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AFA Alaska News in Review – April 1, 2022

In This Edition

Human Trafficking Awareness and Updated Training

Originally posted April 1, 2022

Human trafficking is a crime that occurs when force, fraud, or coercion is used to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act from another person.  AFA has partnered with the Department of Transportation and Department of Homeland Security to bring Blue Lightning human trafficking awareness training to thousands of Flight Attendants.  The Blue Lightning Initiative has recently released updated training on human trafficking based on feedback from airline employees and human trafficking survivors.  You can access the training through the AFA Online Learning Academy.

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MEC Mobilization Committee Chairperson Expression of Interest Deadline

Just one week left to submit your expression of interest to serve as our MEC Mobilization Committee Chairperson! Find out more about the position or submit your expression of interest and resume on the Contract 2022 website at https://contract2022.afaalaska.org/news/mec-mobilization-committee-chairperson-interviews.  Expressions of interest will close on Tuesday, April 5 at 5 PM Pacific time.

Next Week’s Events

Tuesday, April 5
5 PM PDT		MEC Mobilization Committee Chairperson Expression of Interest Deadline
Thursday, April 7ANC Base Safety Meeting
Thursday, April 7Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR)

See the MEC Event Calendar >

Human Trafficking Awareness and Updated Training

Human Rights Committee

  • Human trafficking is a crime that occurs when force, fraud, or coercion is used to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act from another person.
  • AFA has partnered with the Department of Transportation and Department of Homeland Security to bring Blue Lightning human trafficking awareness training to thousands of Flight Attendants.
  • The Blue Lightning Initiative has recently released updated training on human trafficking based on feedback from airline employees and human trafficking survivors.  You can access the training through the AFA Online Learning Academy.

In 2013, AFA formally started efforts to educate Flight Attendants about human trafficking and ensure that airlines provided such training.  Those efforts grew in 2015 when AFA launched a major campaign to support the Blue Lightning Initiative (BLI), led by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and the Department of Transportation (DOT).  The goal of BLI is to train airline personnel to identify potential traffickers and human trafficking victims, and to report their suspicions to federal law enforcement.  This support expanded into an official partnership in 2017, when AFA became the first labor union to secure a memorandum of understanding to bring the Blue Lightning Training to thousands of Flight Attendants.

As Flight Attendants, we are uniquely positioned to identify human traffickers and assist their victims.  Flight crews are skilled observers, and with the appropriate training, they can be the frontline against trafficking, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.  Indicators of human trafficking can include: physical control of travel documents of an adult traveler by a co-traveler; restricting the movement and social interaction of an adult traveler by a co-traveler; an adult traveler who is unclear on details of his/her final destination or point of contact; or a child traveler who appears to be accompanied by someone claiming to be the parent or guardian who is in fact not related to the child.

Updated Blue Lightning Initiative Training

The new Blue Lighting Initiative training, led by the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the Department of Transportation, is an element of the DHS Blue Campaign. The training is 17 minutes in length, and is comprised of four lessons that include:

  • What is Human Trafficking?
  • Indicators of Human Trafficking Activity
  • Reporting Suspected Human Trafficking
  • Indicator Challenge

You can access the updated training through the AFA-CWA Online Learning Academy.  If it’s your first time visiting the AFA-CWA Online Learning Academy, you’ll need to register for an account using your personal email address in order to access the training.

More Information

You can find more information about efforts to end human trafficking on the Blue Lightning Initiative or the DHS Blue Campaign website pages. 

AFA Alaska News in Review – March 25, 2022

In This Edition

COVID Exposure: Differences in Company and CDC Guidance

Originally posted March 22, 2022

Management has developed guidance on how to deal with COVID-19 exposure that uses different terminology, definitions, and recommendations than the guidance currently offered by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC).  To most effectively manage your personal risk in the event of an exposure, it’s helpful to understand how management’s definitions and guidance equate with the CDC guidance.  More information about CDC guidance for both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals can be found on the CDC website.

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Scheduling Committee Meeting Recap – March 2022

Originally posted March 24, 2022

Our AFA Scheduling Committee Chairpersons met on Tuesday, March 22 to discuss their ongoing program of work to represent Flight Attendants interests related to lineholder scheduling.  The Committee also met with management to receive updates and discuss issues and problems that Flight Attendants are experiencing with scheduling, pairings, and bidding.  Your Local Scheduling Committee is available to answer questions, provide clarification, or help to resolve any lineholder scheduling-related issues.  Please don’t hesitate to reach out!

