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Representing the Flight Attendants of Alaska + Hawaiian

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Layover Hotel and Transportation Issues: 4 Things to Know

Along with the busy summer travel season has come an uptick in issues with crew hotel accommodations and layover transportation.  Management has a responsibility to provide hotel accommodations and corresponding transportation to and from the hotel to Flight Attendants on a layover.  This information is contained in section 34 of the contract.

1. If you have a problem with your hotel or transportation, report it!

Management, in conjunction with their hotel vendor API, has recently launched a new version of CrewCare, the website that is used to give feedback on hotel and transportation issues.  The new system, My Crew Care, can be accessed through the new Flight Attendant Website.

In order to take action on issues with layover hotels and transportation, your AFA Hotel Committee needs to know when you have a problem.  Reports submitted through My Crew Care are automatically routed to your AFA Hotel Committee so they can track issues and trends in our layover locations.

To Access My Crew Care

  1. Log-in to the inflight website (http://asainflight.alaskaair.com)
  2. Open the menu
  3. Click “Hotels”
  4. Click “Hotel Links”
  5. Click “My Crew Care”
  6. Open the menu
  7. Click “Feedback”
  8. Click “Provide Feedback”

IMG_2172    IMG_2173    IMG_2174    IMG_2175    IMG_2176

First Time Using the New My Crew Care System?

When you open the My Crew Care site for the first time, you’ll need to register with your alaskaair.com email address.  After registering, the system will send you a confirmation email.  From the confirmation email, click the link to confirm your registration.  Once you complete this registration process, you won’t need to do it again.

API has written a user guide for the My Crew Care system that you can access here: https://api2.apicrewcare.com/Uploads/Public/UserGuides/CrewMember/CrewmemberUserGuide_AlaskaAir.pdf.

2. If your transportation is late, you can take a taxi, Uber, or Lyft!

If your van hasn’t arrived to pick you up from the airport within 35 minutes of block-in, you have the right to take other transportation and submit the expense for reimbursement from management.  The same thing applies if your van hasn’t arrived to pick you up from the hotel within 10 minutes of the scheduled departure time.  You can find this contractual language in section 34.B.  Be sure to save your receipt and submit an expense report after your trip.  Your supervisor can assist you with completing an expense report.

3. There’s been an increase in unscheduled layover hotel blunders

Recently, Crew Scheduling and the Company’s hotel vendor, Accommodations Plus International (API), have dropped the ball in multiple cases involving unscheduled layover hotels and transportation.  Your Hotel Committee has been advised of recent situations where layover hotel rooms were not secured until after crew arrival in a layover city, transportation not being booked, and hotels being booked that didn’t meet minimum contractual requirements. Crew Scheduling is following policy and using a hotel vender as required by management, so AFA holds management ultimately responsible for these unacceptable and ongoing slipups. Management has an obligation to have contractually compliant hotel accommodations reserved and transportation arranged prior to crew arrival in their layover city.   AFA has requested a meeting with management and API to call for immediate resolution of these issues.

4. You can check to see if your unscheduled layover hotel meets contractual minimums

Travel Weekly classification example

Example of how to determine the Travel Weekly classification for a specific hotel

If you end up with an unscheduled layover, it’s possible that the regular crew hotel in that city could be full and you might end up with a room at an alternate hotel.  Section 34.A.4 of the contract specifies that the company must make every reasonable effort to ensure that an alternate hotel meets the minimum requirements outlined for regular layover hotels.  At a minimum, Flight Attendant layover hotels must meet a rating of 5 or above as rated by Travel Weekly.  You can check to see how your alternate hotel is rated by typing the hotel name into the search box at http://www.travelweekly.com/Hotels.

If you have been placed at a hotel that doesn’t meet the minimum rating of 5 or above, you should contact Crew Scheduling immediately to request a different hotel that meets contractual minimums.  If you’re told that no other hotels are available, please forward your pairing information, hotel name, and hotel address to your Local Hotel Committee as soon as possible.

Have Questions?

Your Local Hotel Committee can help!  You can find contact information on your Local Council’s committee page or on the Hotel Committee page of the AFA Alaska website.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Satterlee, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Tim Green, Brice McGee and MEC Hotel Committee Chairpersons Laura Hinojosa and Jodi Snow

MEC Officer Elections

The term of office for our current Master Executive Council (MEC) Officers will conclude on December 31, 2016.  The voting members of the MEC will elect new MEC Officers at the regular October MEC meeting.  This communication serves as notice of the election in accordance with article III.C.1 of the MEC Policy Manual.

Background

The MEC Officers consist of a President, Vice President, and Secretary/Treasurer.  These officer positions are responsible for serving as the coordinating council for the membership of the airline and carrying out the decisions of the MEC.  These officer positions are elected by the Local Executive Council (LEC) Presidents, who are the voting members of MEC.

Duties and Responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities of the MEC Officers are defined in article VII.C.2 of the AFA Constitution & Bylaws.

