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It’s Time To Gear Up For Mobilization

Last week, Alaska Air Group posted another record quarterly profit for the first quarter of 2014. Quarter after quarter, the Company has been making money hand over fist.  Meanwhile, our Flight Attendants have been in contract negotiations for over 2 years. We have yet to be presented with a contract that recognizes our contributions to the award-winning customer service and record profits that Alaska Airlines continues to receive and the record profits that the company continues to earn.

The time has come to show management that we stand together in our desire to achieve a contract that acknowledges our contributions to a wildly successful company.  Our Mobilization Committee needs you to help demonstrate our solidarity to management by becoming a Mobilization Volunteer.  Mobilization Volunteers will show management that we’re serious about negotiating an industry-leading contract by participating in solidarity activities. The Mobilization Committee will also be facilitating active communication between Flight Attendants and the Negotiating Committee.

Mobilization Training events are being held in all bases the week of May 12.  By attending a single two-hour session, you’ll be empowered with knowledge about how you can help the Negotiating Committee send management a unified message—we are Five Bases, Standing Strong!

Read more about the Mobilization Committee at alaskamec.org/mobilization.  Ready to gear up and make a difference?  Sign up to attend a Mobilization Training session at alaskamec.org/mobilization/training.

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New PDX Uniform Committee Members

Please join us in welcoming Lisa Curry, Tracy Speck, and David Jelinek to the Alaska AFA PDX Uniform Committee.

Lisa Curry

Lisa started her flying career with Alaska Air Group in August 1989 with Horizon Air. She left Horizon in April 1996 to continue her flying career with Alaska Airlines. Although she doesn’t have any previous AFA involvement at Alaska Airlines, she has been involved in several special projects and committees at Horizon Airlines including aircraft standardization, recycling, food and beverage committee, Big Brother/Big Sister mentorship program, and interviewing potential new hire flight attendant candidates.

Lisa brings prior experience of an eight-year career in men’s and women’s fashion to the committee.  She has worked both in sales roles at Nordstrom, Contempo and Foxmoor Casuals and in both sales and management positions at Meier & Frank.  Her heartfelt passion for design and fashion in general will help to bring her ideas to the workplace and apply them specifically to our own company’s uniforms.

Lisa is extremely grateful for this opportunity to be a voice for our workgroup and she very much looks forward to working with such a talented to team.

Tracy Speck

Tracy started with Alaska Air Group in 1996 as a Customer Service Agent in Portland.  In April 1999, she joined inflight and has served proudly as a Flight Attendant since.  Her previous AFA experience includes serving as a VOICE Committee Member.

Being an active voice for our Flight Attendant group is important to Tracy.  This motivated her desire to join the Uniform Committee.  She looks forward to providing expertise and input as to the concerns, likes and wants of a leading airline uniform while helping to make decisions of a quality yet professional and classy look.  Tracy is eager to be an integral part of the process and bringing a look to our Flight Attendant group that sets us a part from other carriers.  “We are number ONE in the industry and should look number ONE,” says Tracy.

David Jelinek

David joined Alaska Airlines as a Flight Attendant in March 2013.  Prior to Alaska, he flew for 8 years with Frontier Airlines.  During that time he served for 4 years on the Uniform Committee and helped implement a new uniform as well as update uniform standards and wear guides.

David has a degree in costume design from the University of Northern Colorado. When not flying, he enjoys making costumes and doing other sewing projects.

David wanted to get involved with the AFA Alaska Uniform Committee because he wants to help in the creation process of the new Land’s End custom uniform. He looks forward to working with the committee to design a uniform that is not only stylish and professional, but is comfortable and easy to wear. Most importantly, he looks forward to helping to design something that showcases the updated Alaska Airlines brand and that Flight Attendants will be proud to wear.

We would also like to take this opportunity to thank Contesa Diaz-Nicolaidis and Deanna Hill for their work on the Uniform Committee over the past several years.  Their contributions to the committee during both the TwinHill and interim Land’s End uniform periods have been sincerely appreciated.

The Uniform Committee is responsible for ensuring contract language compliance for Flight Attendants in the area of uniforms. The Committee is also charged with representing Flight Attendant interests to management regarding design, fabric selection, and other details of the Flight Attendant uniform.

In Solidarity,

Your LEC Officers – Cathy Gwynn, Brian Palmer and Local Uniform Committee Chairperson Bob Moore

Harvard Flight Attendant Health Study

Dear Flight Attendants,

Researches from Harvard University have contacted us seeking assistance in finding Flight Attendants to participate in a health study to help better understand the health implications of our profession.  The researchers are ideally seeking candidates who, in addition to having a layover in Boston, will have approximately two weeks off during which the candidate is not planning to travel by air.  The two weeks off may occur either immediately prior to or following the Boston layover.  Having two weeks free of air travel is not a requirement of the study however and any Flight Attendant working a trip that includes a layover in Boston is encouraged to volunteer.  A letter from the Harvard researchers and information about how to participate can found by clicking here.