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College Scholarship Opportunities Reminder 

REMINDER: Application deadlines for the 2022 AFA Scholarship Fund and CWA Joe Beirne Scholarship are fast approaching! More information about both scholarship opportunities, including eligibility requirements, application information, and other important details can be found via the links on this previous AFA Alaska News Now post from January 28. Don’t miss out on this valuable opportunity!

Next Week’s Events

Sunday, March 27 – Thursday, March 31MEC Employee Assistance Program (EAP)/Professional Standards Committee Chairperson Training
Monday, March 28Company Annual Employee Meeting
Thursday, March 31SAN Base Safety Meeting
Friday, April 1Pilot Informational Picketing

See the MEC Event Calendar >

Scheduling Committee Meeting Recap – March 2022

Scheduling Committee

  • Our AFA Scheduling Committee Chairpersons met on Tuesday, March 22 to discuss their ongoing program of work to represent Flight Attendants interests related to lineholder scheduling.
  • The Committee also met with management to receive updates and discuss issues and problems that Flight Attendants are experiencing with scheduling, pairings, and bidding.
  • Your Local Scheduling Committee is available to answer questions, provide clarification, or help to resolve any lineholder scheduling-related issues. Please don’t hesitate to reach out!

On Tuesday, March 22, 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), Rita Tillou (SEA), Melodie Anderes (PDX), Virginia Fritz (SFO), Natalie Codd (LAX), and Kitty Cohen (SAN). Also present were MEC Scheduling Committee Chairperson Jake Jones, MEC Scheduling Committee Vice Chairperson—Pairing Construction Karen Ferrell, MEC Scheduling Committee Vice Chairperson—PBS Adam Clarey, and MEC Reserve Chairperson Julie Thornton. The committee met with Managing Director of Inflight Operations Michaela Littman, Crew Scheduling Duty Manager Sara Cook, Manager of Crew Planning Mac Patterson, and other management representatives from Crew Scheduling and Crew Planning.

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:

  • Pairing construction including concerns about high line averages, reserve utilization, and fatigue.
  • Concerns about reassignments, conversion of deadheads, sick calls, and the number of trips consistently in Premium Open Time.
  • Review of PBS Base Sits including training video views and level of participation at the base sits and on conference calls.
  • Spring Incentive Premium including both negative and positive feedback received from Flight Attendants.
  • Concerns about PBS bid groups causing issues with bidding and raising the low line average higher.
  • Inclusion of scheduled charter flying in bid packets and PBS pairing search.
  • Feedback about the Jeppesen Crew Access core system for the vendor.
  • Discussion about the company’s network planning strategy and how flying is assigned to Alaska, Horizon, and/or Skywest.

What The Committee Is Working On

  1. PBS Base Sits.  Conducting virtual meetings, trainings, and in-person meetings in preparation for the sunsetting of NAVBLUE ClassBid PBS.  
  2. Reassignment Flow Chart.  Developing an easy-to-follow flow chart to help explain how reassignments work, similar to the pre-cancellation flow chart.  A rough draft is expected next month for further review by the Scheduling Committee.
  3. Scheduling Quality of Life Improvements.  Reviewing ways to improve Trip Length Distribution (TLD) and other quality of life options.  Working with management to develop a quality of life survey to determine Flight Attendant scheduling priorities. 
  4. Review of user guides and links of Flight Attendant website.  Ensuring information is still accurate in existing resource materials, links are still active and working, etc.
  5. Updating Crew Access videos.  Working with management and ITS to update the Crew Access instructional videos to reflect updates and changes to the user interface.

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 Scheduling 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 Scheduling Committee page of the AFA Alaska website.

COVID Exposure: Differences in Company and CDC Guidance

Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC)

  • Management has developed guidance on how to deal with COVID-19 exposure that uses different terminology, definitions, and recommendations than the guidance currently offered by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC).
  • To most effectively manage your personal risk in the event of an exposure, it’s helpful to understand how management’s definitions and guidance compare to the CDC guidance.
  • More information about CDC guidance for both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals can be found on the CDC website.

