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After Relentless AFA Advocacy, Alaska Management Finally Takes Initial Step To Protect Against Injuries From Dangerous Coffee Makers

Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC)

  • Alaska Airlines management has directed that older-style B/E Aerospace coffee makers must not be used without a Brew Shield.
  • The action follows months of advocacy by the AFA ASHSC, Inflight Service Committee, and MEC, highlighting ongoing injuries to Flight Attendants from the coffee makers.
  • Our Committees and MEC continue to call for a complete suspension of the older coffee makers until the issue is fully resolved to ensure the safety of both crewmembers and passengers.

After months of relentless advocacy by our AFA Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC), Inflight Service Committee, and Master Executive Council (MEC), Alaska Airlines management has finally taken the first step towards meaningful action to protect crewmembers and passengers from injuries related to scalding hot coffee and grounds spewing from the brew basket of older-style B/E Aerospace coffee makers. Effective immediately, management has directed that older-style B/E Aerospace coffee makers must not be used to brew coffee under any circumstances if a Brew Shield is unavailable. In such cases, alternate coffee makers must be used to brew coffee; if no other coffee makers are available, coffee will not be served. If a Brew Shield is available, it must be installed and used. Flight Attendants should refer to Special Edition Bulletin #2024-0045 (April 17, 2024) for specific procedures, instructions for reporting missing Brew Shields, and other essential information.

Note: Management refers to the older-style B/E Aerospace coffee maker as the “B/E Classic Coffee Maker,” also identified as Coffee Maker #1 in the FAM. It has five square buttons that include the “COLD WATER” option and does not have a paddle on the hot water spigot.

Management’s recent action is a step in the right direction, but it should have been taken long ago when our ASHSC first raised this issue. It’s unacceptable that several months have passed, and more Flight Attendant injuries have occurred due to the continued use of older-style B/E Aerospace coffee makers. Our AFA ASHSC and Inflight Service Committee have been vigilant in putting management on notice that they were knowingly placing the physical safety and well-being of employees and passengers at risk by continuing to allow the use of these coffee makers. We have advised management that the temporary procedures implemented to mitigate the hazards are inadequate and unrealistic given the working environment that Flight Attendants face onboard the aircraft. The ineffectiveness of management’s mitigations has become increasingly evident as Flight Attendants continue to be injured by coffee makers spewing scalding hot coffee and grounds. 

Management’s action may have been overdue and necessary, but it still does not address the root cause of the hazard through physical mitigation. Our ASHSC, Inflight Service Committee, and MEC firmly believe that the only responsible action for management to take is to completely suspend the use of the older B/E Aerospace coffee makers until the issue is resolved. We continue to call on management to “own safety” by removing these coffee makers from service immediately. The safety of both Flight Attendants and passengers must not be compromised. It’s our right to work in a safe environment, and we demand that this right be upheld.

April 2024 MEC Meeting Recap

Master Executive Council (MEC)

  • The April 2024 Regular MEC Meeting was held this week on Wednesday, April 10.
  • Our MEC met with management to receive updates and review concerns, including DOT drug testing procedures, lack of meetings with the AFA Benefits Committee, coffee maker safety, and staffing adjustment leave administration.
  • Our Negotiating Committee will return to the bargaining table next week in a scheduled mediation session, focusing on data from the Flight Attendant Financial Security Survey.

Our AFA Alaska Master Executive Council (MEC) held its regular meeting for April 2024 on Wednesday, April 10. These meetings, required under the AFA Constitution & Bylaws, provide an important opportunity for the MEC to discuss and address issues and concerns affecting our Union and Members at the airline level. Your directly elected LEC President (or their designee) attends these meetings as your representative and votes on your behalf when decisions need to be made.

During the meeting, the MEC received updates from the MEC Officers and LEC Presidents. Additionally, the MEC reviewed written reports submitted by other AFA MEC Committee Chairpersons detailing their current work and activities.

