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Representing the Flight Attendants of Alaska + Hawaiian

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AFA Requests Attendance Points Review

Between Winter Storm Maya and the inability to get through to Crew Scheduling in the past couple days, have you received attendance points that you believe are inappropriately assessed considering the challenging circumstances? If so, the Master Executive Council (MEC) would like to hear from you as soon as possible.

Send an email to points.review@afaalaska.org, with your name, Arctic and/or Peoplesoft number and supporting information. Include as much specific documentation as possible.

The MEC has a meeting set up with management tomorrow morning to address several topics of concern. We will use this as an opportunity to review points accrued under extenuating circumstances due to the inclement weather in the Pacific Northwest and the busy phone lines into Crew Scheduling.

It is not necessary that you submit something by tomorrow morning, but we will need it as soon as possible if you are planning on requesting a review of your points. However, it will definitely help the entire review process if we have a collection of compelling evidence to present to management by tomorrow morning.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Tim Green, Brice McGee; and MEC Grievance Chairperson Stephanie Adams

 

AFA’s Response to Jeppesen Crew Access Cutover

As you all have experienced over the past few days, the cutover to Jeppesen Crew Access (JCA) was less than seamless. In fact, the Master Executive Council (MEC) has received feedback from many of you that you believe the cutover has bordered on disastrous.

“Why did AFA allow this?”

Many of you have been asking on social media, “Why did AFA allow this?” AFA definitely did not support the roll out of the program (for more information, see “AFA Objects to January 30th Jeppesen Crew Exchange Cutover” and Inflight management’s “Crew Scheduling Follow-up” email from February 3, 2017). There were over 400 test scenarios that AFA wanted tested, which were not completed before the roll out. AFA stated to management many times prior to the cutover that Jeppesen Crew Access was not adequately tested for the Flight Attendants and therefore not ready.

AFA has been communicating our concerns with JCA to management for well over a year now. We even made our best effort to address the very issues you are now facing directly with the programmers last autumn in Sweden. As late as 7am PT this past Thursday (the day JCA was turned on for Flight Attendant trading), MEC Scheduling Chairperson Jake Jones once again told management that JCA was not ready for the Flight Attendants. However, management made the decision to go forward even though they knew AFA was gravely concerned about basic functionality. So now here we are!

AFA is pursuing every option

Your AFA officers, committee chairpersons and committee members have heard your frustrations, and we have been working non-stop since 11am Thursday (when the trade freeze ended) to address issues with JCA. We understand the exasperation growing within the group, and we very much share in that sentiment! Please know AFA is pursuing every option to get management to fix issues with JCA as they arise, but you can also help in the effort.

Help AFA in the effort to fix JCA

How can you help fix JCA?

For troubleshooting problems:

For suggestions/concerns:

* This email address is for sharing JCA issues and suggestions. AFA is hoping responses to this address will improve our chances of action and future improvements. The JCA project group is compiling a “wish list” and keeping track of how many Flight Attendants send in the same suggestion. If there is an obvious error then allegedly it will be addressed “immediately.” If a suggestion/concern is being submitted multiple times by many different F/As, it may improve our chances for a feature upgrade in the nearer future. 

>>> Click here for the most recently updated list of JCA issues that AFA is tracking. <<<

We need all Flight Attendants to follow the procedure outlined above, as it is the best way for AFA to track the issues and for management to become aware of and to fix the problems. Please do not rely on social media to resolve JCA issues; it is not logistically possible for AFA to follow posts for all 4,000 Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants across all social media outlets. It might seem a little old fashioned, but using centralized email is the best means to track JCA issues and concerns.

Thank you for your help in moving the new trip-trading platform forward as quickly as possible!

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Tim Green, Brice McGee; MEC Scheduling Committee Chairperson Jake Jones; MEC Reserve Committee Chairperson Jarod McNeill; and MEC Grievance Committee Chairperson Stephanie Adams

Jeppesen Crew Access Survival Guide

With the changeover to Jeppesen Crew Access (JCA), numerous expected and unexpected issues have popped up. This survival guide was developed in partnership with your AFA Council 30 Anchorage Scheduling Committee and contains frequently asked questions (FAQs) and tips to help you manage the new program. Please route any questions to your local Scheduling Committee members.

Voluntary Paid Video Tutorials

Use your resources! Please watch the video tutorials–they answer 90% of the questions asked by Flight Attendants in the past few days.

  • Take the three-question quiz in order to receive your 1 TFP pay.
  • You will receive a confirmation email after completing the quiz.

FAQs

Call or email IT (877-238-1077, help.desk@alaskaair.com) if you encounter any technical issues. Send the ticket number and all info to your local Scheduling Committee. Issues include, but are not limited to:

  • Incorrect TFP totals
  • Peoplesoft phone numbers not updated in JCA
  • Sit Pay, Pay Protection, or Sick Leave not showing up in trips or TFP totals
  • Rosters not syncing to Outlook calendar

If you have JCA concerns or requests that are not IT issues, email your local Scheduling Committee members.

