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        You are here: Home / Archives for Latest News / AFA News Now

        Celebrating Black History Month

        February 1, 2022 09:00

        Human Rights Committee

        • February 1st marks the first day of Black History Month in the United States.  This tradition dates back to 1925 when Harvard trained-historian Carter G. Woodson first introduced a week-long event to build awareness of the contributions made by Black individuals.
        • Read more about Black History Month, learn about the accomplishments of Black Americans, and find out about events that you can take part in using the resource links below.
        • Join the celebration by wearing your Black History Month AFA Pin during the month of February.  If you need a pin, check with your Local Council for more information.
        Carter G. Woodson

        February 1st marks the first day of Black History Month in the United States.  The celebration has a long tradition that can be traced back to 1925 when Harvard trained-historian Carter G. Woodson introduced “Negro History Week”, which sought to raise awareness of the contributions made by Black individuals to society and the world.  It was expanded to its current form in 1976 by President Gerald R. Ford when it became Black History Month.

        Learn More About Black History

        You can learn more about the accomplishments of Black Americans through some of the dedicated websites and resources below.

        • National Archives – African American History Month Resources
        • National Endowment for the Humanities – African American History and Culture in the United States
        • National Park Service – Black History Month
        • Smithsonian Institution – National Museum of African American History & Culture
        • United States Holocaust Memorial Museum – Black History Month
        • Alaska Air Group Black Employees, Allies and Advocates (ABEA) – Black History Month Activities (AAG sign-on required)

        Celebrate with a Black History Month AFA Pin

        In 2019, the AFA Executive Board unanimously passed a resolution in recognition of February as Black History Month.   The resolution established a special commemorative pin for AFA Members to wear throughout the month of February.

        For more information about the pin, contact your Local Human Rights Committee.  Also be on the lookout for a communication from your Local Council or contact your LEC Officers to determine pin availability.

        Filed Under: AFA News Now, Human Rights & Equity Committee Tagged With: Black History Month

        Never Forget: Honoring Alaska Airlines Flight 261—January 31, 2000

        January 31, 2022 16:22

        Master Executive Council (MEC)

        Photo: Alaska Airlines

        Today we reflect on the tragic loss that occurred on January 31, 2000, when Alaska Airlines Flight 261, flying between Puerto Vallarta and San Francisco, went down in the Pacific Ocean between Port Hueneme and Anacapa Island off the coast of Southern California.

        We will never forget Flight Attendants Kristin Mills, Craig Pulanco and Allison Shanks; Captain Ted Thompson; First Officer William Tansky; Sheri Christensen, Rachel Janosik, Ileana Ost, Sarah Pearson, Anjesh Prasad, James Ryan and Stacy Schuyler.

        Filed Under: AFA News Now Tagged With: Flight 261

        2022 College Scholarship Opportunities

        January 28, 2022 15:00

        AFA International

        • As an AFA and CWA Member, you and/or certain eligible dependents have the opportunities for at least three different scholarships.
        • An additional opportunity, the Union Plus Free College Benefit, offers the ability to earn a degree with no out of pocket expense for tuition, fees, and e-books.
        • Check out the links below for eligibility requirements, application information, and other important details for each opportunity.

        As an AFA and CWA Member, you and/or certain eligible dependents have the opportunities for at least three different scholarships, and the ability to earn a degree with no out of pocket expense for tuition, fees, and e-books.  The time for applying is now!

        Brought to you by our Union, these benefits of union membership have become very popular with members.  Please see the respective links for detailed information, and good luck in obtaining financial assistance.

        AFA Scholarship Fund

        The Association of Flight Attendants Scholarship Fund is intended to provide financial assistance to dependents of our active members who will be attending a college or university.  The deadline for applications is April 10.  Details are available on the AFA International website at http://www.afacwa.org/scholarships.

        CWA Joe Beirne Scholarship

        The Joe Beirne Scholarship is offered by CWA. The deadline for applications is April 30.   Details on this scholarship are on the CWA website at http://www.cwa-union.org/pages/beirne.

