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Joint Contract Negotiations Session 4 – June 2025

This message is for both pre-merger Alaska and Hawaiian Flight Attendants

  • Our JNC met with management this week on June 17 to June 19 in Seattle; our next negotiation session is scheduled for July 15 to July 17
  • The JNC conducted a concourse walk at SeaTac Airport to address question and gathering feedback from Alaska and Hawaiian Flight Attendants
  • Research and consultation continues in preparation for the next negotiation session scheduled for July 15 to July 17

Negotiations Update

The AFA Alaska + Hawaiian Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) met this week for three days of collective bargaining with management.  The JNC met with management on June 17 to June 19 in Seattle, WA.  At the negotiating table for this session were:

Representing AFA and our Flight Attendants  Representing Management
Tim Green, Joint Negotiating Committee ChairpersonRyan St. John, Vice President, Finance, Planning and Investor Relations, Alaska
Martin Gusman, Joint Negotiating Committee MemberMatt Prainito, Vice President of Inflight, Alaska
Jeffrey Fuke, Joint Negotiating Committee MemberCarmen Williams, Managing Director, Labor Relations, Alaska
Virginia Fritz, Joint Negotiating Committee MemberMike Link, Labor Relations Program Manager, Alaska
Heather Reier, Joint Negotiating Committee MemberKaren Themelis, Senior Labor Relations Business Partner, Alaska
Paula Mastrangelo, AFA Senior Staff NegotiatorKalani Sloat, Senior Director, Labor Relations, Hawaiian
 Allen Thieman, Managing Director, Crew Scheduling and Crew Pay, Hawaiian

During the most recent negotiating session, our Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) concentrated on the proposals that have been part of our ongoing discussions with the company. We successfully reached agreements on several provisions across different sections; however, there are still additional areas that require attention and resolution. In the time leading up to our next meeting with the company in July, our JNC will continue to engage in thorough research and consultation with our subject matter experts. This process is critical to ensuring that we make well-informed decisions that align with the best interests of our collective group and enhance our overall negotiation strategy.

Section by Section Progress

Sections discussed in this session:

  • Section 13 – Uniforms (HA CBA Section 6)
  • Section 18 – Reduction in Force (HA CBA Section 16)
  • Section 27 – Association General (HA CBA Section 22)
  • Section 34 – Lodging and Transportation (HA CBA Section 4.C and Section 4.E)

Sections in ongoing discussion:

  • Section 6: Seniority (HA CBA Section 9)
  • Section 15: Leaves of Absence (HA CBA Section 17)
  • Section 19: Grievance Procedure (HA CBA Section 23)

SEA Concourse Walk

Before we resumed our discussions with the company, our Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) conducted a concourse walk at SeaTac Airport on Monday, June 16. Representatives were present at KCM, N-Gates, and S-Gates from 8:30 AM to 11:00 AM PT. The JNC had the opportunity to meet with Flight Attendants from both Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines as they started their daily work assignments. They were able to answer questions, address concerns, and gather suggestions.

If you missed the chance to meet with the JNC and have any thoughts you would like to share, please email the JNC at jnc@afaalaska.org.

What’s Upcoming

Our next session with management is scheduled for July 15 to July 17.

Mahalo From Your AFA Hawaiian Communications Committee

This message is for pre-merger Hawaiian Flight Attendants

Aloha Hawaiian Flight Attendants,

On behalf of your AFA Hawaiian Communications Committee, we would like to extend our heartfelt mahalo to each of you for your engagement and support throughout the years. It has been an honor to serve you and to help ensure that important communications reached you in a timely and meaningful way. This work has always been a team effort, and we are deeply grateful for the trust you have placed in us.

As of June 1, 2025, our Communications Committee has officially merged with AFA Alaska to bring you a more unified voice. On June 10, 2025, we held our final meeting as the AFA Hawaiian Communications Committee, and we wanted to provide some final updates. You may begin to notice, or may have already seen, changes in the design and delivery of some of our messages. Please know that while the MEC-level communications have merged, local communications will continue to operate as they always have. Your voices continue to matter, and every Hawaiian Flight Attendant remains a priority.

Email Handle

The communications@afahawaiian.org account will be deactivated and preserved as an archive. This address was primarily used for administrative purposes. If you have this email saved in your contacts, please update accordingly.

In order to help you reach your LEC Officers more easily going forward, we’ve created a few new email shortcuts. If you’re based in HNL, you can reach your Council 43 officers at hnl@afahawaiian.org. If you’re LAX-based, you can reach your Council 47 officers at lax@afahawaiian.org. Emails sent to either of these addresses will automatically route to the inboxes of all your LEC Officers.

