AFA Alaska + Hawaiian

Representing the Flight Attendants of Alaska + Hawaiian

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AFA Issue Reporting and Resolution

Last year, your AFA Alaska Master Executive Council (MEC) introduced the AFA Alaska online support center.  The system is designed for you to document and report scheduling and reserve concerns, situations where you might be facing discipline, potential contractual grievances, and any other issue where you might need AFA support.  The system also allows AFA representatives to better track issues that are occurring, identify trends, and address and resolve issues with management.

You can access the system using the following link:

Click here to access the AFA Alaska Online Support Center

Reporting New Issues

You can report a new issue in the system by opening a ticket, just follow these steps:

  1. Visit http://support.afaalaska.org/
  2. Click the blue “Open a New Ticket” button
  3. Fill in your personal information (including a non-company email address)
  4. Select the help topic that relates to the issue
  5. Fill in the issue-specific information and provide details

From this screen, you’ll also be able to attach pictures, PDF files, screenshots, and other information that will help your AFA representatives to have more information available about the issue.

Once you’ve opened a ticket, you’ll receive a confirmation email and with a ticket number.  Behind the scenes, your ticket will be assigned to an AFA representative who will assist you with the issue.

What Happens Next

The AFA representative assigned to your case will work with management to determine a resolution.  If management agrees, then the representative will contact you and advise you of the resolution.  If AFA and management do not agree, the AFA representative might escalate the issue.

What are SRB and ADR?

When the AFA representative assigned to your case and management are unable to come to a mutually acceptable resolution, the AFA representative might escalate the issue to Scheduling Review Board (SRB) if the issue is related to scheduling or Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) for all other issues.

SRB and ADR meetings are typically held every other week. Issues can sometimes take a few months to resolve based on the work and discussion involved between management and AFA. If an issue gets resolved in SRB/ADR, the AFA representative assigned to your case will contact  you and advise you of the outcome.

Grievances

If there is no resolution in SRB or ADR and there is a contractual violation, AFA will file a grievance.  Contractual grievances must go through the grievance procedures as outlined in section 19 of the Flight Attendant Contract.  If the grievance is not resolved there, it may be escalated to the System Board of Adjustment, where the case would be heard before a neutral arbitrator.  Information about the System Board of Adjustment can be found in section 20 of the Flight Attendant Contract.

Checking on Open Issues 

With your ticket number, you can track the status of the ticket online, add additional information and attachments for your AFA representative to have available.  To check on your ticket:

  1. Visit http://support.afaalaska.org
  2. Click the green “Check Ticket Status” button
  3. Enter your email address and ticket number
  4. Click the “View Ticket” button

As always, the more information and evidence you attach to the ticket (i.e., screenshots, emails, etc.), the better your AFA representatives can assist you.

Questions?

If you have questions about reporting issues to AFA or how issues get resolved, please contact your Local Grievance Committee.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Lisa Pinkston, Terry Taylor, Mario de’Medici, Melissa Osborne, Tim Green, Brice McGee; and MEC Grievance Committee Chairperson Stephanie Adams

[L-VX] MEC Scheduling Committee Vice Chairperson – Legacy Virgin America Interviews

This message is for pre-merger Virgin America Flight Attendants

Background

The MEC Scheduling Committee Vice Chairperson – Legacy Virgin America is responsible for coordinating the activities of the committee specific to all Legacy Virgin America Flight Attendants. The Chairperson works closely with each Local Committee Chairperson to gather feedback and input and represents the positions of the Committee and MEC in interactions with management.

This is a temporary position that will remain in place through full implementation of the JCBA.

Qualifications

  • Current Legacy Virgin America Flight Attendant
  • Robust working knowledge of scheduling provisions of the Legacy Virgin America work rules and Flight Attendant collective bargaining agreement.
  • Knowledge of CFRs and other regulations pertaining to flight time, duty time, and crew rest guidelines.
  • Ability to maintain office hours in Seattle during the business week and attend meetings as required.
  • Strong computer skills. Excellent working knowledge of FLICA, PBS, Google email, and Microsoft Office. Knowledge of osTicket helpful.
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills. Ability to write membership communications, respond professionally to internal and external e-mail, prepare reports, and plan meeting agendas and take minutes.
  • Ability to meet deadlines, take ownership of issues, delegate responsibilities, and follow up on assigned tasks.