        Union Plus Scholarship Program

        Union Plus provides a suite of scholarships, educational discounts, and loans available for union members.  You can find information at https://www.unionplus.org/college-education-financing.  One additional “click” brings up the scholarship applications that may be submitted online by the deadline of January 31.

        Union Plus Free College Benefit

        In addition, there is a free college benefit available through Union Plus for active and retired Members and their families with the opportunity to earn an associate degree completely online – for FREE.  Details and an application are online at https://www.unionplusfreecollege.org.  This benefit can save you thousands of dollars.

        Questions?

        If you have any questions, please contact your LEC Officers.

        Filed Under: AFA News Now Tagged With: college scholarships

        Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee Meeting Recap – 1st Quarter 2022

        January 21, 2022 09:00

        Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC)

        • Our AFA Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC) Chairpersons met on Thursday, January 13 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 work group.  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, January 13, 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), Blair Kimball (PDX), Brad Young (SFO), Felicia Porter (LAX), and Eva Gatus (SAN).  Also present were MEC ASHSC Chairperson Seth Heiple, MEC ASHSC Vice Chairperson—Air Quality Yvette Satterlee, and MEC Vice President Brian Palmer.  The committee met with Director of Inflight Strategy & Support Gloria Chow, Cabin Safety Manager Cari Smith-Allen, Manager of Inflight Policy & Procedure Joevanni Camacho, and Inflight Experience Program Manager Matthew Coder from management.

        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:

        • Request for increased sanitization of galley areas between flights.
        • Concerns with MedLink clearing passengers who appear to be ill.
        • Concerns about the perceived lack of sufficient signage in airports regarding mask requirements.
        • Overall inadequate communication of mask requirements to passengers.
        • Concerns about perceived inadequate lighting outside of new ANC RT facility.
        • Concerns about connectivity with change in cell service provider for IMDs.
        • Ensuring we have adequate procedures when we do not have the ability to use B2B due to lack of connectivity.
        • Requested update to soft blocks on A321 to better protect the B F/A and reminder to CSAs to honor soft seat blocks when possible.
        • Request for brighter cabin lighting during compliance checks.
        • Ongoing lack of adequate trash stowage space.
        • Double vs. single chamber life vest and how to properly demo.
        • Airbus assist handle.
        • Making COVID testing more readily available.
        • “New” boarding positions and challenges with safety and compliance.
        • Closing the loop on disruptive passenger and yellow card events by taking company and FAA response and reporting it back to submitter.
        • Trend of catering provisioning the entire aircraft from the aft galley only.
        • Looking for improvements to the Report It! App.
        • Request to add “in an emergency leave everything” to safety demo announcement.
        • Need for better guidance in the FAM about when passenger tattoos and clothing should be considered inappropriate and how to handle.
        • Requests for improvements to onboard medical equipment, including adding a pulse oximeter, adding a glucometer, and improving sizing of the blood pressure cuff.
        • Request for management to provide additional clarification on policies related to lifting and stowing passenger carry-on bags.

        What The Committee Is Working On

        1. Time in Motion Studies. Working with management and the AFA Inflight Service Committee to assess how long it takes to perform each F/A duty. For example, performing preflight checks or doing a full beverage service on a A320. It is our hope that this information will support changes like providing time for preflight checks prior to boarding and ensuring inflight service is not scheduled unless it can be consistently and safely accomplished on legs like SFO-PSP or ANC-BET.
        2. Improving the Uniform Boot Policy. Working with management and the AFA Uniform Committee to allow for a broader range of Arctic boots, to allow Arctic boots in Alaska any time there is snow or ice on the ground, and to allow boots outside of terminals and the aircraft anytime there is inclement weather (policy not yet in effect).
        3. COVID-19 Mitigations. The ASHSC stays up to date on the pandemic by reviewing CDC guidance, TSA orders, FAA recommendations etc.; working with the ASHSD (Air Safety Health & Security Department) at AFA International; and coordinating with AFA ASHSC’s at other airlines. This information is used to continually advocate for appropriate COVID-19 mitigations in our work environment.

