  After registering, the system will send you a confirmation email.  From the confirmation email, click the link to confirm your registration.  Once you complete this registration process, you won’t need to do it again.  API has written a user guide for the My Crew Care system that you can access by clicking here.

Bed Bug Resources

Being aware of bed bugs and other in-room pests is important, especially going into summer.  If you encounter bugs in your hotel room, immediately report the situation to the hotel for resolution and file a report in My Crew Care.  We’ve put together some information about bed bugs, including how to inspect your room for bugs upon arrival and how to tell the difference between bed bugs and other bugs.  You can find these resources through the Hotel Committee page of the AFA Alaska website or by clicking here.

Your Local Hotel Committee Is Here to Help

Members of your Local Hotel Committee are here to assist you with addressing any layover hotel or transportation-related concerns.  You can find contact information on the Hotel Committee page of the AFA Alaska website.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Melissa Osborne, Tim Green, Brice McGee, MEC Hotel Committee Chairperson Laura Hinojosa and MEC Hotel Committee Vice Chairperson Jodi Snow

Layover Hotel and Transportation Issues: 4 Things to Know

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Along with the busy summer travel season has come an uptick in issues with crew hotel accommodations and layover transportation.  Management has a responsibility to provide hotel accommodations and corresponding transportation to and from the hotel to Flight Attendants on a layover.  This information is contained in section 34 of the contract.

1. If you have a problem with your hotel or transportation, report it!

Management, in conjunction with their hotel vendor API, has recently launched a new version of CrewCare, the website that is used to give feedback on hotel and transportation issues.  The new system, My Crew Care, can be accessed through the new Flight Attendant Website.

In order to take action on issues with layover hotels and transportation, your AFA Hotel Committee needs to know when you have a problem.  Reports submitted through My Crew Care are automatically routed to your AFA Hotel Committee so they can track issues and trends in our layover locations.

To Access My Crew Care

  1. Log-in to the inflight website (http://asainflight.alaskaair.com)
  2. Open the menu
  3. Click “Hotels”
  4. Click “Hotel Links”
  5. Click “My Crew Care”
  6. Open the menu
  7. Click “Feedback”
  8. Click “Provide Feedback”

IMG_2172    IMG_2173    IMG_2174    IMG_2175    IMG_2176

First Time Using the New My Crew Care System?

When you open the My Crew Care site for the first time, you’ll need to register with your alaskaair.com email address.  After registering, the system will send you a confirmation email.  From the confirmation email, click the link to confirm your registration.  Once you complete this registration process, you won’t need to do it again.

API has written a user guide for the My Crew Care system that you can access here: https://api2.apicrewcare.com/Uploads/Public/UserGuides/CrewMember/CrewmemberUserGuide_AlaskaAir.pdf.

2. If your transportation is late, you can take a taxi, Uber, or Lyft!

If your van hasn’t arrived to pick you up from the airport within 35 minutes of block-in, you have the right to take other transportation and submit the expense for reimbursement from management.  The same thing applies if your van hasn’t arrived to pick you up from the hotel within 10 minutes of the scheduled departure time.  You can find this contractual language in section 34.B.  Be sure to save your receipt and submit an expense report after your trip.  Your supervisor can assist you with completing an expense report.

3. There’s been an increase in unscheduled layover hotel blunders

Recently, Crew Scheduling and the Company’s hotel vendor, Accommodations Plus International (API), have dropped the ball in multiple cases involving unscheduled layover hotels and transportation.  Your Hotel Committee has been advised of recent situations where layover hotel rooms were not secured until after crew arrival in a layover city, transportation not being booked, and hotels being booked that didn’t meet minimum contractual requirements. Crew Scheduling is following policy and using a hotel vender as required by management, so AFA holds management ultimately responsible for these unacceptable and ongoing slipups. Management has an obligation to have contractually compliant hotel accommodations reserved and transportation arranged prior to crew arrival in their layover city.   AFA has requested a meeting with management and API to call for immediate resolution of these issues.

4. You can check to see if your unscheduled layover hotel meets contractual minimums

Travel Weekly classification example

Example of how to determine the Travel Weekly classification for a specific hotel

If you end up with an unscheduled layover, it’s possible that the regular crew hotel in that city could be full and you might end up with a room at an alternate hotel.  Section 34.A.4 of the contract specifies that the company must make every reasonable effort to ensure that an alternate hotel meets the minimum requirements outlined for regular layover hotels.  At a minimum, Flight Attendant layover hotels must meet a rating of 5 or above as rated by Travel Weekly.  You can check to see how your alternate hotel is rated by typing the hotel name into the search box at http://www.travelweekly.com/Hotels.

If you have been placed at a hotel that doesn’t meet the minimum rating of 5 or above, you should contact Crew Scheduling immediately to request a different hotel that meets contractual minimums.  If you’re told that no other hotels are available, please forward your pairing information, hotel name, and hotel address to your Local Hotel Committee as soon as possible.

Have Questions?

Your Local Hotel Committee can help!  You can find contact information on your Local Council’s committee page or on the Hotel Committee page of the AFA Alaska website.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Satterlee, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Tim Green, Brice McGee and MEC Hotel Committee Chairpersons Laura Hinojosa and Jodi Snow

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