Contact Info

IT: 877-238-1077 or help.desk@alaskaair.com
ANC: ANC.Scheduling@afaalaska.org
LAX: LAX.Scheduling@afaalaska.org
PDX: PDX.Scheduling@afaalaska.org
SAN: SAN.Scheduling@afaalaska.org
SEA: SEA.Scheduling@afaalaska.org

Reserve

Self-assignment

Please review CBA §11.E.1 [Reserve Self-Assignment].

The reserve self-assignment period for AM and PM Reserves is 10am-2pm PT the day prior to report (9am-1pm AKT). ER Reserves may not self assign.

If you self-assign a trip, you are still contactable during your normal availability.

  • Crew Scheduling can change/take your self-assigned trip if necessary pursuant to §11.E.1.e:
    • If you self-assign APSB, it does not count toward your 4 APSB per month as it relates to Section 11.F.14.
    • Only APSB assigned by Crew Scheduling counts toward your 4 per month
  • APSB cannot be self-assigned on JCA at this time – call CS to self-assign APSB.
  • You still receive the Reserve premium pay if you self-assign a trip.

Reserve trading, advertising and splitting blocks/days

Management has estimated it will be one month until reserve trading, advertising, and splitting blocks/days will be programmed.

  • Management is working on a message board for Reserves to advertise trades.
  • Until that time, email ReserveDesk@alaskaair.com for reserve trading.
  • AFA has filed a grievance due to this lack of programming.

Open Time Codes

TO/DD/CP codes in eMaestro are TO in JCA, TX/no code in eMaestro are no code in JCA. To view the code, click the trip info, then click the second drop-down menu. Trade codes are still subject to CBA §12.E.1.a.

Tips for Navigating JCA

Use “Homebase,” “Open time,” “Trade,” and “Grab” in the Trip Pool to look for certain trips

  • When looking for out-of-base trips, make sure your “Homebase” icon is not selected
  • LAX only: To find co-terminal trips only, deselect “Homebase” and filter for the desired co-term(s). (This is being addressed.)
  • The Filter will filter through any trips in the list you have selected
  • You may select multiple lists at the same time
  • FA trips have a green line or half line on the left, Open Time trips do not
  • Grab Only – a Present in the right corner
  • Trade Only – Arrows in the right corner

Premium will show up as a green number in the right corner of a trip, where the Present or Arrows are located. 1.5 = 1.5X pay, 2 = 2X pay, etc. However, once you pick up a premium trip there is no longer an indication it is a premium trip once it is on your roster (issue is identified and being worked on).

Open days on the calendar view will be white, closed days have diagonal gray stripes

To find the name of the FA who advertised a trip in the Trip Pool, use the Trip Info tool from above. If you advertise a trip, please post your name in the notes!

The automatic setting when advertising a trip is Trade and Grab. You must deselect an option if you do not want it

When you advertise a trip, you will not see it in the Trip Pool. You will see a green line on the side of the trip in your Roster (half a green line indicates a sipped portion is advertised)

Reports on Demand

Printable version of trip – Hamburger Menu, Reports, Reports on Demand, Trip Info

Printable version of line* – Hamburger Menu, Reports, Reports on Demand, Published Roster

* You may use this option to view previous months as well, just change the date

Attendance points – Hamburger Menu, Reports, Reports on Demand, Attendance Points

Open Time Notifications

  • To set up text notifications for your phone, go to FA Website, Scheduling & Bidding, Other Schedule Options, Open Trip Notifications. Click the first link and make sure “Crew Access Notifications” is selected
  • In Crew Access, go to Hamburger Menu, Settings, Allow SMS Notifications
  • Watch this video for help on setting up Filter Subscriptions

AFA is working hard behind the scenes to answer any questions and hold management accountable. The Master Executive Council is still working on a separate communication to address all the frustrations with JCA, but we wanted to get you this valuable information as soon as possible. We hope many positive changes will be made in the coming days and weeks so that JCA will be more user friendly. Thank you for your continued patience during this change!

Please send any questions, concerns, and ideas to your local Scheduling Committee members.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Tim Green, Brice McGee; and MEC Scheduling Chairperson Jake Jones

Change To Open Time and Flight Attendant-to-Flight Attendant Trading Timeline

Effective next bid month (March 2017), both Open Time and Flight Attendant-to-Flight Attendant trading begins on the 15th of the month. All bases will open on the same day (the 15th) with the times staggered by base (all indicated in Pacific Time):

SAN – 9AM PT

PDX – 10AM PT

ANC – 11AM PT (10AM AKT)

LAX – 12 PM PT

SEA – 2PM PT

Again, this will occur in March for April trading. Current timelines are in effect in February for March trading.