Duties

  • Provide assistance in handling L-VX scheduling-related concerns and issues. Assist in resolution of issues as needed.
  • Attend meetings with management and represent the AFA position on scheduling-related matters.
  • Participate in the Scheduling Review Board process.
  • Participate in PBS bid awards and the Pairing Construction process.
  • Assist in planning of and participate in monthly meetings of the committee and other meetings and conference calls as needed.
  • Coordinate with the MEC Reserve Committee Chairperson to discuss issues that affect both reserve and line-holding L-VX Flight Attendants.
  • Correspond with the Local Scheduling Committee Chairpersons and the MEC Scheduling Committee Chairperson regularly to provide status updates. Prepare and send a monthly report to the MEC Scheduling Committee Chairperson.

Time Commitment and Flight Pay Loss Reimbursement

  • This position is budgeted for 66.4 block hours (equivalent of 75 TFP) of Flight Pay Loss (FPL) per month, paid with a 5% override at “A” pay.
  • Time commitment is approximately two days per week in Seattle with additional work completed remotely or in the office as necessary.
  • Hotel accommodation expense (one night per week) will be provided for this position.
  • This position does not bid a line but may pick up flying as responsibilities permit.

Term of Appointment

This is a temporary position that will begin work on June 18, 2018 and will remain in position until at least 90 days after full JCBA implementation (currently scheduled for January 31, 2019).

Working Relationships

With The Scheduling Committee

Constant interaction with the Local Scheduling Committee Chairpersons. Frequent interaction with Local Scheduling Committee Members.

With The Master Executive Council

This position reports to the Master Executive Council through the MEC Scheduling Committee Chairperson. The MEC executive sponsor for the committee is the MEC President.

With Alaska Airlines Management

Constant interaction with inflight management, particularly the Director of Inflight Crew Scheduling (Denia Pisia), Crew Scheduling Duty Managers, and Manager of Crew Planning (Cecilia Mui).

Expressing Interest and Interview Scheduling

  • Initial interviews will be conducted on Wednesday, June 6, 2018.
  • Interviews will be at the AFA Alaska MEC office in Seattle. Positive space travel to and from the interview will be available.
  • Submit a declaration of interest and resume to MEC Secretary-Treasurer Linda Christou at linda.christou@afaalaska.org no later than 5 PM Pacific Time on Tuesday, May 29, 2018. Linda will be able to provide additional information regarding transportation and booking of flights if necessary.

 

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Lisa Pinkston, Terry Taylor, Mario de’Medici, Melissa Osborne, Tim Green and Brice McGee

New Pay Rates and Retro Pay

The Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) is providing this information to you in order to help clear up confusion about the new Joint Collective Bargaining Agreement (JCBA) pay rates and retro pay. This communication is a supplement to the Updated JCBA Implementation Quick Reference Guide.

L-VX Pay Rates and Retro Pay

L-VX Flight Attendants have now received three checks with the new pay rates: One on 4/30 for the first two weeks of April (smaller check), one on 5/15 for the last two weeks of April (larger check) and a retro check on 5/15 for January through March retro pay.

L-AS Pay Rates and Retro Pay

L-AS FAs will receive two checks on 5/18 with the new pay rates: One for April flying and one for January through March retro pay. For the approximately 1700 Flight Attendants who have an adjusted Occupational Seniority date between 1/1 and 5/31, you will also receive another retro check no later than 6/29 for the appropriate pay due to the new Occupational Seniority date. Considering that management had maintained throughout the roadshows that all retro pay would be paid out much earlier, AFA is extremely disappointed that management now indicates it needs until June to pay out for the adjusted Occupational Seniority dates.

Example:

Original Occupational Seniority date: 4/1/2011

Adjusted Occupational Seniority date (first day of training): 2/14/2011

FA was paid at the prior Step 6 rate of $ 37.18 for checks issued in January, February, March, April and on the May 5th advance check, if applicable.

FA will be paid for January through March for the difference between the prior Step 6 rate of $37.18 and the new Year 7 (formerly known as Step 6) rate of $38.85 on a 5/18 retro check.

FA will be paid for April at the new Year 8 (formerly known as Step 7) rate of $40.11 on the 5/18 paycheck.

FA will be paid for May at the Year 8 rate of $40.11 on the 6/20 paycheck (and the 6/5 advance paycheck, if appropriate).

FA will be paid for 2/14 – 3/31 for the difference between the new Year 7 rate of $38.85 and the new Year 8 rate of $40.11 on an additional retro check no later than 6/29.

Advance (5thof the Month) Paychecks

The advance paychecks on 4/5 and 5/5 were paid at the old pay rate, which needs to be corrected by Payroll. The 4/5 paychecks will be reconciled at the new rate on the 5/18 paychecks, and the 5/5 paychecks will be reconciled at the new rate on the 6/20 paychecks. All other advance paychecks from this year will be reconciled on the 5/18 retro check.