        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. 

        Filed Under: AFA News Now, Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC) Tagged With: committee meeting

        Grievance Committee Update – 3rd and 4th Quarters 2021

        January 20, 2022 12:00

        Grievance Committee

        • Our Grievance Committee works to protect all Flight Attendants from arbitrary and unjust disciplinary action and to uphold our collective bargaining agreement.  This update provides a short summary of the committee’s work over the past two quarters.
        • Management has issued discipline lately for a variety of reasons.  Read on for more information about the reasons why management is disciplining and terminating Flight Attendants.
        • If you’ve faced a situation that you believe might be a contractual violation, please report the issue through the AFA Alaska Online Support Center.  AFA Representatives review each report submitted and will follow up to help you determine options and a course of action. 

        Our Grievance Committee has been very hard at work ensuring disciplinary due process and contractual compliance on your behalf.  The contract requires a minimum of 13 arbitration dates yearly to dispute discipline/termination cases and contractual issues.  Termination cases are usually given first priority in order to return a Flight Attendant back to work as soon as possible; however, we seek a balance between discipline and contractual cases.  AFA and management mutually decide which cases to arbitrate next based on many factors. 

        Steps of discipline are confirmation of oral warning (COW), written warning (WW), suspension (varied number of days) to termination.  COWs, WWs, and suspensions remain in a Flight Attendant’s file for 18 months, and then are removed.  If a Flight Attendant is in a step of discipline and gets another violation, the new violation will build on the previous violation.  Management doesn’t always progressively travel up the steps of discipline.  If management investigates a Flight Attendant for theft or abuse of sick leave, for example, management will terminate the Flight Attendant if there is evidence to support its findings; if there is no evidence, then the Flight Attendant will most likely be issued a record of discussion (ROD). A ROD is not considered discipline.  There is no middle ground for certain violations.  

        Subject of Most Recent Discipline

        • Theft.  Removing anything from the aircraft other than an opened/used bottle of water, unused pilot crew meal or purchased food removed will result in termination.  
        • Sick leave and FMLA abuse.  Terminations are on the rise due to travel audits among other things.  Anything written in the comments/remarks on posted trip trades and personal drops can be seen, even if eventually deleted.  If management determines abuse it results in termination.  
        • Timecard fraud.  Examples: Intentionally delaying boarding door closure to obtain sit pay.  Management has terminated for this violation.
        • Reserve “Roulette”.  Not being within two hours of base for your Reserve Availability Period (RAP) and calling in sick only once given an assignment.  The Company considers this a terminable violation.  Management regularly reviews the trip trade postings and history related to sick calls.  Even deleted trade history or postings can be seen by management.
        • Lying in an investigation
        • Drug/Alcohol violations
        • Harassment
        • Reserves commuting during Reserve Availability Period (RAP) even if self-assigned a trip and/or not being in base for the entirety of reserve period.  Management has terminated for this reason several times.  Management regularly reviews commuting history and whether a FA is in base for her/his RAP period.  If not, they will terminate on a first offense.
        • Social media violations including sending friend or follow requests to passengers on social media based on information gained from Block2Block.
        • Commuter Violations
          • Flight Attendant released from DHD and used D8Y home
          • Flight Attendant used D8Y when they picked up out of base
          • Flight Attendant used D8Y to/from incorrect cities
          • Flight Attendant used D8Y for pleasure travel.  Commuter audits are being used for researching whether commuting
        • Lost IMD or other required items
        • Failing to complete CBT—even if FA just forgets to hit the close out x at the top to switch it from in process to complete.
        • Uniform Issues—Flight Attendants can and have been pulled from working their flights without pay for uniform non-compliance.

