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Join The Fight To End Trans Genocide

Human Rights Committee

Our CWA Pride Caucus launched a petition on March 31st—International Transgender Day of Visibility. The goal of the petition is to have a statement read in the House and the Senate about the reality that trans people in America are in Stage 7 of a genocide. Stage 8 is when large scale round ups and exterminations begin. Any observer of the history of human rights crimes will tell you the situation is well past terrifying.

Statistically, with one in ten people being queer, we have tens of thousands of queer Members across AFA and all the sectors of CWA – and even more allies! Sign the petition now and help show our support to allied legislators!

Click here to sign the petition >

Crew Access Frustrations

Master Executive Council (MEC)

  • Changes to how trips are posted and displayed in Crew Access and other ongoing system issues have resulted in concerns about contractual violations and a lack of management accountability.
  • Management must provide a functional system that works correctly and has agreed to troubleshoot the current issues and review programming changes to Crew Access.
  • AFA Representatives will continue protecting Flight Attendant interests and contractual rights through all legal means available to us, including the grievance process as applicable.

We understand that many of you are frustrated with recent changes to how trips are posted and displayed in Jeppesen Crew Access, especially when it comes to trading trips with crew members or through Open Time. These issues have resulted in concerns about contract violations and an apparent lack of accountability from management. As your Union leadership, we are actively addressing these concerns and advocating for your rights.

It’s important to note that a financial award may not be an achievable or realistic remedy for contract violations brought forward to a system board of adjustment under the Railway Labor Act (RLA). Under the standards of arbitration, AFA would have the burden of proving that a specific person was denied a particular trip on a specific date and time. This is essentially impossible; even if it were, the remedy would be limited to what can be found within the “four corners of the contract” doctrine; in other words, any remedy must be contained within the contract. For example, if you were denied sit pay when you sat for two hours, you would be awarded one TFP. However, we cannot show who was specifically harmed or the dollar amount of such harm. As a result, in these circumstances, the only likely arbitral remedy for a contractual grievance would be a “cease and desist” order, which would require the Company to comply with the contract on a go-forward basis.

Compliance in this case still requires the system to work correctly, and even in the face of an award, it would not necessarily happen immediately. Management has already agreed to troubleshoot the current trip display issues in Crew Access and has expressed a willingness to implement programming changes to the Crew Access trading system potentially. Our analysis indicates that an arbitrator would likely find management’s actions an appropriate remedy for the current concerns. While we understand that this may only partially satisfy your expectations, it’s essential to recognize the legal limitations of the process.

This does not mean that we give up. As your AFA Representatives, we are committed to working towards fair and just solutions to contract violations—and filing and arbitrating grievances where appropriate. We will continue to negotiate and pursue all available avenues under the RLA and the contract to protect your interests. We understand your frustrations and encourage you to contact us with any questions or further grievances you may have. Your feedback and input are invaluable in helping us advocate for your rights and achieve positive outcomes.

We take your concerns seriously and are dedicated to holding management accountable to the terms of our contract. We appreciate your ongoing support and solidarity as we work towards resolving these issues. Together, we can continue to fight for the rights and well-being of all Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants.

System Board of Adjustment Interviews

Master Executive Council (MEC)

Our Master Executive Council (MEC) will be conducting interviews for one (1) member to serve on the AFA System Board of Adjustment.

Scope

Members are to serve on the System Board of Adjustment for the purpose of arbitrating any disputes or grievances that may arise under the terms of the Agreement between Alaska Airlines and its Flight Attendants.

Policy/Responsibilities

  • There shall be two members selected by the MEC from active members in good standing to represent the Association.  Members will be selected at-large without regard to Local Council or domicile. 
  • Any person seeking a position as a System Board of Adjustment Member must submit a resume.  Candidates must interview with the MEC.
  • System Board Members shall be selected for a two (2) year appointment period in accordance with the AFA Constitution and Bylaws.  At least one appointment will be reviewed in June of each year.  Selection shall be made, insofar as possible, to ensure that both members will not be new at the same time.  
  • The System Board Members will act in the best interest of the membership and the Association and will be consistent with the Agreement between the Flight Attendants and Alaska Airlines.
  • The MEC President shall have the ability, in the event of an emergency, to appoint a qualified member in good standing to fill an ad hoc position on the Board.
  • The MEC on an ad hoc basis, by majority vote, may appoint an expert as a substitute for one member of the System Board of Adjustment.