In Solidarity,

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

Resources

Harvard Flight Attendant Health Study — Researcher’s Letter

Dear Flight Attendants,

Harvard has been conducting flight attendant health studies since 2007.  Many of you have already participated.  Thank you for your participation—-only with your participation can we learn more about our health.

The Harvard team is committed to specifically investigating Flight Attendant health conditions over time, similar to the well-known Nurses’ Health Study research at Harvard.

For your information, some of the study results are posted on the website FAhealth.org.

In the next couple of months, Harvard researchers are inviting Flight Attendants bidding the Boston trip to participate in a study investigating exposure to chemical substances prevalent in the general environment, and specifically, in the aircraft cabin, by analyzing blood samples from flight attendants.

The Boston trip is an accessible location for Harvard researchers to take samples. Some Flight Attendants at Alaska have already participated in this study by meeting the Harvard team at the hotel after arrival in Boston and donating a serum sample and hand wipe sample. (Researchers use an alcohol swab to sweep any possible dust particles off the surfaces of the hands.)

To obtain a better picture of exposure, we need more Flight Attendants to participate. Participants are given a gift in appreciation when they arrive in Boston.

In addition, the researchers are looking for the rare occasion when Flight Attendants have time off—at least 2 weeks—in order to compare the blood level of chemicals during a time when the flight attendant is not working on the aircraft (and not flying as a passenger) with blood levels after flying again. This “wash out” period can occur either before or after a Flight Attendant comes to Boston (Harvard would use a mobile lab technician to take a blood sample at a location convenient for you).  This “wash out” information is particularly important to separate aircraft exposures from other sources.

Even if you do not anticipate an upcoming leave, Harvard still wants you to consider participation. The investigators are interested to know whether specific chemical substances are at higher levels in Flight Attendants than the general population. Because some of these chemicals have been associated with endocrine disruption in a small group of animal and human studies, the research team is interested to know about the impact on flight attendants.

If you are willing to participate, please contact Dr. Eileen McNeely to let her know how and when to reach you.  She will answer any further questions you have about the research: emcneely@hsph.harvard.edu.

Save The Date – Mobilization and Solidarity Activity May 20

Dear Flight Attendants,

As we are scheduled to go back to the negotiating table the week of May 12, the time has come for us to again demonstrate our solidarity. Your MEC has selected May 20 as the date for our next mobilization activity. We hope to have a strong showing to management this day in all bases. If you would like to participate, please bid May 20 off.

The activities on May 20 will be coordinated by our Mobilization Committee. If you are interested in becoming a Mobilization Volunteer, training is currently scheduled in all bases for the week of May 12. For more information about mobilization training, please visit alaskamec.org/mobilization and review the mobilization training section. The activities on May 20 are in addition to the mobilization training the week of May 12.

More information will be coming soon about the activities we have planned that day as well as how you can become involved. In the meantime, please continue showing your solidarity by wearing your AFA pin and staying informed by visiting alaskamec.org or facebook.com/alaskamec.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Gesch, Becky Strachan, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow and MEC Mobilization Chairperson Adam Clarey

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Meet Our Merged MEC Committee Chairpersons & Representatives

We’re excited to introduce our next group of newly elected merged MEC Committee Chairpersons, who will begin their roles on November 1. These leaders are dedicated to representing the interests of our Flight Attendants as they coordinate activities across the merged committees of both airlines. They’ll work closely with the Local Committee Chairpersons from all […]

Hotel Committee Meeting Recap – October 2025

On Monday, October 13, our AFA Local Hotel Committee Chairpersons met in person in Seattle to receive an update about current layover hotels and transportation providers and discuss concerns with management. Representing you at the meeting were Dori Marron (ANC), Jarod McNeill (SEA), Kelly Hepworth (PDX), Hilary Streem (SFO), Chris Cardenas (LAX), and Kanani Vallot […]

Pre-Merger Alaska MEC Committee Election Results

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants During this week’s MEC Meeting, our MEC held interviews for the next group of pre-merger Alaska MEC Committee positions to be elected for the upcoming MEC Officer term. We want to thank everyone who expressed interest in the available positions and their willingness to serve. After careful […]

Merged MEC Committee Chairperson Election Results

During this week’s MEC Meeting, our MEC held interviews for the next group of merged MEC Committee Chairpersons and Representatives. We want to thank everyone who expressed interest in the available positions and their willingness to serve. After careful consideration and deliberation, the following candidates have been elected: MEC Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee […]

U.S. Customs & Border Protection Gender Code Requirement

Recently, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced changes to the rules surrounding how airlines report information about passengers and crew before flights. This system is called the Advance Passenger Information System, or APIS. These changes are in response to a Presidential Executive Order. What is APIS? APIS is a system that airlines are legally […]

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