AFA Alaska

Association of Flight Attendants-CWA Alaska Airlines Master Executive Council

Click here to report an issue to AFA
You are here: Home / Archives for Latest News

Negotiations Update October 3, 2013: Beware! Management is Calling!

Dear Flight Attendants,

 

It has come to our attention that Alaska Airlines Vice President of Inflight Services Andy Schneider and other members of management have been calling some Flight Attendants who have emailed regarding AFA contract negotiations. You cannot be retaliated against for putting forth your opinion and the calls to date have not implied that.

 

First of all please know that if you feel uncomfortable discussing negotiations, you have the absolute right to refuse to discuss that subject—even if you are speaking directly with Andy.

Secondly, if you do choose to discuss negotiations feel free to pass along that you expect management to do the right thing on the overall compensation and benefits package. You can tell them that your Negotiating Committee speaks for you. Do not engage in any conversation in which you are asked (and please do not volunteer!) to rank different contract provisions, e.g. “Which are more important? $X in compensation or rigs?” etc.

 

If management engages you in conversation via phone or email regarding specific negotiations objectives, it is imperative that you email negotiations@alaskamec.org with the details so that AFA can investigate.

 

Thanks for your support of the Negotiating Committee. Together we will fight for the contract we all deserve. If you have not already contacted management via email, we suggest that you add a disclaimer stating that you do not want feedback.

 

Remember: in all discussions with management, maintain a respectful tone and “My Negotiating Committee speaks for me!”

 

In solidarity,

 

Your Negotiating Committee – MEC President Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Tracy, Karina Cameron-Fetters, Jake Jones and AFA Staff Negotiator Paula Mastrangelo

 

“Five Bases, One Voice”

negotiations@alaskamec.org

Action Now: Showing our Solidarity October 9th at the Company Meeting

Let’s make our voice heard this Wednesday at the company meeting!

Join in and show our SOLIDARITY at the Company Fall Meeting October 9th. Your LEC will be be there in AFA Blue at Grand California Disneyland. The meeting is from 2:30pm-4pm with a following reception until 6pm (free parking).

RSVP for the meeting and reception through the First Class email from Andy & Co.

Contact Kelly Johnson, Kelese Stallings, or David Lehman to get a blue AFA t-shirt. Send an email to laxvice@aol.com with your name and shirt size (the t-shirts are pre-shrunk and true to size), and she will get a shirt to you on the day of the event.

You only get a T-shirt if you show up.

Five Bases, One VOICE!

MEC Update September 26, 2013: ‘Night Rule’ Clarification and Concerns

Dear Flight Attendants,

 

AFA has recently received a variety of questions and concerns with respect to Section 8.I in Hours of Service of our Collective Bargaining Agreement, or what’s commonly referred to as the “Night Rule.” It states the following:

 

“If a Flight Attendant is on duty at 4 AM (except for an APSB who has not had a flying assignment prior to the APSB assignment during the same duty period), s/he will not be required to remain on duty beyond 8:30 AM. The Company many build single-duty period sequences with one (1) return to domicile outside these parameters, but the Flight Attendant will not be scheduled for additional flying after the return to domicile.”

This language is important because it ensures that if you are on duty at 4AM (except when on a single duty period turn, i.e. SEA-ANC-SEA) you cannot be scheduled to remain on duty beyond 8:30AM. The language was incorporated into the contract in 2006 and was designed to address concerns with additional scheduled flying following an all-nighter.

With the changeover from the former AOS pairing optimizer to the current Jeppesen pairing optimizer we started seeing pairings that have an additional leg following all-nighter flying. This was as early as July 2013. AOS was programmed to prohibit any additional flying if on duty at 4am. Jeppesen operates using a different algorithm that more closely mirrors the contractual language. Consequently, the Jeppesen solutions will contain sequences with a leg added to flying following an all-nighter. The only caveat is that these pairings must release prior to 8:30 AM as measured from the timezone of the initial departure station in that duty period. (More on that shortly.)

Example: Seattle pairing #9695 from the August 2013 bid packet departs on day two from OGG at 10:15 PM Hawaii Standard Time (HST), lands in PDX at 6:22 AM Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) the following day and then departs to SFO and releases at 9:35 AM PDT. Days 1-3 of this 4-day pairing are illustrated below.