Longevity Premium

There has also been confusion about the Longevity Premium. There has been no change to the occupational longevity required to qualify for Longevity Premium. A Flight Attendant must achieve (i.e. have completed) 16 years of occupational service in order to qualify for the initial Longevity Premium of $1.00 per TFP. Stated another way, the initial Longevity Premium goes into effect one year after s/he reaches the top out rate of Year 16 (formerly known as Step 15). A Flight Attendant will move to the next step of Longevity Premium of $1.50 once s/he has achieved (i.e. completed) 20 years of occupational service and s/he will move to the next step of Longevity Premium of $2.00 once s/he has achieved (i.e. completed) 25 years of occupational service, et cetera. If your qualification for Longevity Premium has been affected by the adjustment to your Occupational Seniority date, you will see that new premium reflected on the “adjusted seniority” retro check no later than 6/29.

Contact the JNC or one of your local officers if you have any questions.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Lisa Pinkston, Terry Taylor, Mario de’Medici, Melissa Osborne, Tim Green and Brice McGee

[L-AS] JCTE Contractual Waivers Not Installed

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants

Yesterday, AFA released a communication regarding JCTE contractual 48/7 and out of base waivers that were supposed to be installed in an update to JCTE last night.  Early this morning, we were advised by management that the update to the JCTE software was not successful and these waivers have not been installed.  As of now, management has been unable to provide us with a timeframe as to when we can expect the software to be successfully updated.

Please be mindful when grabbing or trading trips that JCTE continues to lack these waiver notifications. If you have any questions about JCTE contractual waivers, please contact your Local Scheduling Committee.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Lisa Pinkston, Terry Taylor, Mario de’Medici, Melissa Osborne, Tim Green, Brice McGee; and MEC Scheduling Committee Chairperson Jake Jones

[L-AS] Transition Training Bidding Re-Open

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants

AFA has been advised of a processing error involving the time that Transition Training bidding was closed within the bidding system.  According to the Airbus Transition Training Letter of Agreement, bidding was supposed to close on Friday, May 4, 2018 at 5 PM Pacific time.  In actuality, bidding closed at 9 AM Pacific time.

As a result of this error, Transition Training bidding has been reopened to allow additional time to enter and modify bids.  Bidding will now close tomorrow, May 9, 2018, at 5 PM Pacific time.  If you have already submitted a Transition Training bid, your original bid has been saved and will remain on file.  If you submit a new bid at this point in time, any new bid will override your previously submitted bid.

As a reminder, it is important that you bid enough dates for Transition Training to ensure that you are awarded one of your preferred slots.  If you do not bid or do not bid enough dates, you will be assigned a Transition Training date by Crew Planning.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Lisa Pinkston, Terry Taylor, Mario de’Medici, Melissa Osborne, Tim Green and Brice McGee

Uniform Committee Meeting Recap – 3rd Quarter 2026

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants On Thursday, August 13, our pre-merger Alaska AFA Uniform Committee Chairpersons met to discuss their ongoing work to represent Flight Attendants and push for improvements in the workplace. Representing you at the meeting were Kim Mazzolini (ANC), Dena Heath (SEA), Diana Berni (PDX),  Lisa Mueller (SFO), Heather […]

Hotel Committee Meeting Recap – August 2026

On Monday, August 10, our AFA Hotel Committee Chairpersons met remotely to receive an update about current layover hotels and transportation providers and discuss concerns with management. Representing you at the meeting were Dori Marron (ANC), Jarod McNeill (SEA pmAS), Kelly Hepworth (PDX), Hilary Streem (SFO), Brian Sherill (LAX pmAS), Kanani Vallot (SAN), and Matt […]

787-9 Inflight Service Grievance: Protecting Our Contract and Standards

This message is for pre-merger Hawaiian Flight Attendants For decades, Hawaiian Airlines Flight Attendants have defined the Spirit of Aloha. We take pride in delivering world-class service, but management’s current Boeing 787-9 service model is threatening that legacy. It isn’t just inefficient—it’s an unsustainable pace that undermines the quality our passengers expect and the professional […]

Pre-Merger Alaska Reserve Webinar Video and Q&A Recap – August 6, 2026

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants Thank you to everyone who joined our first pre-merger Alaska Reserve Webinar! We created this interactive session to share practical contract tips and help you feel more confident about reserve life. You can now watch the recording on our YouTube channel using the link below. Please note that […]

Wrapping Up Membership Engagement Focus Month: Stronger Together

July was a remarkable month for our Membership Engagement Committee. We set out with a clear purpose: to bring our Flight Attendant community closer together, share valuable resources, and build authentic connections throughout our system. Over the past four weeks, we explored what it means to be engaged in our AFA family. We kicked things […]

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