        Recent Arbitration/Mediation

        May 2021Disciplinary Grievance
        June 2021Disciplinary Grievance
        July 2021Disciplinary Grievance
        August 2021Disciplinary Grievance
        September 2021Disciplinary Grievance
        October 2021Contractual Grievance
        November 2021Contractual Grievance
        December 2021Disciplinary Grievance

        Recent Contractual Arbitration Awards

        None

        Recent Grievance Settlements

        Grievance No.:  36-99-2-64-17 Violation of §27.P.1.f-h Company Business Flight Pay Loss.  This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §27.P.1.f-h [General-Association: Company Business Flight Pay Loss (CB)/Company Meetings], past practice and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when it requested Flight Attendants attend an Inflight Announcement Focus Group on or about August 7, 2017, without compensating for company meeting pay nor the five percent (5%) override and “A” pay, and without regard to contractual duty day applications; alternatively it provided non-negotiated compensation.   

        Details:  

        1. On or about August 7, 2017, approximately 24-30 Flight Attendants attended a Flight Attendant announcement focus group.  The above-referenced grievance was filed on their behalf.   The names of the Flight Attendants are not currently known. The Company will exercise all avenues to identify them  If they become known at any time, each of those Flight Attendants will be paid 4 TFP for their attendance at a work event.  
        2. On a go forward basis, the Company will follow the best practice of alerting AFA prior to publicizing work and/or volunteer opportunities to the Flight Attendants.  The Company will inform AFA whether the Company will compensate Flight Attendants who attend the event, or if the event is intended as a volunteer opportunity only.  If the parties disagree, AFA may file a grievance based on that event.   

        Grievances Recently Mediated 

        Grievance No.:  36-99-2-56-17-Violation of §15.C.4 Medical Leave of Absence.  This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §15.C.4 [Leaves of Absence: Medical Leave of Absence], past practice and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when in December 2016 it denied [a Flight Attendant’s] medical leave of absence (MLOA) because she did not also qualify for FMLA and because the MLOA was less than 10 days in duration.  

        Details:

        1. When a Flight Attendant applies for a medical leave, the Company will process all such leaves according to the same criteria, regardless of the requested length of such leave. 
        2. FMLA will be granted if all applicable requirements are met. If the leave qualifies for FMLA, FMLA and contractual medical leave will run concurrently to the extent required by law. 
        3. If the Flight Attendant otherwise meets the requirements for having a serious health condition but the condition is not expected to meet the minimum number of days of incapacity as required by the FMLA definition of continuing treatment in 29 CFR § 825.115(a), the Company will grant a contractual medical leave. 
        4. If the Flight Attendant has a serious health condition as defined by the FMLA or by Paragraph 3 but does not qualify for FMLA for any other reason (e.g., the Flight Attendant has exhausted their FMLA; the Flight Attendant does not have enough qualifying hours for FMLA, etc.), the Flight Attendant will be granted a contractual medical leave. 
        5. If Matrix (or successor leave administrator) denies a contractual medical leave because the Flight Attendant does not supply adequate medical information to determine if the Flight Attendant has a serious health condition, the Company will review the request for a medical leave under Section 15.C.1 of the collective-bargaining agreement (“CBA”) and either grant the leave or exercise its rights under Section 17 of the CBA. 

        Grievances Recently Granted by Management 

        Grievance No.:  36-99-2-1-17- Violation of §32.C.5. Assessing Short Sick Call Points to Flight Attendant on FMLA.  This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §32.C.5 [Attendance Policy: Short Sick Call], past practice, all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and Federal Law when it assessed short sick call points (2½) to Flight Attendants on qualified Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) status when they called in sick within two hours of scheduled check-in. 

        Details:  As June 15, 2021, I am amending the prior grievance response on behalf of the Company. The prior grievance response dated March 10, 2017, is still accurate with respect to the Company’s position as of today, except for one small caveat. The caveat is as follows – if a Flight Attendant makes it known to the Company at the time of the short sick call that unusual circumstances related to their FMLA qualifying medical condition occurred such that they couldn’t have reasonably complied with the normal two-hour notice requirement for their sick call, the company will evaluate that information. If Employee Medical Relations determines that the unusual circumstances are consistent with the Flight Attendant’s FMLA qualifying medical condition, the Company will reduce the point value of the short sick call to zero. This is consistent with 29 C.F.R. 302(d) which requires employees on FMLA to “comply with an employer’s usual and customary notice and procedural requirements for requesting leave, absent unusual circumstances.” This small portion of grievance 36-99-2-1-17 is now sustained; however, the rest of grievance 36-99-2-1-17 is still denied for the original reasons dated March 10, 2017. 