Qualifications

  • Current Alaska Airlines Flight Attendant
  • Willingness to attend the requisite grievance training(s)
  • In depth knowledge of the contract
  • Understanding of the principles of just cause
  • Adherence to Grievance Committee policies, procedures, and standards of ethical conduct
  • Ability to maintain confidentiality of sensitive and personal information
  • Maintenance of member-in-good-standing status
  • Ability to remain in good standing with the company
  • Ability to analyze written data and information with high attention to detail
  • Strong written and communication skills
  • Strong computer skills.

Term of Appointment

The selected candidate will serve the a term of appointment that begins on July 1, 2023 and concludes on June 30, 2025.

Expressing Interest and Interview Scheduling

The MEC will hold interviews of eligible candidates during the June Regular MEC Meeting on Tuesday, June 27, 2023.  If you’re interested in interviewing, plan to bid around this date or adjust your schedule accordingly to accommodate.  All interviews will be conducted either in person or using Google Meet videoconferencing.

Interested candidates should submit an expression of interest and resume using the online expression of interest form.  The deadline for submissions is 5 PM Pacific time on Friday, June 16, 2023.  After the submission deadline, an MEC representative will contact eligible candidates to arrange a specific interview time.

Please note that to submit an expression of interest, you must have a Google account.  If you do not have a Google account, you can create one for free at https://accounts.google.com/signup.

Questions?

Any questions regarding the position or application process should be directed to MEC Grievance Committee Chairperson Stephanie Adams at stephanie.adams@afaalaska.org.

April 2023 MEC Meeting Recap

Master Executive Council (MEC)

  • Our AFA Alaska Master Executive Council (MEC) met this week on Tuesday, April 11, to conduct their ongoing work to represent our Flight Attendants.
  • As part of the meeting, the MEC met with members of inflight, crew planning, and labor relations management to discuss issues and concerns that are facing our work group and need to be addressed.
  • The next Regular MEC Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, May 9. Please don’t hesitate to contact your LEC President if you have any questions.

The April 2023 Regular MEC Meeting was held this week on Tuesday, April 11.  The meeting consisted of updates from our MEC Officers, LEC Presidents, Grievance Committee, and Scheduling Committee.  Our MEC also reviewed written reports submitted by other AFA MEC Committee Chairpersons about their current programs of work. 

Meeting with Management

As part of 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 Managing Director of Inflight Services Gloria Chow, Director of Crew Scheduling Sara Cook, Managing Director of Operation Staffing and Resource Management Brittany Audette, Director of Crew Planning Mike Ostler, Director of Payroll Leah Ables, Managing Director of Labor Relations Carmen Williams, and Senior Labor Relations Program Manager Mike Link.

Some of the topics discussed include:

  • Operational safety debriefs letter of agreement (LOA) implementation challenges. Management appears to lack alignment regarding how the recently signed operational safety debrief LOA provisions are to be implemented. Additional guidance is needed regarding who in management is specifically responsible for what when an operational debrief becomes necessary. Management agreed to work on developing additional guidance and will meet with AFA Representatives to review and implement it.
  • Ongoing issues with non-rev travel. Our MEC and numerous Flight Attendants have brought forward issues surrounding inconsistency with how non-rev travelers are cleared from the priority list on the day of travel. In addition, there have been reports of a perceived lack of coordination and communication with how aircraft weight and balance is calculated, resulting in non-revs being unnecessarily left behind. These issues have been reported to different members of management in various departments, and despite promises to investigate, our MEC continues to receive reports, and there appears to be no noticeable action being taken to address the concerns.
  • Continuing issues with transition to new leave/absence management vendor. Numerous employee reports have revealed that management’s transition to a new vendor for leave and absence management has been full of issues. Employees have reported not being paid correctly, a lack of responsiveness from the vendor, and other issues. Management indicated they would escalate the matter to Human Resources to determine what action is being taken to address the problems.
  • Flight Attendant hiring and initial training. Management shared updates about the anticipated number of initial training classes this year and adjustments to hiring projections. 
  • Recurrent training (RT). Management is evaluating when Airbus drills will be removed from RT based on the fleet retirement schedule. Planning is also underway for the 2024 RT curriculum.
  • Distribution of iPhone 13 Inflight Mobile Devices (IMDs). Management continues distributing iPhone 13 IMDs to Flight Attendants with iPhone 7 or 8 Plus IMDs. Currently, over 1000 Flight Attendants still need to be issued new devices. Base management will contact those Flight Attendants by company email to offer a reminder and share options on how new IMDs can be picked up. (Note: to view the iPhone 13 IMD distribution LOA, click here).
  • Staffing adjustment leaves & KCM eligibility.  Update on previous request from AFA that management continue to allow Flight Attendants access to KCM while on staffing adjustment leaves to the extent TSA policy allows.  Management indicated they are making progress and are working to make sure the process covers all foreseeable scenarios while being compliant with TSA requirements.
  • Pairing construction and 4-position pairings. Management is continuing to analyze the possibility of building 4-position (A/B/C/D) pairings versus the current practice of building separate 3-position (A/B/C) and 1-positon (D) pairings. They are analyzing the cost-effectiveness of the change and evaluating possible impacts on pairing quality. This work is ongoing.