Day 1

867 SEA 18:20 OGG 21:15

Day 2/3

822 OGG 22:15 PDX 06:22

244 PDX 07:35 SFO 09:20

The reason this pairing is legal under the Night Rule is that the 8:30 AM release restriction is based on the time zone in which the duty period starts (i.e. the initial departure station time) and not local time. The release time is 9:35 AM PDT which is actually 6:35 AM HST (as Hawaii does not observe DST) and is therefore legal because release is before 8:30 AM HST.

AFA is very much aware that the language is silent in regards to the time zone. Management asserted that they should not “lose” one or more hours of scheduling availability simply because a Flight Attendant is advancing through time zones by flying east. After extensive research into the bargaining history from that period we were able to confirm that it was not the intent of either party to apply additional “artificial” restrictions on the Night Rule due to changing time zones.

Otherwise if the parties agreed that the Night Rule was based on local time, the opposite argument could be made. That is, management would gain one or more hours of scheduling availability if a Flight Attendant was flying west and obviously AFA is not going to agree to that interpretation. The reality is that the ability to create these types of pairings while complying with the Night Rule was not anticipated by either party in the mid-2000s.

There are a variety of factors that have changed since those negotiations which have made it easier for the pairing optimizer to build this type of pairing:

  • Shorter block times, which allow for new combinations of segments to be legally scheduled within the 10 ½ hour duty day;

  • A dramatic increase in Hawaii flying; and

  • An expanded route structure with more flying across the system.

When AFA first became aware that the new pairing optimizer was creating these types of pairings, a meeting was held between representatives from Alaska Airlines Scheduling & Planning and AFA. At that meeting AFA expressed concern that although the pairings were technically legal, additional scheduled flying following all-nighters was too hard on the crews working them.

Management informed us of their intent to continue building these types of pairings. However, management did offer to voluntarily place some additional restrictions into the pairing optimizer:

  • No additional flying would be scheduled following an all-nighter on the last day of a sequence (so that a Flight Attendant would not be released to drive home at domicile after additional night flying); and

  • If an additional leg were to be scheduled following an all-nighter, the ground time would not exceed eighty nine (89) minutes.

AFA continues to be concerned about the health and safety of the Flight Attendants working these trips due to fatigue. Despite the voluntary restrictions being in place for over a month now, it is clear they are not helping. The example pairing above is often hit with long ground times and block delays due to air traffic control (ATC) delays into SFO.

We need assistance from Flight Attendants who are flying these trips or who have flown all-nighters in the past to send us feedback detailing the impacts to crews who are forced to fly under these conditions. The AFA Alaska Safety, Health and Security Committee (SHSC) is helping our effort by providing information regarding the overall impact of fatigue and the interruption of the circadian rhythm. However, having first-hand accounts from Flight Attendants will have the greatest impact in convincing management to change these pairings.

Please send your comments to MEC Grievance Chair Jennifer Wise MacColl at jenwmac@comcast.net.

In solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Terry Taylor, Yvette Gesch, Melanie Buker, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn and Sandra Morrow; and MEC Grievance Chair Jennifer Wise MacColl

“Five Bases, One Voice”

alaskamec.org

Negotiations Update September 25, 2013: Latest Clarification to Section 9 Junior Available Tentative Agreement

[Note: Please read this communication in its entirety. It is lengthy, but the detail is necessary to fully explain the changes. –NC]

 

Dear Flight Attendants,

 

There are still rumors and misinformation surrounding the tentative agreement (TA) specific to Junior Assignments. It has been a while since we explained the proposed changes to JA and your Negotiating Committee will take this opportunity to review the process, the provisions and the enhancements to our current system compared to the TA.

 

What is JA?: Junior Available occurs when a Flight Attendant is required to work on an unscheduled day(s) [i.e., a day off] or when Crew Scheduling assigns additional flying after a completed sequence.

 

What is a Reassignment?: Reassignment is any assignment changes or additions occurring on days you are already scheduled to fly, although may carry into days you were scheduled to be off.

 

Chart outlining the current JA system vs. the TA’d version

 

 

JA premium

Can FA trade JA assignment?