Meeting With Management

During most Regular MEC Meetings, our MEC meets with management to review the current issues and challenges that Flight Attendants face. Attendees from management this month included Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer Constance von Muehlen, Vice President of Inflight Matt Prainito, Managing Director of Inflight Services Gloria Chow, Senior Labor Relations Program Manager Mike Link, Director of Payroll Leah Ables, Vice President of Finance Ryan St. John, Managing Director of Operations Staffing and Resource Management Brittany Audette, and Director of Crew Staffing Nick Giles.

Some of the topics discussed include:

  • Aircraft deliveries and anticipated summer flying. Aircraft deliveries from Boeing have slowed, and no aircraft have been delivered to Alaska this year. Management is adjusting the summer schedule to reflect the reduced fleet numbers.
  • Flight Attendant hiring and staffing. Management is still hiring as planned for 2024, with four initial training classes scheduled.
  • Base supervisor consistency. Management is working to improve consistency among base supervisors systemwide by documenting procedures better and setting expectations.
  • DOT random drug testing procedures. Our MEC brought forward concerns about the lack of private testing facilities in certain outstations and where tests are administered in those locations (Hawaii stations in particular). Additional concerns were brought forward regarding the isolated location of some facilities and the possibility of having another employee accompany a Flight Attendant. Management will review the concerns and respond to the MEC. 
  • AFA Benefits Committee meetings with management. The ongoing lack of meetings between our AFA Benefits Committee and their counterparts in management continues to have a detrimental effect on our ability to address and resolve problems affecting Flight Attendants. Though management did agree to hold a meeting late last year, they have not continued meeting with the Committee on an ongoing basis. Our MEC reiterated that we believe it is essential for management to meet with the Committee every quarter at a minimum. Management will review the request further and respond.
  • Ongoing coffee maker safety issues. Despite management’s attempted mitigations and procedure changes, Flight Attendants continue to be injured by coffee makers spewing hot coffee and grounds during brewing. These continued injury reports indicate that the mitigations and procedure changes implemented are insufficient. Our Air Safety, Health, and Security Committee (ASHSC) and Inflight Service Committee will officially request to re-open the associated safety risk assessment (SRA).
  • Staffing adjustment leave administration. Our MEC shared several concerns about how staffing adjustment leaves are administered for Flight Attendants and ongoing issues with resolving problems. Management will review the recurring issues and agree to improve the current processes causing problems.

Contract Negotiations/Mediation

Our Negotiating Committee will return to the bargaining table with management next week in a session facilitated by our assigned mediator from the National Mediation Board (NMB). The Committee plans to review and share statistical data from the Flight Attendant Financial Security Survey with management and the mediator at the session. Thank you to everyone who completed the survey and for the support from our Mobilization Volunteers who encouraged participation!

Questions?

If you have any questions about this month’s Regular MEC Meeting, please get in touch with your LEC President.

Scheduling Committee Meeting Recap – March 2024

Scheduling Committee

  • On March 26, our AFA Scheduling Committee Chairpersons met to discuss their ongoing work representing Flight Attendants’ interests in lineholder scheduling.
  • The Committee met with management to receive updates and discuss issues and problems Flight Attendants face with scheduling, pairings, and bidding.
  • Your Local Scheduling Committee is available to assist with any lineholder scheduling-related issues. Don’t hesitate to reach out for help!

On Tuesday, March 26, our AFA Scheduling Committee Chairpersons met to discuss their ongoing work to represent our Flight Attendants and push for improvements in our workplace. Representing you at the meeting were Heather Reier (ANC), Jaqui Bellenie (SFO), Rita Tillou (SEA), Melodie Anderes (PDX), Kanako Yamada (LAX), and Kitty Cohen (SAN). Also present were MEC Scheduling Committee Vice Chairperson—Pairing Construction Karen Ferrell, MEC Scheduling Committee Vice Chairperson—PBS Virginia Fritz, and MEC Scheduling Committee Chairperson Jake Jones.

The committee met with Managing Director Inflight Operations & Crew Scheduling Allen Thieman, Managing Director Inflight Operations Michaela Littman, Managing Director Ops Staffing & Resource Mgt Brittany Audette, Director of Crew Scheduling Sara Cook, Director of Crew Planning Mike Ostler, Director of Crew Staffing Nicholas Giles, Manager of Crew Planning Trisha Bennett, Manager of Crew Pay Debbie Bakke, and other management representatives from Crew Planning/Crew Scheduling.