Action on Agenda Items

The MEC took action on one agenda item that was submitted in advance of the meeting.

  • The proposed annual budget of the AFA Alaska MEC was adopted as proposed. The MEC budget is based on the allocation of funding provided to our MEC from our monthly dues.

Questions?

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

Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee Recap – 2nd Quarter 2023

Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC)

  • Our AFA Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC) Chairpersons met on Thursday, April 5 to discuss their ongoing program of work to represent Flight Attendants interests related to safety, health, and security in our workplace.
  • The Committee also met with management to receive updates and discuss issues and problems that Flight Attendants are facing onboard the aircraft.
  • Reporting safety concerns is more important than ever given the challenges we are currently facing as a workgroup.  Flight Attendant Irregularity Reports (FAIR), Aviation Safety Action Reports (ASAP), and fatigue reports can all be filed through Report It!  Please contact a member of your Local ASHSC if you need assistance.

On Thursday, April 5, our AFA Local Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC) 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 Debi Wallstrom (ANC), David Lake (SEA), KalinLackey (PDX), Brad Young (SFO), Carin Meritt (LAX), and Eva Gatus (SAN).  Also present was MEC ASHSC Chairperson Seth Heiple.

The committee met with Cabin Safety Manager Cari Smith-Allen, Managing Director of Inflight Services Gloria Chow-Vanderwell, Director of Inflight Training & Standards Thomas Kaminski, Infight Policy & Procedure Specialist Kevin Weatherbie, Director of Inflight Safety & Compliance Corey Chestnut, Manager of Inflight Safety & Compliance Johanna Giese, Manager of Inflight Policy & Procedure Kaliko Howell, and Inflight Experience Program Manager Matthew Coder.

The next scheduled Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee meeting is Thursday, July 20, 2023.

Topics of Discussion

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

  • Potentially adding “keep seatbelts visible” to announcements. This may make it easier to perform seatbelt compliance checks, especially during night flying. The Company agreed to see if other carriers are making similar announcements.
  • Fleet supply bags placed by girt bars. If catering opens a door while a Fleet supply bag or other item is in front of the door the girt bar could be dislodged from the door clips. This concern will be communicated to Fleet.
  • Single Door Catering. The Company is monitoring reports about single door catering. Flight Attendants should be notified when single door catering is going to take place and CSAs should be asking if forward galley catering has been completed with the boarding questions on all flights where the forward galley is catered from the aft. Single door catering may not occur with passengers onboard.
  • Bringing strollers on board. Strollers can be “baggage” in the cabin if there is space for them. However, passengers are pushing their infants in the strollers inside the plane. The ASHSC asked the company to update the policy to indicate that strollers should be configured for stowage prior to being brought on the A/C.
  • Flight Attendant CRM. The ASHSC shared a recommendation to have another program like the D-Check to foster understanding and teamwork in our diverse work group.
  • Equipment check verification. Ideally, we would like to see equipment checks completed prior to boarding. Until that policy change can be implemented, we need a process for verifying equipment checks have been completed prior to door closure. It may also be helpful to have verifications for this and for passenger briefings integrated into B2B.
  • Hearing Conservation Base Sits. Being exposed to high decibels for an extended period of time is a threat to unprotected ears. In order to proactively prevent hearing loss we asked that the Company provided opportunities for Flight Attendants to be fitted for hearing protection at all bases. We’ve also asked that the information about procuring hearing protection be maintained on the Inflight website.
  • Cleaners using A/C flashlights. Flight Attendants have found flashlights not completely secured into their holders and have witnessed cleaners using flashlights during A/C cleaning when the cabin is dark. The Company is aware of this issue and working with Fleet to ensure they have other means of seeing in the cabin when there is no power to the cabin lights.
  • Preferred seats for passengers who use aisle chairs. For safety, seats with fixed armrests should not be designated as preferred seats for passengers with mobility-related disabilities. The Company is reviewing this policy.
  • Attached keyboards. Some tablet keyboards are very thin and built into the tablet cover. The ASHSC asked the Company whether these need to be restricted.
  • Phone clips that attach to the upper seat pocket area. The ASHSC asked the company whether these need to be restricted during cruise.
  • Infants/children lying on the floor during flight. The ASHSC requested that the FAM be updated to state that lying, sitting or kneeling on the floor, with a few exceptions, is not permitted. The Company is reluctant to implement this change.
  • Riding to layover hotels alone. This concern comes up frequently. Unfortunately, we have not been able to come up with a solution the Company will agree to outside of the contractual requirements related to international layovers. However, the Company has recently started to look at some other possible solutions to this long standing problem.
  • Door viewport warning strap MEL. The MEL permites the strap to be missing or taped in place if damaged/inoperative. We do not have a safe procedure for operating without a functioning warning strap so we recommend that Maintenance keep the straps widely available for rapid replacement. It would also be helpful to have alternate procedures in place for A/C operating with warning straps on MEL.
  • Child Restraint Systems in seats with airbelts. It can be difficult or impossible to safely install a CRS in a seat with an air belt. The company will test CRSs in these seats to determine whether a change in policy is needed.