Premium follow trade?

If FA JA’d out or order?

FA not JA’d?

Premium OT to avoid JA

TODAY

1.5x pay

Not really*

N/A

1.5x

N/A

N/A

TA

2.5x pay

Yes

Yes

3.0x

2.5x

1.5x min

 

*Under the current contract, a JA trip may be posted for trade only once and you must contact Crew Scheduling to work out the trade. What that effectively means is that nobody trades a JA trip and in fact it is so inaccessible that very few Flight Attendants realize this provision even exists per 9.G of the Contract. The TA provides for unlimited trading of the pairing without restrictions.

 

Current Process TODAY:

 

Company decides in order to cover the operation they need to utilize Junior Available provisions of Section 9. Crew Scheduling (CSKD) utilizes the monthly seniority list starting with most junior qualified, available Flight Attendant in the domicile from which the sequence departs who is completely legal for the flight(s) or sequence to be assigned. CSKD will start at the bottom of the list and work up: 1) by calling the FA at the primary contact number on file with CSKD if s/he is not already on duty, or 2) if s/he is on duty, by flagging the FA to be contacted in flight via ACARS in and/or a supervisor upon arrival.

 

Due to improvements to technology (e.g. caller ID), only about 1 out of 200 Flight Attendants on the average answer their phone—usually by mistake.

 

Except for a very few, in reality Flight Attendants who are already on duty are the ones who are JA’d today – because it’s a game of “tag, you’re it.” True, there might be a delay in notification because CSKD has to go through the charade of calling those at home but they still get you nonetheless. If you are tagged for JA today, it is because CSKD has already attempted to call everybody junior to you who is legal for the assignment(s). Remember that legalities disqualify many FAs and you also cannot be JA’d if you trade away a trip off your original line on that day. (This loophole legally allows many junior Flight Attendants to become ineligible for JA with just a few clever manipulations of their schedules.)

 

A Flight Attendant cannot be contacted for JA duty more than twenty-four (24) hours before the needed scheduled sequence or reserve duty period. Flight Attendants who are JA’d are offered 1.5 times the appropriate trip rate or a day off at straight pay of her/his choice equal in number to those assigned by the JA assignment.

 

New TA’d Section 9 Junior Available procedure:

 

Company decides in order to cover the operation they need to utilize Junior Available provisions of Section 9. Prior to attempting to JA any Flight Attendant, CSKD can post the trips in OT with a minimum 1.5x premium to encourage someone to pick it up. The premium can be increased to 2.0x or even 2.5x and once the premium goes on the trip, it cannot be removed unless assigned to a Reserve or there is a cancellation. Crew Schedulers do not want to JA Flight Attendants and Premium OT is actually a cheaper option for the Company even at 2.0x pay because we raised the JA premium to 2.5x pay.

 

Crew Scheduling utilizes the monthly seniority list starting with the most junior available Flight Attendant on duty anytime the day prior—essentially the same list utilized today. For the purposes of this provision, duty is defined with specific reference to inbound working crews and any Flight Attendant on a layover or at check-in—basically anytime you are accruing time away from base (TAFB).

 

The new provision eliminates the step of calling Flight Attendants at home who do not answer their phones. This “trade-off” results in hugely increased premiums at a significant financial penalty to the Company!

 

Remember – the Company today has the ability to JA working Flight Attendants concurrently with making the calls to Flight Attendants at home. It really just depends on whether ‘your number is up’ on the seniority list of those legal for the assignment(s).

 

If a Flight Attendant is JA’d the Flight Attendant will receive a premium of 2.5 times the applicable trip rate for all flying.

 

Under the TA there is no option to elect days off when receiving a JA assignment. Why did we change this? The thought process behind this new JA provision is to minimize the number of Flight Attendants affected by JA. When a Flight Attendant chooses a day off in lieu of compensation it affects Reserve coverage on subsequent days which often causes additional JA assignments or reassignments due to operational needs. The goal is to cover the operation and get flying back to normal with the least amount of impact to the group.

 

If a Flight Attendant receives a Junior Assignment, Crew Scheduling is required to notify the FA if they will fall below the minimum of 12 days off in a bid month or if there is a 48/7 violation and the Flight Attendant may decline the Junior Assignment if either situation applies.