The Committee is next scheduled to meet on April 23, 2024.

Topics of Discussion

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

  • The popularity of 2-day DCAs and their new integration into 3-day trips.
  • Advocacy for fewer red eye flights from certain locations and more 2-day non-red-eye flights.
  • Questions about the efficiency of splitting certain flight legs into separate operations.
  • The desire for an increase in co-terminal turns and more productive 2-3 day trips.
  • Requests to reduce the number of 4-day trips and specific connections.
  • Issues with Crew Scheduling and open segments related to pre-cancellations for like assignments. Open legs are reviewed in all domiciles.
  • Concerns about the process of resolving issues with pay analysts.
  • Flight Attendant confusion regarding accrued sick leave and its availability for use.
  • Questions about the transportation of sick family/sick child calls on overnight stays.
  • Challenges with internal AFA OS tickets and restrictions on advertising.
  • Clarification needed on how screenshots work for combining and breaking apart trips. See labor memos related to screenshots on AFA website.
  • Request for CSA to meet the plane instead of other company employees (Flight Attendants/Pilots).
  • Increase in reassignments for line holders at report, impacting planned layovers.
  • April Bid awards were quick and had no issues, published the following morning.
  • Light April bid protest, one violation of junior line bidder seniority honored.
  • NavBlue discussions about meetings, including weekly pilot calls and management calls.
  • NavBlue future updates discussed, including transition to Red Hat 8 and AWS transition.
  • NavBlue UAT testing and install of version 23.7.10 to PROD contingent upon bug fixes.
  • NavBlue planning for password reset changes and removing IT from NavBlue logins.
  • Mention of NavBlue future releases 23.8, 24.1, and 24.3.
  • Discussions about pairing selection, analytics, and collaboration with crew planning monthly.
  • Challenges with pairing construction and optimizing for quality of life.
  • Request for improvements and review of Jeppesen’s optimization capabilities.
  • Navblue released an update, no problems reported from users at this moment.
  • JCTE release March 26, 2024, with Buddy Roster, screenshots to be published after implementation.
  • Trade analysis shows increased trades in March, performance remaining steady for Crew Access.
  • Database reindex scheduled for April 9, 2024 to improve trade analysis.
  • June JCTE release will include historical data of processed transactions and ability to advertise for work.
  • B2B tap to pay implementation coming soon, training sandbox in progress.
  • Outage message to be sent regarding JCTE update and for future updates at the request of Flight Attendants.
  • Christopher joined Inflight Crew Planning from Flight Ops, brings experience in aviation and used to work for JetBlue. Some management employees have expressed interest in retirement over the next year and assisting with integrating new members on the team.
  • Block hours are increasing significantly in May, with LAX showing a reduction.
  • Targeting 79.69TFP line average and 20.1% reserves for reserve staffing, we expect peak month in July for staffing.
  • Trip length distribution remains consistent, some more commutable trips.
  • SEA/ANC have best commutability for Flight Attendants, SFO/PDX most challenging.
  • 5 MAXs mitigated in latter part of Spring, potential risk to reduce schedule.
  • May bid month frequency to destination changes reviewed, Mexico flights shifting to Alaska and Transcon.
  • E-175 stage length reduced, Mainline overnights added to park aircraft in outstations due to limitations in some of our domiciles.
  • Remote parking/hard stand issues in Seattle, coordinating with wheelchairs and special services.
  • Concerns with pre-cancellations, PBS bidding, and FCR when trips release into subsequent day.
  • Absence rates increasing, Crew Scheduling goal to clean out Open Time daily utilizing reserves.
  • Waived pay causing a burden on the rest of the Flight Attendant population, reassignments increasing. Crew Scheduling reports that Flight Attendants are waiving pay for alternative assignments but not picking up and this sometimes causes a ripple effect on the operation to cover the remaining open segments. 
  • Reserve utilization at 82.2-92.9% January to March, month over month increases.
  • Fatigue reports in March increased. Total of 42 fatigue calls with several days remaining till month end.
  • Attrition seeing 5 ½ – 8 years of service, 50/50 commuter versus in domicile.
  • Payroll to attend scheduling meetings, communication and response clarity needed on processes and inquiries.
  • Quick reference guide requested for Inflight webpage information filtering for rainmaker and timelines to complete pay and query responses. There is a lot of information available but we don’t believe Flight Attendants are accessing the documents.

