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AFA Alaska Open Time Trial Survey July 2016

[Note: The Open Time Trial survey is out slightly late this month. In order to keep the survey results “clean” from month to month, the survey will close prior to Open Time for August trading opens this coming Saturday morning. That means the survey will be live for a little bit less than three days, so it is important that you do not delay taking it. Going forward the MEC will be taking additional steps to ensure the survey opens just after PBS bids are due on the 10th and close on the 16th at 9am PT.]

 

Pursuant to AFA Alaska Collective Bargaining Agreement §12.F.8.D.5 [Exchange of Sequences: Open Time Trial], the Master Executive Council (MEC) is conducting a monthly poll of membership regarding your satisfaction with Open Time. Your candid responses will help the MEC determine the course of the Open Time trial.

 

It is important to focus on Open Time functionality, not the technical issues with logging into the system, when answering the questions.

 

You must enter your Arctic number in order to take the survey. We’re asking for your Arctic number to ensure each Flight Attendant receives one vote per month and is not for tracking purposes. If a survey is submitted more than once with the same Arctic number, all responses using that Arctic number will be excluded for this month.

 

> > > To take the AFA Alaska Open Time Trial Survey for July 2016 click here. < < <

 

The survey will close on Saturday, July 16th at 9am Pacific Time. Once again, there is a free form comments field at the end of the survey, and the LEC presidents will review the comments.

 

Thank you in advance for your feedback. The MEC will publish a summary of results once the responses have been tallied on Monday, July 18th.

 

In Solidarity,

 

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Satterlee, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Tim Green and Brice McGee

How To Write Up Catering Issues and Concerns

  • If it is a catering safety related issue an ISR or ASAP should be filed.  A catering feedback email that has SAFETY in the subject line will also help the issue to be immediately addressed.
  • Use a regular email for catering errors addressed to catering.feedback@alaskaair.com.  Upper management groups do not need to be copied in—in some respects it slows the process of correcting the problems.
  • The most important thing is to use the following format in the first line of the email DATE/CITYPAIR/FLT#.

For example:

6/20/2016/SEA/    /Flt #723

Missing FC syrup
Linens wet, crinkled and torn

  • If you have pictures they should be included with the email
  • Writing the problem on the boarding bill and taking a picture with my IMD is very efficient.   You can just send the picture from the IMD and catering gets all of the information they need quickly.

Your Air Matters: How You Can Help

We hope that you’ve gained new knowledge from this month’s Your Air Matters campaign.  All of the resources shared this month will continue to be available on the air quality page of afaalaska.org.  On the page, you’ll always be able to access the most up-to-date air quality exposure information.

Knowledge Is Power

Even though the message has been widespread on afaalaska.org and AFA Alaska social media accounts, you can help to keep the conversation going and make sure that everyone knows what to do if they breathe contaminated air onboard.  Share the information on your air quality quick reference card with your flying partners.  Show someone how to access the air quality exposure information on their IMD.  Let your crew know how important it is to seek treatment if there’s possibility of exposure and they’re showing symptoms.  These discussions will help to empower all of our Flight Attendants in the event of exposure to contaminated cabin air.

Give Ten, Get Ten

We’ve previously shared information about Give Ten, Get Ten, a campaign to fund ongoing research to help develop a blood test to detect engine oil fume exposure from aircraft engines.  Currently, the only way to detect exposure is a blood test for carbon monoxide (CO) exposure which must be conducted before CO clears from your blood, often less than 24 hours after exposure.

Development of a blood test specific to engine oil fumes is critical in the ongoing fight to improve cabin air.  A dedicated test will help crew members and passengers alike to prove incidents of exposure and seek proper treatment for the debilitating symptoms associated with breathing engine oil fumes.  Please take a moment to review the campaign page for more information.  The video features information about the research project and interviews with several crew members who have been affected by exposure to engine oil fumes.

We hope that you’ll GIVE $10 (or any amount that you’re able) to help directly fund this important research project and GET 10 of your friends, family, and coworkers to do the same.

If you have any questions about Give Ten, Get Ten, please email AFA Industrial Hygienist Judith Anderson at judith@afanet.org.

Questions?

Your Local Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC) is your go-to for additional information and answers to any questions that you have about cabin air quality.  You can find contact information on the ASHSC page of the AFA Alaska website.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Satterlee, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow and Stephen Couckuyt; LEC Presidents-Elect Tim Green and Brice McGee; MEC ASHSC Chairperson Seth Heiple

Open Time Trial Survey Results – June 2016

The Open Time Trial survey for June 2016 concluded yesterday morning (June 16, 2016), and the results are now available.

 

Survey completion information

 

915 surveys were completed and 24 were partially completed. If a Flight Attendant submitted more than one survey, only the last submission was counted. The Master Executive Council (MEC) strongly encourages all Flight Attendants to contribute to the monthly Open Time Trial surveys.

 

Survey overview

 

The results continue to show a clear need to improve general understanding of the Open Time Trial and a strong dissatisfaction for the current system.

 

Understanding of the Open Time trading codes

 

79.7% of respondents do not understand or are still learning the Open Time trading codes (TO/DD/CP/TX/no code) and how to trade sequences in Open Time based on those codes. This is a small improvement over last month.

 

AFA Alaska has produced an Open Time trading codes quick reference guide (see “Understanding Open Time Trading with the Codes” for additional information.)

 

>>> Click here to view the “Open Time Trading with the Codes” quick reference guide in a Portable Document Format (pdf). <<<

 

Understanding of the estimated time frame for making any programming changes to Open Time

 

A very slight majority (51.2%) reported they understand the time frame involved for making any programming changes to the Open Time system.

 

Based on membership feedback the MEC will make a determination on the future of Open Time:

 

  • Prior to making a determination, the MEC would like to gather several months of survey results and other data pursuant to AFA Alaska CBA §12.F.8.d [Exchange of Sequences: Open Time Trial] for review. The Open Time Trial is scheduled to last up to a year before a final decision has to be made—unless the Association and management mutually agree to extend the trial.

 

  • If the MEC determines to go “back to book,” reverting to the former Open Time system could take approximately one year. This is because the new JCTE crew management system would need to be reprogrammed with the rules for the former OT system. (It is currently being programmed with the new OT rules.)

 

  • If we do go “back to book,” AFA will start negotiating a new system as outlined in CBA§12.F.9 [Exchange of Sequences: Open Time Trial: Cancellation of Open Time Trial]. Implementation of a replacement OT system would likely take a minimum of nine months after reaching an agreement with management.

 

Strong dissatisfaction with the Open Time Trial

 

73.4% indicated they are dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the Open Time Trial. If a decision were to be made today regarding the future of the Open Time Trial, 84.3% of respondents would prefer to revert “back to book” to the old Open Time system (based on IT limitations) and begin negotiations on a new system; whereas 15.7% would prefer to keep the current system.

 

Detailed survey results

 

>>> Click here to view the detailed AFA Alaska Open Time Trial Survey Results for June 2016. <<<

 

AFA Alaska will review the concerning survey results with management at our next biweekly Open Time Trial Review meeting. This month’s survey also included a comments section, and the MEC is currently in the process of reading over the feedback.

 

In solidarity,

 

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Satterlee, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow, Stephen Couckuyt; LEC Presidents-elect Tim Green and Brice McGee

 

AFA Alaska Open Time Trial Survey for June 2016 Results Summary

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