Fortunately, we are in a period of relatively low COVID-19 transmission and reported hospitalizations and deaths continue to trend downward. Despite low case counts, there is the possibility that another spike in COVID-19 cases could occur if new variants emerge and precautions like mask mandates and social distancing are reduced.

To help understand and manage your personal risk as we enter this next phase of the pandemic, it is helpful to know how the Company handles and communicates known COVID-19 exposures and how that differs from current CDC guidance.  The Company has created two categories of exposure, “low risk” and “high risk”. 

Company Defined “Low Risk Exposure” – It is AFA’s understanding that the Company’s “low risk exposure” is essentially the same as the CDC’s “close contact”.  This occurs when you were less than 6 feet away from an infectious person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period.  A person is considered infectious starting 2 days before they have any symptoms, or if asymptomatic 2 days before taking a test which came back positive for COVID-19.

Company Defined “High Risk Exposure” – This differs significantly from the CDC’s definition of “close contact”.  To qualify as “high risk exposure”, the person you were less than 6 feet away from for a cumulative 15 minutes over a 24-hour period must also have symptoms of COVID-19 while (or within two days of the time that) you were with them. One of you must also have been without a mask.  If the exposure was to an asymptomatic COVID-19 positive individual or you were both wearing a mask, it will not be classified as “high risk”. As you can see, this greatly reduces the chance of an exposure being categorized as “high risk”.

To manage risk, we recommend that you treat notifications of “low risk” exposure from the Company as “close contact” as defined by the CDC.

If you are up-to-date on COVID-19 vaccinations or have had a confirmed case of COVID-19 within the past 90 days, it is not necessary to quarantine.  However, the CDC still recommends that you take certain precautions.  Even if you don’t develop symptoms, get tested at least 5 days after you last had CDC defined “close contact” with (or Company defined “high risk” or “low risk” exposure to) someone with COVID-19. Until 10 days after that contact/exposure you should also watch for symptoms, isolate if you develop symptoms, wear a well-fitted mask any time you are around others, and avoid being around people who are at high risk.

Check out this link for additional CDC guidance for both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals who have had “close contact”.

Reserve Committee Meeting Recap – 1st Quarter 2026

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants On Thursday, March 5, representatives from our pre-merger Alaska AFA Reserve Committee Chairpersons met to discuss their ongoing work to advocate for Reserve Flight Attendants. Representing you at the meeting were Conner Gallager (SEA), Anthony Eskander (PDX), Meghan Casey (SFO) & MEC Reserve Committee Vice Chairperson—New Hire […]

2026 AFA Board of Directors Convention: What You Need To Know

Next week, our Master Executive Council (MEC) Officers, Local Executive Council (LEC) Presidents, and several other LEC Officers, Committee Chairpersons, and Committee Members will attend the 53rd Annual AFA Board of Directors (BOD) Convention in Portland, Oregon. They will join representatives from other AFA airlines to address our Union’s business at the international level. Watch […]

Hawaiian Flight Attendant Seattle Domicile Negotiations – March 2026 Update

Management currently requires Flight Attendants to provide proof of relocation to receive the flat-rate moving expense, a policy that the AFA is formally challenging through the grievance process. While this dispute is ongoing, Flight Attendants able to submit proof of relocation must submit two forms of documentation, such as a lease or updated driver’s license, within 60 days of transfer if they wish to be paid under management’s terms. The union continues to advocate for a fairer process and encourages members to keep records of all related interactions.

Joint Contract Negotiations Session 12 – February 2026

During this negotiation session, we made progress on Sections 15 (Leaves of Absence) and 22 (Expenses). The JNC advocated for positive developments from the Hawaiian CBA to strengthen our proposals. We also introduced our initial proposal for Section 28 (Domiciles) and remain committed to meaningful improvements in all areas of discussion.

Reminder: Don’t Miss Next Week’s MEC Town Hall!

Mark your calendar—Tuesday, March 3, is almost here! There’s still time to register for our Alaska + Hawaiian Town Hall and hear directly from your MEC Officers: MEC President Tim Green, MEC Vice President Brice McGee, and MEC Secretary-Treasurer Paul Ikioka. Join us for the latest updates and get answers to your questions. The Details What […]

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