What the Committee is Working on

  1. NavBlue. The PBS Committee is seeking feedback on how they can improve their assistance to flight crews regarding bid awards and understanding results. They provided both in-person and virtual meetings for this purpose.
  2. Pairings Survey. There is a discussion about conducting a survey on pairing construction, and there is a possibility of organizing a virtual session or town hall. A meeting with management occurred June 5, 2023, with a follow-up meeting to be arranged. However, there is no update or estimated time of arrival (ETA) at the moment.
  3. Chime Communications. Flight Attendants may chat with crew scheduling via app/Microsoft Teams to reduce phone calls. Flight Attendant-initiated contact. Early stages of development, to be discussed with AS Labor Relations and AFA. Testing and implementation to occur in the next few weeks. We are working on a letter of agreement for implementation. This is still pending review. 
  4. Crew Scheduling. There was a monthly review of PowerPoint presentations that covered various aspects such as reserve utilization, detailed breakdowns, sick leave (week by week and year over year), premium, personal drops, and other relevant agenda items.
  5. Crew Planning. Similar to Crew Scheduling, there was a monthly review of PowerPoint presentations that cover subsequent month staffing, trip length distribution, Flight Attendant block hours, special initiatives (e.g., IROPs), commutability, and other relevant agenda items.
  6. ITS. Representatives from ITS joined the scheduling meeting to provide updates on NavBlue, Crew Access, internal systems, and Block 2 Block. These updates include performance reviews, data analysis, and information about future releases. 

We Want to Hear From You!

Whether you have feedback for the Committee, concerns to share, or items you’d like brought up with management – don’t hesitate to let us know. Your Local Scheduling Committee is here to be your voice to management. You can easily open a support ticket on the AFA Alaska Online Support Center or directly contact us using the information provided on the Scheduling Committee page of the AFA Alaska website.

March 2024 MEC Meeting Recap

  • Our AFA Alaska Master Executive Council (MEC) met this week on Monday, March 18, and Tuesday, March 19, to conduct their ongoing work to represent our Flight Attendants.
  • The MEC also met with executive management and a group of union leaders from other company workgroups to receive updates and discuss concerns affecting employees company-wide.
  • The next Regular MEC Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 10.

Our AFA Alaska Master Executive Council (MEC) held its regular meeting for March 2024 on Monday, March 18, and Tuesday, March 19. These meetings, required under the AFA Constitution & Bylaws, provide an important opportunity for the MEC to discuss and address issues and concerns affecting our Union and Members at the airline level. Your directly elected LEC President (or their designee) attends these meetings as your representative and votes on your behalf when decisions need to be made.

During the meeting, the MEC received updates from the MEC Officers, LEC Presidents, Grievance Committee, and Scheduling Committee. Additionally, the MEC reviewed written reports submitted by other AFA MEC Committee Chairpersons detailing their current work and activities.

Meeting with Management

This month, our MEC met with company executive management and a group of Union leaders from the other union-represented workgroups within the company. These meetings are usually conducted once every quarter to receive updates from management and to discuss issues and concerns faced by all employees. During the meeting, management provided updates on the current financial state of the company and the industry, expected growth and aircraft deliveries, the incident involving Flight 1282, the proposed acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines, and recent changes made to employee benefits and retirement.

Meeting With Negotiating Committee

The MEC met with our Negotiating Committee on Tuesday to discuss the upcoming mediation sessions with management and the mediator from the National Mediation Board (NMB). During the meeting, the group reviewed the Negotiating Committee’s preparation session in March and discussed the logistics going forward as we continue to fight for the contract we have earned. The meeting also included a discussion on how negotiation information is being communicated to Members and opportunities to adapt methods to reach Flight Attendants better and keep everyone updated.