 

Flight Attendants will have the ability to trade Junior Assignments and the premium of 2.5 times the applicable rate will follow the sequence. A Flight Attendant may be contacted for JA duty while on a sequence no earlier than the preceding calendar day before the needed, scheduled sequence or reserve duty period.

 

The preservation of seniority is critical! We eliminated the loophole that allowed junior Flight Attendants to gain “super seniority” and avoid JA by trading away trips from their original line. Some FAs would swap trips with each other and become “untouchable” for JA for an entire month. This is course would push the JA list even higher in seniority. Well, no longer!

 

The new process, protections and provisions allow for both the Flight Attendants and the Company to manage and audit the Junior Available assignments. Transparency is integral to this provision. Consequently, management will provide a list of those JA’d so the assignments can be fact-checked.

 

With such a high premium attached to JA assignments the Negotiating Committee is extremely confident that the Company will first attempt to utilize Reserves, make reassignment adjustments to those already flying (when applicable—this very rarely happens) and offer Premium Open Time (minimum 1.5 times the applicable trip rate) prior to JA’ing.

 

As a last and final resort to cover the operation the Company will utilize the provisions of Section 9, while also protecting seniority, minimum days off and contractual rest provisions.

 

Your Negotiating Committee spent countless hours reviewing, discussing and enhancing the provisions of Section 9. We were successful in negotiating a seniority-based system of assignment, protections, waivers and compensation. We are optimistic that once we present a contract to the membership for ratification, Flight Attendants will read over Section 9 Junior Available Rules and understand the complete depth of all changes and improvements.

 

 

In solidarity,

 

 

Your Negotiating Committee – MEC President Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Tracy, Karina Cameron-Fetters, Jake Jones and AFA Staff Negotiator Paula Mastrangelo

 

“Five Bases, One Voice”

negotiations@alaskamec.org

[Post script from MEC President Jeffrey Peterson: Many of you have written directly to me over the last month or so asking for clarification to this section. I have been able to respond to many but I apologize that I have definitely fallen way behind on writing back to some of you individually. If you haven’t heard back from me on this issue I hope this communication will go a long ways towards answering your questions and/or addressing your concerns. The other members of the Negotiating Committee have kindly offered to assist in answering negotiations-related questions in a more timely manner. You can email negotiations@alaskamec.org and your message will be sent to all members of the AFA Alaska Negotiating Committee. -jtp]

AFA-CWA Update September 24, 2013: Special Board of Directors Meeting

Dear Flight Attendants,

The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA Board of Directors (BOD) is the highest governing body of our union, consisting of the officers who are elected by members at each airline and base or Local Council. Directly-elected Flight Attendants set the priorities and objectives of our union. Yesterday, these leaders came together in special session in Washington, DC, to address timely policy issues and objectives for our union.

First on the agenda was a discussion about the US Airways/American merger that affects AFA members from four airlines: American Eagle, Piedmont, PSA and US Airways.

The US Airways Master Executive Council (MEC) presented the intense work done over the past year and a half that culminated in a ratified contract only weeks following the official announcement of the new merger. In addition to industry-leading job security, the new single contract also provides the opportunity to achieve additional improvements at the new American. The leaders discussed their efforts to work with representatives of the American Flight Attendants to address the issues of concern in a merger: contract, seniority protection, representation.

The AFA-CWA Board of Directors voted unanimously to support US Airways Flight Attendants in our efforts to secure the best contract with our American flying partners once this merger is approved. In addition, the BOD reaffirmed our union’s first priority to unite all Flight Attendants – and the Board committed the support and resources to achieve this at the new American.

The leaders also discussed the merger agreement with CWA that uniquely increases our power through our partnership with the 700,000 member union while we retain the right to determine our policies and objectives in our union of, by and for Flight Attendants. The merger agreement, approved by membership ratification in 2003 and which became effective January 1, 2004, may be found on the AFA-CWA website at http://cb.afa-bod.org/

There are a lot of challenges and opportunities before us at all of our airlines and across the industry. Our union has never shied from a challenge. Our history is rich with many accomplishments rooted in our first objective: “To unite all cabin crew members in the airline industry regardless of age, color, disability, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression who are eligible for membership.” This year alone we experience the product of our commitment to this objective through incredible social change. Working within our democracy is hard, but it leads to better results because we are all involved.