This returns the trading timeline to the schedule established in the contract, §12.C.3 [Exchange of Sequences…: Trading Procedures]. You may recall that Alaska Airlines management and the Master Executive Council (MEC) agreed to ‘temporarily” alter the trading timeline when it became clear that eMaestro could not handle trades opening at the same time. The MEC has been assured that Jeppesen Crew Access (JCA) has more than enough capacity to handle the contractually mandated trading timeline, so we are defaulting back to the contractual application.

The MEC is currently preparing a separate communication to address all the frustrations with JCA.

In Solidarity,

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

I’m a Reserve. What Does Jeppesen Crew Access Going Live Mean for Me?

When the switch is flipped to make Jeppesen Crew Access (JCA) trading go live, Reserve self-assignment and automated Reserve repositioning will finally be implemented. In fact, we are expecting JCA to go live at 11am Pacific Time (PT) despite the fact that in the opinion of the Master Executive Council there has not been adequate notice. There was an alert posted on the Inflight webpage this morning around 7am PT along with an alert to the Inflight Mobile Device (IMD); however, the text alert and email notification that was just sent out was done so at the request of AFA. It is extremely disappointing that something of this magnitude was not communicated using all of the channels available to Inflight management with the full four-hour notice as promised.

Reserve self-assignment

Reserve self-assignment will be available between 10am and 2pm Pacific Time, and the contractual rules associated with the assignments are found in CBA §11.E.1 [Reserve: Order of Assignment].

Automated reserve repositioning and the Cabin Service Report

Automated reserve repositioning is outlined in CBA §11.J [Reserve Repositioning]. The ‘Reserve repositioning calendar’ is found in the report “Cabin Reserve Coverage Report.”

The Cabin reserve coverage report is the equivalent to a reserve-repositioning calendar, showing you what days are open or closed. To access this report, login to Crew Access, click on the hamburger menu (the icon in the upper left corner that has three parallel horizontal lines stacked like a meat patty between two buns) -> Reports -> Reports on Demand -> Cabin Reserve Coverage report. Choose a range of dates (we suggest the entire month so you can see all days that are open at once) and choose your base. This report can be confusing at first glance, so below is a brief overview on how to read it.

When looking at the report, start in the left column. It will show “FAM” and “FPM” (AM or PM reserve). Just below that it will say if the day is open or closed. The next two columns show the threshold that Crew Scheduling (CSKD) follows when opening and closing the days. The “Actual” column shows how many FAs are currently on the LTFA list for that day and the “Available” column shows how many spots are actually available.  The “Available” column will change based on how many trips are currently in Open Time for that particular day.

In order to reposition into a day, the “Available” number needs to be less than the “Maximum” number. In order to move out of a day, the “Available” number needs to be more than the “Minimum” number.

AFA has requested that this be an actual calendar since day one, but our request was not accepted. We have already suggested that this be moved to an easy to read calendar, and we will keep you posted on any movement in this area.

Reserve Trading

Unfortunately, the ability to post and trade reserve days/blocks has not been implemented. Management has advised AFA that a delay of one month is expected. Be assured that AFA will be filing a grievance today.

For now, Reserves will need to send an Outlook email for trade requests to CrewSked.ReserveDesk@alaskaair.com. Include the following information in your email:

  • Both Flight Attendant’s names and Peoplesoft numbers
  • Is it a Trade of Giveaway
  • Base
  • Month in which you want to trade
  • Reserve day(s)
  • Reserve classification
  • Are you waiving duty or rest limitations to approved the trade?

If you would like to “advertise” (post) reserve blocks reserve, send an Outlook email to: CrewSked.ReserveDesk@alaskaair.com.   In order to view the Reserve trading bulletin board, you can either utilize the classic or web version of FirstClass system.

Reserve trades will be processed manually in the order they are received, by Crew Scheduling.

[Update (2/3/2017): The “Reserve Trade Board” in First Class cannot be viewed in the web version–only in the discontinued “classic” version that many do not have. AFA and management are aware of the issue. Management is actively working on a fix as soon as possible. AFA has already filed a grievance on this issue and will continue to push management to restore the ability to post reserve blocks/days. ^jtp]

How do I access the Trade Bulletin Board to advertise a reserve trade?

  • Click on the World of Inflight icon.
  • Click on FA Trading.
  • Pick the folder for your base.
  • Here you can post your days for trade on the bulletin board so other can view.
  • You can also post a request for reserve days you may want to pick up.
  • When sending in a request you must use the following email: CrewSked.ReserveDesk@alaskaair.com.

Fasten your seat belts!

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Tim Green, Brice McGee; MEC Reserve Committee Chairperson Jarod McNeill, MEC Scheduling Committee Chairperson Jake Jones and MEC Grievance Chairperson Stephanie Adams

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