        Grievance No.:  36-99-2-201-20-Violation of §10.Q & §11.E.4.d Violation of Reserve Assignment List Order.  This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §10.Q [Scheduling: Low-Bid Option] and §11.E.4.d [Reserve: Order of Assignment, Assignment of Open Sequences/Assignments], past practice, and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when its Jeppesen Crew Access (JCA) scheduling system places low-bid option and no-bid lineholder Flight Attendants who pick up reserve days and opt out of the Reserve Assignment List (LTFA) at the top of the list rather than listing them in inverse seniority order following all other Reserves within the same classification (AM/PM/ER) and with the same number of days of availability.

        Details:  As of today’s, date [June 18, 2021], I am amending the prior grievance response on behalf of the Company and sustaining the violation of §11.E.4.d [Violation of Reserve Assignment List Order]. The parties continue to work the issue through a mutually agreeable manual workaround that has been implemented and the “Known Crew Access Issues” document. 

        Grievance No.:  36-99-2-41-20-Violation of §30.A.2 Training Hours Over Eight Hours.  This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §30.A.2 [Training: Hours], past practice, and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when on or about January 24 and 25, 2020, it required at least three Flight Attendants to attend Recurrent Training (RT) in Long Beach (LGB) in excess of eight hours.  

        Details: One TFP for two Flight Attendants who released after 4pm.

        Grievances Recently Withdrawn

        Grievance No.:  36-99-2-320-20-Violation of §30.C.4 Computer Based Training (CBT).  This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §30.C.4 [Training: Training Pay/Computer Based Training (CBT)], past practice, and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when on or about September 28, 2020, it added a 5th Computer Based Training for Flight Attendants to complete for 2020.  Prior to adding the 5thCBT, it issued Quarter 1 CBT, training videos CBT, Quarter 2 CBT and Quarter 3 CBT.  

        Grievances Recently Filed and Awaiting Management Response

        Grievance No.:  36-99-2-1-22-Violation of §8.D Check-In and Release.  This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §8.D [Hours of Service:  Check-In and Release], past practice, and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when its Block to Block (B2B) check-in system doesn’t allow a Flight Attendant to check-in if they have an unacknowledged trip change requiring them to report as originally scheduled.

        Grievance No.:  36-99-2-3-22-Violation of §10.S Pre-Cancellations.  This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §10.S [Scheduling: Pre-Cancellations], past practice, and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when on or about December 26, 2021,  it did not accept or process Flight Attendant calls in a timely manner thereby usurping the Flight Attendants’ ability to utilize the contractual pre-cancellation language allowing them to receive and decline an alternate assignment; and it allowed the Company to reassign Flight Attendants. 

        Grievance No.:  36-99-2-4-22-Violation of §8.D Check-In and Release.  This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §8.D [Hours of Service:  Check-In and Release], past practice, and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when its designated check-in application (Block2Block) on the Flight Attendants’ Infight Mobile Device (IMD) displayed cancelled trips that were not cancelled in Crew Access thereby inhibiting check-in for their trips and assessing them a No Show and 3 (three) attendance points.  Flight Attendants were unable to check in manually via a call to Crew Scheduling as it had excessive wait times.