Our Negotiating Committee will launch a new Flight Attendant Financial Security Survey next week to collect data about the current financial reality faced by our Flight Attendants. The survey will help the Committee compile a clear and well-rounded picture of our workgroup that will be presented to management and the mediator during the next mediation session. All Flight Attendants, regardless of financial situation, are asked to complete the survey once it launches on Tuesday, March 26. Management says they are “data-driven” and make decisions based on numbers, so let’s show them the numbers! You can find more information about the upcoming survey by clicking here.

Questions?

If you have any questions about this month’s Regular MEC Meeting, please get in touch with your LEC President.

Reserve Committee Meeting Recap – 1st Quarter 2024

Reserve Committee

  • Our AFA Reserve Committee Chairpersons met on Thursday, March 14 to discuss their ongoing program of work to represent and advocate for our Reserve Flight Attendants.
  • The Committee also met with management to review a number of specific concerns that were brought forward by Flight Attendants.
  • Your Local Reserve Committee is available to answer questions, provide clarification, or help to resolve any reserve related issues. Please don’t hesitate to reach out!

On Thursday, March 14, representatives from our AFA Local Reserve Committees met to discuss their ongoing work to advocate for Reserve Flight Attendants. Representing you at the meeting were Brandi Urban (ANC), Teran Eason (SEA), Anthony Eskander (PDX), Meghan Casey (SFO), Kanako Yamada (LAX), and Rebecca Garcia (SAN). Also present was MEC Reserve Committee Chairperson Julie Thornton and MEC Reserve Committee Vice Chairperson—New Hire & Probation Jarod McNeill. 

The committee met with the Director of Inflight Crew Scheduling Sara Cook, Manager of Inflight Crew Scheduling Goose Hlaingmyint, Director of Payroll Leah Ables, Manager of Crew Pay Debbie Bakke and Managing Director of Operations & Crew Scheduling Allen Theiman.

The committee is next scheduled to meet on Thursday, June 13.

Topics of Discussion

The committee reviewed a number of items both during internal AFA-only conversation and when meeting with management. Some items discussed include:

  • Plans for Initial Training classes for 2024. Class one started on March 18 and will be online May 1. Management is still unsure on the exact number of classes for the year. The specific number of classes and students in each class will be dependent on attrition.
  • Issues and glitches with Crew Access that are affecting Reserve Flight Attendants. Review where known issues are documented and newly added/ fixed issues.
  • Upcoming update to Crew Access software and associated fixes to current issues and other improvements prioritization for programming fixes.
  • Reserve utilization statistics – approximately 90.7% in all bases. Reserve coverage is anticipated to be at approximately 22-21% for Quarter 2.
  • Service flights will increase to two flights and service training will continue in Initial Training this year.
  • Reserve-related scheduling issues that have occurred recently.
  • Ongoing concerns with ISA. Please report these issues through theAFA Alaska Online Support Center so AFA representatives can follow up with management. 
  • Reserve-related issues that have been escalated to the Scheduling Review Board (SRB) and Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) processes.

What the Committee is Working On

  1. Assisting Probationary Flight Attendants Through the Reserve Buddy Program.   Answering questions from and providing support to probationary Flight Attendants through an expanded AFA Reserve Buddy program.
  2. Addressing Reserve Contractual Concerns. Researching and investigating reports from Reserve Flight Attendants and actively ensuring that management is compliant with our contract. 
  3. Developing Additional Tools & Resources for New Flight Attendants. Working to create a plan to provide more user friendly, easy-to-access resources about the CBA and other job-related information for new Flight Attendants.

We Want to Hear From You!

Do you have feedback for the committee, concerns you’d like to share, or items that you’d like brought up with management?  Please let us know!  Your Local Reserve Committee is your voice to management.  You can open a support request on the AFA Alaska Online Support Center or contact us directly using the information on the Reserve Committee page of the AFA Alaska website.

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