What The Committee Is Working On

  1. Lighting.  We continue to work with a company on developing simpler and safer cabin lighting standards.
  2. Personal Conduct and Work Performance Section of the FAM. Encouraging the Company to simplify this section so it makes better sense in the current environment, including the implementation of the new break LOA.
  3. Contents review of both the F/A Kit and the Stationary Kit. The ASHSC is working  with the Inflight Service Committee to provide feedback to the Company about the contents of the kits. We want to ensure they contain necessary items but do not have items taking up space which are not used.
  4. Coordinating Base Safety Meetings. The ASHSC is working with Inflight and Safety Management to continue the practice of holding safety meetings at all bases twice a year. Please consider signing up to attend or submitting a safety concern for discussion when you see the invite from Base Leadership and your Local ASHSC.

We Want to Hear From You!

If you’ve experienced a safety-related issue, please help the committee to advocate for improvement and change by filing a report.  Flight Attendant Irregularity Reports (FAIR), Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP) reports, and fatigue reports can all be submitted using ReportIt!  If you’re not sure what type of report to file for a particular situation or need help, please don’t hesitate to contact a member of your Local ASHSC.Do you have other feedback for the committee or items that you’d like brought up with management?  Please let us know!  Your Local ASHSC is your voice to management.  You can find our contact information on the ASHSC page of the AFA Alaska website.

Sick Leave Survey Now Open

Your Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) prioritizes your health and well-being and seeks to understand which aspects of our paid sick leave policy matter most to you. We encourage you to participate in the survey, which is open until Tuesday, November 11 at Noon PT, to ensure your voice is heard in shaping our support for your healthcare needs.

SEA Domicile Negotiations – October 2025 Update #2

This session was marked by the Negotiating Committee’s strong advocacy for protections and enhancements that would support the Seattle base as a viable option for transferring Flight Attendants. With insights from Ryan St. John, the Vice President of Finance, Planning, and Investor Relations for Alaska Airlines, the Negotiating Committee highlighted the necessity of combining data-driven strategies with hands-on experience and sufficient resources for long-term success.

Joint Contract Negotiations Session 8 – October 2025

During our recent negotiations, the Joint Negotiation Committee focused on key sections, particularly reaching a Tentative Agreement on Lodging and Transportation, which improves food availability and transportation safety. We also engaged with Council 19 to clarify negotiation processes and differences between contracts. Stay tuned for our upcoming session with management from November 18 to 20.

Meet Our Pre-Merger Alaska Committee Chairperson & Representatives

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants We’re excited to introduce the next group of pre-merger Alaska MEC Committee Chairpersons and Representatives for the upcoming MEC Officer term. They’ll begin transitioning into their roles over the next few months and officially start their terms on January 1, 2026. Below, you’ll find brief biographies that […]

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 […]

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