        Grievances Recently Filed and Denied

        Grievance No.:  36-99-2-230-21- Violation of §16 Sick Leave/On the Job Injury.  This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §16 [Sick Leave/On the Job Injury], past practice, and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when it announced beginning on or about August 31, 2021, that it would grant pay protection per §21.M [Compensation: Pay Protection…] to vaccinated symptomatic and/or COVID+ Flight Attendants for scheduling obligations removed due to Company-directed quarantine in response to high-risk COVID-19 workplace exposures and deny pay protection under similar or the same circumstances for unvaccinated Flight Attendants or for Flight Attendants who decline to disclose their vaccination status and would instead require them to be removed from their scheduling obligations by forcing them onto sick leave and paid through their sick leave bank or accrued vacation pay if the sick leave bank was depleted. Neither §16 nor §21.M contains any exceptions or distinctions based on vaccination status, yet the Company failed to bargain with the Association and unilaterally implemented such non-contractual exceptions or distinctions inequitably across the collective bargaining unit.

        Grievance No.:  36-99-2-234-21-Violation of §21 Non-Negotiated Compensation.  This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §21 [Compensation], past practice, and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when it announced on or about September 2, 2021, that it would pay $200.00 to each vaccinated Flight Attendant who provides proof of vaccination to the Company by October 15, 2021.   Section 21 does not contain any exceptions or distinctions based on vaccination status, and the Company failed to bargain with the Association and unilaterally implemented such a non-contractual exception inequitably across the collective bargaining unit.

        Grievances Previously Filed, Denied by Management and Currently Awaiting Arbitration Dates

        Grievance No.:  36-99-2-22-14-Violation of Required Maternity Leave.  This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Section 15.D. and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when it failed to require Flight Attendants to begin Maternity Leave after the 28th week of pregnancy.   

        Grievance No.:  36-99-2-55-17-Violation of §21.V Winds Aloft Adjustment of Sit Pay in JCTE.  This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §21.V [Compensation: “Scheduled” or “Actual” For Minimum Pay Rules (MPRs) and/or Sit Pay], past practice and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when its Jeppesen Crew Access (JCA) trading system displayed each posted trip as a static ‘snapshot’ taken at the time of posting rather than a ‘live’ view, thus denying the Flight Attendant the ability to determine whether a trip is eligible for 1.0 TFP of Sit Pay due to an automated scheduling adjustment (e.g. by the Winds Aloft program).

        Grievance No.:  36-99-2-159-17-Violation of §12.A & §12.E Withholding Trips from Open Time and Suspended all Trading due JCTE Issues.  This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §12.A & E [Exchange of Sequences: Unlimited Trading/Open Time], past practice and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when on or about September 30, 2017, to October 1, 2017, for approximately 8 hours, it either withheld all trips in open time or suspended all trading due to an issue with its Jeppesen Crew Tracking system.

        Grievance No.:  36-99-2-321-18- Violation of §§21, 24, 30 & 34 Hotel at Domicile for Transition Training.  This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §21 [Compensation], §24 [General and Miscellaneous], §30 [Training] and §34 [Hotels], past practice and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when some Flight Attendants requested and were provided hotel rooms at base for Transition Training while others who requested a room were not provided one.   

        Grievance No.:  36-99-2-40-19-Violation §25.B Failure to Provide a Safe and Healthy Workplace.  This alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §25.B [Air Safety, Health and Security: Safe and Healthy Workplace], past practice and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when it failed to provide a safe and healthy workplace when it installed new bulkheads on the retrofitted Airbus (“Aura”) aircraft that effectively renders the aft assist handles near doors L1/R1 as unusable and unnecessarily increases the likelihood and potential severity of Flight Attendant injury during an emergency evacuation.

        Grievance No.:  36-99-2-41-19-Violation of §25.D.2 Failing to Notify MEC President and ASHSC of Reconfiguration or Re-design Prior to Final Decision. This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §25.D.2 [Air Safety, Health and Security: Safety Information], past practice and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when it failed to notify the MEC President of a decision to reconfigure or re-design the interior of the Airbus aircraft and when it failed to discuss with the ASHSC the parties’ interests and concerns for inflight safety prior to making a final decision on the reconfiguration/re-design. 

