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Representing the Flight Attendants of Alaska + Hawaiian

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Trip Trading Freeze

As you probably have heard by now, Alaska Airlines management is planning to phase out the old Jeppesen Maestro/eMaestro system and switch to the new Jeppesen Crew Tracking Enterprise on the evening of September 30th. Management recently announced all trip trading will be “temporarily” suspended for up to 78 hours during the cutover. Yes, you read that correctly: more than 3 days! (Full disclosure: Management plans to open up trading as soon as they believe it is safe to do so.)

The AFA Alaska Master Executive Council (MEC) and management have been discussing the impending transition in detail for many months now. The parties have thoroughly explored alternative options for trip trading during the cutover—including manual trading—and we’re all in agreement there is no viable method of keeping trip trading open during this period. That is where our agreement on the issue ends.

Although the MEC recognizes that Maestro/eMaestro is antiquated, the MEC also knows that having trading completely suspended for that length of time is unacceptable to our members—and unprecedented. It is also a contractual violation: CBA §12.C.1. [Exchange of Sequences: Trading Procedures] “The Company will provide and maintain a real-time electronic system for processing sequence trades, pick-ups, drops and give-aways.” Additionally, your AFA leadership anticipates the transition has the potential to significantly and very negatively impact the operation.

The MEC has spent months attempting to negotiate provisions that would help take the sting out of such a major contractual violation and benefit the operation. As of this writing, the MEC regrets to inform you that the parties have been unable to reach an agreement on the cutover. In the MEC’s opinion, the tentatively agreed to provisions do not go far enough to acknowledge such a significant contractual violation, nor to make up for the disruption to Flight Attendant’s flexibility of schedule (which has been lacking these days anyway). Consequently, negotiations have stalled.

Your AFA leaders are sure you will agree that a simple “We apologize for the inconvenience” from management is not nearly enough. Although management is taking steps to minimize the impact, the MEC is also concerned the cutover could easily become an operational nightmare—unless additional measures are negotiated to supplement the existing staffing. Therefore, AFA Alaska calls upon Alaska Airlines management to renew negotiations with us as soon as possible.

Be assured the MEC is continuing to passionately advocate for your interests, and we will not let this issue rest. Stay tuned for further developments!

In Solidarity,

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

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

Hotel Committee Meeting Recap – September 2025

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants On Monday, September 8, 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), Ila Christy (PDX), Hilary […]

We Will Never Forget – September 11, 2001

AFA Never Forget Website United Flight 175 Robert J. FangmanAmy N. JarretAmy R. KingKathryn LaBorieAlfred G. MarchandMichael C. TarrouAlicia N. TitusCaptain: Victor SaraciniFirst Officer: Michael HorrocksCustomer Service Representatives: Marianne MacFarlane and Jesus Sanchez United Flight 93 Lorraine G. BaySandra BradshawWanda A. GreenCeeCee LylesDeborah WelshCaptain: Jason DahlFirst Officer: Leroy Homer American Flight 11 Barbara AresteguiJeffrey CollmanSara […]

Vacation Survey Now Open

This message is for both pre-merger Alaska and Hawaiian Flight Attendants Your Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) is working diligently to understand and improve the vacation benefits for our Flight Attendants at Alaska and Hawaiian. Your input is essential in ensuring that the vacation provisions we adopt reflect your needs and preferences. To gather your perspectives, […]

SEA Domicile Negotiations – September 2025

This message is for pre-merger Hawaiian Flight Attendants Negotiations Update The SEA Domicile Negotiating Committee met this week for three days of collective bargaining with management.  The SEA NC met with management on September 3 to September 5 in Honolulu. At the negotiating table for this session were: Representing AFA and our Flight Attendants   […]

Pre-Merger Alaska MEC Committee Interviews—October 2025

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants In accordance with Article VI.C of the AFA Alaska MEC Policy and Procedure Manual, the terms of office for the MEC Committee Chairpersons and other MEC-level positions align with those of the MEC Officers. Since the current term for the MEC Officers will conclude on December 31, […]

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