MEC President

From the AFA Constitution & Bylaws (article VII.C.2.a)

The President shall be the official Union spokesperson and chief executive officer for that airline and shall have the authority and duty to:

(1) Be responsible for and charged with administering the policies of that Master Executive Council, and implementing the objectives and policies announced by the Board of Directors and Executive Board.

(2)  Be responsible for the expeditious processing of members’ complaints and grievances.

(3)  Be the Union representative on that airline for the purpose of furthering and implementing the objectives and policies announced by the Board of Directors and Executive Board.

(4)  Coordinate and compile Master Executive Council policy, review reports and recommendations and submit such material to the appropriate committees of the Union.

(5)  Be a member of the Negotiating Committee.

(6)  Be a member of the Executive Board.

(7)  Be granted the privilege of the floor at all meetings of the Board of Directors, but shall have no vote, if not also a Local Council President.

(8)  Be responsible for and supervise the business and managerial functions of the Union on that carrier.

(9)  Consult with and be assisted by the Vice President and Secretary-Treasurer.

(10)  Ballot the Master Executive Council if necessary or when required.

(11)  Keep a current and accurate inventory of all Union property and supplies purchased or provided by the Union and submit a copy of this to the International Secretary-Treasurer of the Union.

(12)  Inform all Master Executive Council Officers and committees that all files, correspondence, documents and other materials resulting from the work of such committees are the property of the Union, not the personal property of individuals, and are to be safeguarded.

(13)  Maintain the Union’s files and property, then transfer them to her/his successor promptly.

Additional Duties & Responsibilities

  • Attend regular and special MEC meetings, quarterly Labor Leader meetings with the company, and annual AFA-CWA Board of Directors meetings.

Time Commitment and Flight Pay Loss Reimbursement

  • This position is contractually provided 118.2 TFP of Flight Pay Loss (FPL) per month
  • Will have regular MEC Office days in Seattle. Additional work completed remotely as necessary.
  • The MEC President is on-call to respond to critical incidents and situations.

MEC Vice President

From the AFA Constitution & Bylaws (article VII.C.2.b)

The Vice President shall:

(1) Function under the jurisdiction of the President in carrying out the policies and directives of the Master Executive Council.

(2) Perform the duties of the President at her/his request or in the absence of the President.

(3) Be granted the privilege of the floor at all Master Executive Council and Board of Directors meetings, but shall have no vote if not also a Local Council President.

Additional Duties & Responsibilities

  • Serve as executive sponsor of MEC Committees and inform the MEC Secretary-Treasurer of upcoming meetings for calendaring.
  • Be responsible for obtaining a monthly written report from each of the MEC Committee Chairs and providing these reports to the MEC Secretary-Treasurer for submission with the monthly MEC agenda.
  • Attend regular and special MEC meetings, quarterly Labor Leader meetings with the company, MEC committee meetings, and annual AFA-CWA Board of Directors meetings.

Time Commitment and Flight Pay Loss Reimbursement

  • This position is budgeted for 100 TFP of Flight Pay Loss (FPL) per month
  • Will have regular MEC Office days in Seattle. Additional work completed remotely as necessary.
  • The MEC Vice President is responsible for fulfilling the responsibilities of the MEC President during vacation and as needed.

MEC Secretary-Treasurer

From the AFA Constitution & Bylaws (article VII.C.2.c)

The Secretary-Treasurer shall:

(1) Assist the President in administering Master Executive Council funds.

(2) Maintain Master Executive Council records and perform such other duties that may be specifically assigned to the Secretary-Treasurer by the President or Acting President.

(3) Be responsible to the President and Master Executive Council.

(4) Be responsible for general record keeping and accounting of the Master Executive Council budget and any funds.

(5) Distribute a quarterly statement on expenditures to the Master Executive Council.

(6) Assist in preparation of the Master Executive Council annual report to the membership.

(7) Exhibit at all reasonable times the general records to any Officer or active member in good standing upon application.

(8) Maintain Master Executive Council records and record all meetings of the Master Executive Council.

(9) Deliver to her/his successor all monies and other property of the Master Executive Council. On demand of the International Office, s/he shall make available all books and records for examination and audit.

(10) Submit a copy of all Master Executive Council meeting minutes and nomination notices to the International Secretary-Treasurer of the Union.

(11) Be responsible for distributing a list of Master Executive Council committees’ flight pay loss to the Master Executive Council and the International Office each month; this list will include, but not be limited to, hours and ID(s) missed, days on projects, and projects charged.

(12) Be granted the privilege of the floor at all Master Executive Council and Board of Directors meetings, but shall have no vote if not also a Local Council President.

Additional Duties & Responsibilities

  • Maintain the MEC agenda; solicit agenda items from members of the MEC
  • Reserve meeting space and other meeting resources as needed
  • Make arrangements for MEC hotel accommodations and meals
  • Perform month-end financial reconciliation activities including:
    • Monthly submission of MEC flight pay loss to the company
    • Monthly reconciliation of Union Business flight pay loss
    • Monthly submission of all Union Business to AFA International
    • Review and approve expense reports
    • Monthly reconciliation of budget and expense reports
  • Attend regular and special MEC meetings, quarterly Labor Leader meetings with the company, and annual AFA-CWA Board of Directors meetings.