        Grievance No.:  36-99-2-162-19- Violation of §12.C.1 Real-Time Trading Procedures Grievance 36-99-2-28-17 Mediated Settlement.  This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §12.C.1 [Exchange of Sequences: Trading Procedure], past practice, its mediated settlement of grievance 36-99-2-28-17 and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when it agreed but failed to adhere to its July 5, 2017, mediated settlement of grievance 36-99-2-28-17:  To have AFA and Alaska representatives meet with Jeppesen to explore the capabilities of the system and how to align the front-end with the “real time” experience of the back-end user.  This is a continual violation as such meeting did not take place in a reasonably timely manner, and sufficient action was not taken to rectify the underlying system issues.    

        Grievance No.:  36-99-2-36-20-Violation of §25.B ANC Training Facility.  This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §25.B [Air Safety, Health and Security: Safe and Healthy Workplace], past practice, and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when it conducted Recurrent Training (RT) drills in Anchorage, Alaska in the Ross Aviation Hanger, and on or about February 16-19, 2020, the external temperature ranged from 18 to 46 degrees Fahrenheit and when the hanger door opened, frequently without notice, the internal hanger temperature dropped to as low as 46 degrees.  After the external hanger door opened it took approximately two hours with a loud heater to get the internal temperature back up to the low to mid 60s.  

        Grievance No.:  36-99-2-207-20-Violation of §10, §11.D & §24.L Bundled Scheduling Notifications.  This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §10 [Scheduling], §11.D [Reserve:  Scheduling/Notice of Time to Report] and §24.L [General and Miscellaneous: Company-Provided Inflight Mobile Device (IMD)], past practice, and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when its Jeppesen Crew Access (JCA) scheduling system sent bundled scheduling notifications to Flight Attendants on their Inflight Mobile Devices (IMDs) or directly in Crew Access, requiring Flight Attendants to batch acknowledge or ignore such notifications and thereby resulting in Flight Attendants potentially waiving multiple contractual protections via an extra-contractual point of contact (i.e. Crew Access scheduling notifications).  

        Grievance No.:  36-99-2-301-20-Violation of §3.D Scope of Agreement.  This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §3.D [Scope of Agreement:  Scope], past practice, and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when it announced beginning October 2020 through July 2021, it will operate flights with cargo in cabin seats; although such flying will occur without passengers, the Company intends to staff the flights with non-Flight Attendant employees, who will be trained to perform Flight Attendant duties, specifically including but not limited to:  Firefighting duties, cargo stowage in the passenger cabin and aircraft door operation in normal and emergency mode.    

        Grievance No.:  36-99-2-384-20-Violation of §10.S Scheduling Notifications.  This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §10.S [Scheduling :  Pre-Cancellations], past practice, and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when it used non-contractual scheduling notifications sent to Flight Attendants via the Crew Scheduling system in order to communicate and assign alternate flying or an obligation to call Crew Scheduling within a specific window of time.  If a Flight Attendant accepts such non-contractual scheduling notification(s), which is neither contact by Crew Scheduling via Company email nor via primary phone contact as defined in §10.S.1.a, the scheduling notification(s) violates the contract by abrogating the Flight Attendant’s ability to: (1) decline the alternate assignment and waive pay protection (§10.S.2.b), (2) decline the “out of original footprint by more than two hours” alternate assignment and call Crew Scheduling between 6:00 PM and 8:00 PM (local domicile time) the night prior to the start of the original sequence (§10.S.2.c), or (3) waive pay protection and be relieved of any further scheduling obligation (§10.S.3). 

        Grievance No.:  36-99-2-386-20-Violation of §8.Q & §8.R Contactability and Notification of Delay or Cancellation. This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §8.Q [Hours of Service: Contactability] and §8.R [Hours of Service: Notification of Delay or Cancellation], past practice, and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when it used non-contractual scheduling notifications sent via the Crew Scheduling system in order to communicate and assign revised flying to Flight Attendants who were off-duty on a remain overnight (RON). Such scheduling notifications are in violation of the contractually defined means of contact and/or the Flight Attendant’s obligation to respond pursuant to these provisions.

        Filed Under: AFA News Now, Grievance Committee

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        Refreshed Inflight Mobile Device (IMD) Distribution

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