Website

The hawaiianafa.org website is currently undergoing revisions to improve accessibility and communication during our transition. As part of this process, some links may now redirect to afaalaska.org. This change is intended to streamline updates and reduce the need for duplicate work across multiple websites, allowing us to share important information more quickly. Centralizing content also helps ensure that members have a single, reliable source for the most current updates, contacts, and resources.

Facebook / Instagram

These current accounts are inactive, and the future of these accounts is still under discussion. We will share an update as soon as leadership makes a final decision regarding their use moving forward.

Questions Form

The MEC Questions Form will be discontinued. Going forward, please direct any inquiries, comments, or suggestions to your Local Council officers: https://www.hawaiianafa.org/contact-us

Thank you again for your continued solidarity as we navigate this merger.

AFA Hawaiian Communications Committee
Josh Aoki, Lea Franzoi and Andrew Ferreira

Human Rights & Equity Committee Meeting Recap – 2nd Quarter 2025

On Thursday, June 12, our AFA Local Human Rights & Equity Committee Chairpersons met to discuss their ongoing activism to raise awareness and create positive change within our workplace and community. Your representatives attending the meeting included Louise Borras (pmAS LAX), Aaron Miller (PDX), Erika Daniel (SAN), and Freddy Vega (SEA). MEC Human Rights Committee Chairperson Chip Hestle II and MEC Vice President Brice McGee were also present.

The committee met with several members of management including Senior Vice President of People Andy Schneider, Managing Director of Inflight Operations Michaela Littman, Seattle Director of Inflight Base Operations Jenny Bookert, and Regional Director Inflight Base Operations LAX Benito Pasia-Garcia Jr.

The committee’s next meeting with management is scheduled for September 16.

Topics of Discussion

The committee reviewed several items during internal AFA-only conversations and when meeting with management. Some items discussed include: 

  • Change of DEI Department Name: The DEI department has been renamed “Culture and Belonging” in response to current regulatory requirements and government orders. As a government contractor, Alaska recognizes that compliance with regulations is essential to our business operations. Senior management stated, “We take pride in our ability to adapt while staying true to our core values. Regardless of external changes, the leadership team is committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels they belong.” The Committee has requested that senior management be more transparent by communicating excerpts of the executive order to the Flight Attendants.
  • Company Participation in Pride Events: The Committee confirmed with management that Alaska is scheduled to participate in 11 Pride events systemwide.
  • Making Event Information More Accessible: The Committee discussed with management the need to make information about celebratory events more accessible to Flight Attendants across multiple platforms.
  • Land Acknowledgment Announcements: The Committee submitted a draft of Land Acknowledgment Announcements for all seven Flight Attendant base airports for management’s review and consideration.   

What The Committee Is Working On

  1. Optional Pronouns on Wings. Awaiting finalization of the merger with Hawaiian Airlines, as there may be an overall new design.  
  2. Arrival “Land Acknowledgement Announcements” for our seven current domiciles airports (both pre-merger Alaska and Hawaiian).
  3. Batok Tattoos Visible While In Uniform. Awaiting finalization of Alaska merger with Hawaiian.
  4. Business Resource Group (BRG) Listening Sessions, co-facilitated with pre-merger Alaska Local AFA Human Rights Chairpersons for 2025. 

We Want to Hear From You!

Do you have feedback for the committee, concerns you’d like to share, or items you’d like brought up with management? Please let us know! Your Local Human Rights & Equity Committee is your voice to management. You can find our contact information on the Human Rights & Equity Committee page of the AFA Alaska website.

Hotel Committee Meeting Recap – June 2025

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants

Updated 06/13/2025 17:56 PT to remove a reference that indicated that there were no PVR layovers in July. There are in fact scheduled PVR layovers; these crews will be relocated to the crew hotel’s sister property.

On Monday, June 9, our AFA Local Hotel Committee Chairpersons met 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 (SAN), with MEC Hotel Committee Chairperson James Bozanich facilitating the meeting.

The Committee met with Senior Crew Hotels Support Specialist Nichole Turner, Crew Hotels Support Specialist LaFay Williams and Director of Crew Planning Trisha Bennett.

The next scheduled Hotel Committee meeting is Monday, July 14.

Topics of Discussion

The committee reviewed several items during the meeting with management, most of which focused on hotel decisions and challenges in our layover markets. Some items discussed include:

  • City Specific Updates:
    • PVR: Our crew hotel is closing down on June 30 for renovations. Once they shut down, crews will be relocated to their sister property until renovation work is completed in October.
    • BOS: Our former crew hotel has completed its renovations, and the crew will begin to see trips with some layovers here in July. Please refer to the Hotel Hotline for complete details on these markets.  
  • Hotel-Provided Transportation: The Hotel Committee has been made aware of a van time discrepancy at properties that provide their own transportation. The time printed on the sign-in sheet (or communicated through the MyCrewCare app) is the recommended departure time provided by API. Unfortunately, this time does not always coincide with the transportation schedule provided by the hotel. To ensure crews are not late to the gate, please take the hotel shuttle immediately prior to the recommended departure time. For example, if your recommended departure time is 09:40, and the hotel provides shuttles every 15 minutes, crews will need to take the 09:30 shuttle, not the 09:45 shuttle. API is working on a fix for this discrepancy so that the exact shuttle times are communicated.   
  • Hotel Auto-Processing:  Another issue discussed was the auto-processing of hotels anytime there is a change to a pairing. When a pairing is changed (such as a posted delay), the change causes the hotel to be removed temporarily. There are positives and negatives to this. If a layover is significantly reduced, the system will remove the long-stay property and book the short-stay property so the crew member has an appropriate hotel. However, it poses a challenge when there are minimal schedule changes and multiple hotels in a market that we use. In this case, one long layover property could be swapped for another. The Hotel Committee has asked that guardrails or buffers be implemented so that minimum schedule changes do not cause drastic hotel changes. Crew Hotels will work with Crew Scheduling to see what can be done to prevent this when it is unnecessary.  

What The Committee Is Working On

  1. Conducting Hotel Site Visits: The Hotel Committee conducts visits to hotels that are considered by management to ensure that the selected options provide the safest and most comfortable layover experience for Flight Attendants. Scheduled site visits include RSW (June), SEA (June), OKC (June), and FAT (July). We do not anticipate many site visits will be scheduled for the second half of 2025. Market reviews are triggered by factors such as contract expirations, crew complaints, and opportunities for cost savings. Depending on the outcome of these reviews, additional site visits may be arranged in those cities.
  2. Hotel Gainshare Program: MEC Hotel Committee Chairperson James Bozanich, MEC President Tim Green, and MEC Vice President Brice McGee met with Labor Relations led by Carmen William and Mike Link on June 12 for the second Hotel Gainshare investigatory meeting. Company subject matter experts (SMEs) Brittany Audette, Trisha Bennett, and Nichole Turner also attended. Topics discussed included answers to questions posed at the first meeting, updated data analysis, and back-end process challenges and requirements.  The company has been given further action items, and the group will meet again in July to discuss the program further.    

We Want to Hear From You!

Don’t let any unacceptable experience with a layover hotel or ground transportation provider go unnoticed! Please report the issue via CrewCare so that it can be addressed. CrewCare is the only official way to report issues, as the Hotel Committee does not monitor social media channels.

Each CrewCare submission is forwarded to your AFA Hotel Committee, Crew Hotels (Alaska management), API and the hotel or ground transportation provider. This ensures quick action can be taken to correct the issue or fix it for the next crewmember. It also allows us to monitor hotel and transportation trends. You can quickly file a CrewCare report using the web app on your IMD home screen or by clicking here.

Do you have any other feedback you would like to share with the committee or any specific items you want us to bring up with management? Please let us know! The Local Hotel Committee is here to represent you and ensure management hears your voice. You can find our contact information on the Hotel Committee page of the AFA Alaska website.

Celebrating LGBTQ Pride Month

June 1 marks the beginning of LGBTQ Pride Month in the United States. This celebration originated to honor the Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan in 1969, a significant milestone in the LGBTQ civil rights movement. On June 28, 1970, the first Pride March was held in New York City to commemorate the first anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising. Over the years, this single-day event has expanded into an entire month filled with various events and activities.

Discover More About LGBTQ Pride Month

To explore the history of LGBTQ Pride Month and the broader LGBTQ rights movement, you can visit the following dedicated websites and resources:

Get Involved in LGBTQ Pride Month Events

Celebrate with an LGBTQ Pride Month AFA Pin

In 2018, the AFA Board of Directors took an important step by adopting a resolution to officially recognize June as LGBTQ Pride Month. As part of this celebration, a special commemorative pin was created for AFA Members to proudly wear throughout June.

If you’re interested in learning more about this pin and its significance, please reach out to your Local Human Rights Committee. Additionally, keep an eye out for communications from your Local Council or connect with your LEC Officers to find out how to obtain one of these commemorative pins!

Joint Contract Negotiations Session 10 – December 2025

The Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) met with management this week to continue bargaining sessions in Seattle, WA. Discussions focused on narrowing issues in Leaves of Absence, Association General, and reviewing vacation provisions as part of the joint contract process.

Human Rights & Equity Committee Meeting Recap – 4th Quarter 2025

On Monday, December 8, our AFA Human Rights & Equity Committee Chairpersons met to discuss their ongoing activism to raise awareness and create positive change within our workplace and community. Your representatives attending the meeting included Louise Borras (LAX-pmAS), Bruni Agosto-Pinal (LAX-pmHA), Aaron Miller (PDX), Trista Vanta (SFO), and Yan Yan Teague (SEA). MEC Human […]

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