At the end of the day, as is the case with this Board meeting, we walk forward in unity because that is our commitment to each other and that is how we make a difference for our flying partners and our families.

In Solidarity,

The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA

Inflight Service Committee Meeting Recap – 2nd Quarter 2022

Leave a Comment

Our AFA Inflight Service Committee Chairpersons met on Wednesday, May 25 to discuss their ongoing program of work to represent Flight Attendants interests related to catering and onboard service/sales. The Committee also met with management to receive updates and discuss issues and problems that Flight Attendants are facing onboard the aircraft. Management continues to experience challenges in many locations that are affecting the correct loading on onboard catering supplies and retail products.  Please continue to report catering issues through Block2Block and safety-related issues through ReportIt!  

AFA Council 35 (SFO) Election Results

Leave a Comment

Master Executive Council (MEC) The following AFA Flight Attendants were elected to Local Council Officer positions representing Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants based in San Francisco: LEC President: Melissa OsborneLEC Vice President: Virginia FritzLEC Secretary: James IkeharaCouncil Representative: Brad Young View the certified election results here >> These officers will serve a term of office starting July 1, 2022 and […]

May 2022 MEC Meeting Recap

Leave a Comment

Our AFA Alaska Master Executive Council (MEC) met this week on Tuesday, May 24 to conduct their ongoing work to represent our Flight Attendants. As part of the meeting, our MEC joined the May 24th Negotiating Committee Listening Session to hear directly from our Flight Attendants about experiences, thoughts, and ideas for upcoming contract negotiations. The next Regular MEC Meeting is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, June 14 and Wednesday, June 15.  Please don’t hesitate to reach out to your LEC President if you have any questions.

AFA Council 15 (SAN) Election Results

Leave a Comment

Master Executive Council (MEC) The following AFA Flight Attendants were elected to Local Council Officer positions representing Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants based in San Diego: LEC President: Brice McGeeLEC Vice President: Melanie BukerLEC Secretary: Stephen Couckuyt View the certified election results here >> These officers will serve a term of office starting July 1, 2022 and concluding on […]

Scheduling Committee Meeting Recap – May 2022

4 Comments

Our AFA Scheduling Committee Chairpersons met on Tuesday, May 24 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!

December 2021 MEC Meeting Recap

By

December 2021 MEC Meeting Recap Master Executive Council (MEC) President Jeffrey Peterson Just wrapped up chairing our monthly MEC meeting yesterday and today. As usual, your AFA committee chairs and reps provided written reports to the MEC about the latest developments in their areas, and we received live briefings regarding dispute resolution & grievances, scheduling, […]

Inflight Leadership Change and the Path Forward

By

Master Executive Council (MEC) President Jeffrey Peterson Now that is has been officially announced that Travis will be stepping away as leader of the Inflight division, I thought Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants might want to hear from their MEC president. I may not always be at liberty to communicate the details of every conversation advocating […]

RSS Negotiations News

Recent Posts

News By Month

News By Category

AFA Alaska News Now Air Quality Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC) Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) AS/VX Merger Benefits Committee Committees Communications Committee Contract Contract 2014 Negotiations Blog Council 15 SAN Council 18 LAX Council 19 SEA Council 30 ANC Council 35 SFO Council 39 PDX EAP/Professional Standards Committee Extension 2021 Blog Featured Government Affairs Committee Grievance Committee Hotel Committee Human Rights Committee Industry News Inflight Service Committee Inflight Training Committee JNC Blog Latest News Local Councils Master Executive Council (MEC) Message from the MEC President Mobilization Committee Negotiations Pairing Construction Preferential Bidding System (PBS) Press Releases Reserve Committee Retirement Committee Scheduling Committee Uniform Committee

Want To Stay In The Loop?

The best way to stay connected with up-to-date AFA Alaska news and information is through a subscription to AFA Alaska emails!  Click the button below to sign up.  Already a subscriber?  You can make changes to your email by clicking below!
Sign Up