AFA Alaska

Representing the Flight Attendants of Alaska + Hawaiian

Click here to report an issue to AFA
You are here: Home / Archives for Committees / Uniform Committee

Custom Uniform Safety Standards

Alaska Air Group management has been working with operational leaders, third-party safety consultants, labor leaders, workgroup and union representatives, and the uniform supplier (to be announced later) in order to develop a new safety standard for the upcoming custom uniform program. AFA is very pleased to report that management has made a commitment to certify the primary uniform pieces in the custom uniform to an industry-leading safety standard: the Standard 100 by OEKO-TEX®. (OEKO-TEX® is pronounced “eco tex” like “eco” in “eco-friendly” and “tex” like the first syllable in “Texas”.)

There may be a need and/or desire to source non-custom pieces from a third-party vendor in some instances, in which case the Company will first seek suppliers that adhere to the American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) Restricted Substance List (RSL) or another safety standard of equal caliber. Based on all the information we have been given so far, AFA anticipates that the Flight Attendant custom uniform will be composed almost exclusively of pieces certified to the Standard 100 by OEKO-TEX®.

AFA and Alaska Airlines management had originally discussed the Standard 100 by OEKO-TEX® during our investigations into textile sourcing and manufacturing safety resulting from Flight Attendant health concerns with the TwinHill uniform. AFA pushed for adopting the Standard 100 by OEKO-TEX®, but management deemed the standard as too expensive to achieve at that time. By partnering with the custom uniform supplier, Alaska Airlines is now able to implement this robust safety standard more cost effectively than was previously possible.

Even with the Standard 100 by OEKO-TEX® certification, it is impossible to guarantee that all Flight Attendants will remain free from reactions to the custom uniform pieces. In fact, research indicates it is likely that five to ten percent will experience some form of dermal reaction as a result of cutting over to new uniform pieces. However, AFA appreciates that management has taken proactive steps to improve the safety of our uniforms and reduce the possibility of more serious health effects by adopting the Standard 100 by OEKO-TEX® and the AAFA RSL into our custom uniform program.

Based on behind the scenes progress so far, we are very hopeful the custom uniform program will be well received and the cutover in 2019 will go as smoothly as possible.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Tim Green, Brice McGee; AFA Uniform Committee Chairperson Bob Moore; and AFA ASHSC Chairperson Seth Heiple

What You Need To Know About New Ties & Scarves

After years of discussion and speculation, Alaska Airlines management has announced the launch of a new brand identity. As part of the rebranding, management has discussed the intent to produce a new “custom” uniform. The production of a custom uniform can take anywhere from 18 to 24 months from initial approval. This means that Flight Attendants will continue to wear the current “interim” uniform for the foreseeable future.

New Ties and Scarves Developed By Management With NO AFA Input

Because a custom uniform is still in the design phase, management has made the decision to produce and issue a new tie and scarf to all uniformed employees to include new brand elements in the mean time. This new piece has been designed and developed exclusively by management, without any input from the AFA Uniform Committee or the AFA Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC), despite contractual language requiring them do to so. The new piece is not being produced by Land’s End, but by a different vendor whom AFA has not had the opportunity to vet or review. Additionally, we have been given no information about the safety standards employed by this new vendor or any fabric testing performed on these new pieces.

AFA Not Allowed To Wear Test The Final Product

The AFA Uniform Committee has a long history of working with management to wear test new uniform pieces and accessories. Wear testing allows working Flight Attendants the opportunity to trial new uniform items in a real-life environment. Uniform and Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee Members are able to evaluate fit, function, comfort, and possibly discover whether the combination of fabrics, dyes, and other garment components used will cause adverse reactions. This testing increases the chance that the final uniform will meet our needs and is safer to wear.

In the case of the new uniform scarves and ties, management declined to give AFA the opportunity to conduct a full wear test of the final uniform product. Management instead offered the committees the chance to wear test uniform “blanks”, solid color ties and scarves that did not contain the actual mix of fabric and dyes that Flight Attendants will be expected to wear onboard the aircraft. AFA was told that a wear test of the actual ties and scarves was not possible because it was important that the new pieces remain a surprise for employees and the design not be leaked to the public. Because a test of anything other than the final product would not effectively determine how those actual pieces would react to our work environment, the Uniform Committee and ASHSC declined to participate in a test of “blank” pieces.

We feel that it is important that you are aware that AFA has not participated in the production or design of these new pieces.

If you have any questions, please contact your Local Uniform Committee.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Gesch, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow, Stephen Couckuyt, MEC Uniform Committee Chairperson Bob Moore and MEC ASHSC Chairperson Seth Heiple

AFA Alaska Logo Transparent Background

“Shoegate” Update – June 11, 2015

What is going on with “Shoegate”?

 

In a recent bulletin, Inflight management announced a new manual revision is at the printers and will be distributed June 17th along with several Emergency Interim Bulletins (EIBs) that are forthcoming in the next few weeks. The Master Executive Council (MEC) anticipates that one of the EIBs will contain new language in regards to the Company uniform and appearance standards. AFA has been working with Inflight management to develop a new policy that is acceptable to both parties but unfortunately we were not able to fully reach agreement.

 

Consequently AFA will almost certainly be filing one or more grievances based on the final language of the impending manual revision. The MEC knows everybody is very frustrated with the developments over the past several months and we will provide another update once the grievance(s) has been filed.

 

In solidarity,

 

Your MEC—Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Gesch, Becky Strachan, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow and Stephen Couckuyt; MEC Grievance chairperson Jennifer Wise MacColl and MEC Uniform Committee chairperson Bob Moore

MEC 5B Logo

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

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 […]

Recent Posts

News By Month

News By Category

AFA News Now Air Quality Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC) Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) AS/HA Merger AS/VX Merger Benefits Committee Committees Communications Committee Contract Contract 2014 Negotiations Blog Council 15 SAN Council 18 LAX Council 19 SEA Council 30 ANC Council 35 SFO Council 39 PDX EAP/Professional Standards Committee Extension 2021 Blog Featured Government Affairs Committee Grievance Committee Hotel Committee Human Rights & Equity Committee Industry News Inflight Service Committee Inflight Training Committee JNC Blog Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) Latest News Local Councils Master Executive Council (MEC) Membership Committee Membership Engagement Committee Message from the MEC President Mobilization Committee Negotiations Pairing Construction Preferential Bidding System (PBS) Press Releases Reserve Committee Retirement Committee Scheduling Committee Uniform Committee

Want To Stay In The Loop?

Stay up-to-date on AFA Alaska news and information by signing up for our email and text message updates. Click a button below to get started or update your preferences if you're already a subscriber.
Sign Up for Emails
Sign Up for Text Updates