Time Commitment and Flight Pay Loss Reimbursement

  • This position is budgeted for 65 TFP of Flight Pay Loss (FPL) per month
  • Will have regular MEC Office days in Seattle. Additional work completed remotely as necessary.
  • The MEC Secretary-Treasurer is responsible for fulfilling the responsibilities of the MEC Vice President during vacation and as needed. S/he is responsible for fulfilling the responsibilities of the MEC President if the president and vice president are simultaneously unavailable.

Working Relationships

With The Master Executive Council (MEC)

Constant interaction with the LEC Presidents, other LEC Officers, and other MEC Officers

With MEC Committees

Constant interaction with MEC Committee Chairs and Committee Members.

With Management

Constant interaction with Alaska Airlines management, particularly within the inflight and labor relations departments

With AFA International

Frequent interaction with AFA international officers and staff members

Term of Office

The regular term of office is for three years, beginning on January 1, 2017 and concluding on December 31, 2019.

Expressing Interest and Interview Scheduling

  • The MEC will hold interviews during the regular October MEC meeting from Monday, October 24 through Wednesday, October 26, 2016.  Bid around the interview dates or plan to arrange your schedule accordingly to accommodate.
  • Submit a commitment to serve form and resume to MEC Secretary-Treasurer Yvette Satterlee at yvette.satterlee@afaalaska.org no later than 5 PM Pacific Time on Friday, October 14, 2016. Yvette will contact qualified candidates to schedule a specific interview time.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Satterlee, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Tim Green and Brice McGee

Introducing Your MEC ASHSC Vice Chairperson

Your Master Executive Council (MEC) conducted interviews this week for the position of MEC Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC) Vice Chairperson.  We would like to thank the candidates who expressed a willingness to serve.  After thorough consideration, the MEC has selected Yvette Satterlee for the position.

Yvette brings to this position an extensive background in health, safety and advocacy as a retired Registered Nurse of 20 years.   Many of you may know her from her work with the TwinHill uniform, where she created and maintained a detailed database of those affected.  During the 3-year process, she reached out to close to 800 Flight Attendants while strongly advocating for a safe and healthy work environment.

She is not new to Union work and is finishing her second term as MEC Secretary-Treasurer, where she has applied her attention to detail, discipline in maintaining documentation, and focus on communication and follow-through.  Yvette says she is looking forward to following her passion in her new role as MEC ASHSC Vice Chairperson.

In her role as MEC ASHSC Vice Chairperson, Yvette will work closely with the MEC ASHSC Chairperson, Local ASHSC Chairpersons and inflight management to represent and advocate for Flight Attendants in all areas related to safety, health, and security-related matters with a focus on cabin air quality issues.  Her term of appointment is concurrent with the term of the MEC Officers and she reports to MEC ASHSC Chairperson Seth Heiple.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Satterlee, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Tim Green, Brice McGee and MEC ASHSC Chairperson Seth Heiple

TWU Virgin America Announced a Tentative Agreement

Earlier this morning the Transport Workers Union Virgin America (TWU VX) Negotiating Committee announced they reached a Tentative Agreement (TA) with Virgin America management on an historic first contract. At this point their TA must be voted on and ratified in order to become effective, a process that AFA estimates would take around a month.

As a reminder, AFA will be the surviving union representing the unified group if the merger is finalized. There will be no representational election. Management will need to negotiate with AFA to address the merger of the work force, and this can be an opportunity for Flight Attendants to achieve improvements.

It is important that AFA Alaska does not speculate on TWU VX’s ratification process and how it may affect the merger of our groups. Virgin America Inflight Team Mates (ITMs) should have the space to take part in their democratic vote without influence or interference from anyone. We obviously support their right to vote without outside interference. The Master Executive Council (MEC) believes the next merger update will be sometime in September after the TWU VX TA ratification vote has concluded.

Congratulations to TWU Virgin America for achieving their TA!

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Satterlee, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Tim Green and Brice McGee

Your AFA Alaska Joint Negotiating Committee – MEC President Jeffrey Peterson, Jennifer Wise MacColl, Lindsey Steele and AFA Senior Staff Negotiator Paula Mastrangelo

Trip Trading Freeze Part 2

On July 14th in our Trip Trading Freeze communication, the Master Executive Council (MEC) wrote about our frustrations that starting on the evening of September 30th Alaska Airlines management plans to “temporarily” suspend trip trading for up to 78 hours (although management says they plan to open up trading as soon as they believe it is safe to do so). The reason for the trip trading freeze is in order to transition from Jeppesen Maestro/eMaestro to Jeppesen Crew Tracking Enterprise (JCTE)/Crew Exchange.

A trip-trading freeze of this type would be a contractual violation of CBA §12.C.1. [Exchange of Sequences: Trading Procedures]: “The Company will provide and maintain a real-time electronic system for processing sequence trades, pick-ups, drops and give-aways.” That is just one violated provision of many.

The MEC has spent months attempting to negotiate provisions that would help take the sting out of such a major contractual violation and benefit the operation. The MEC has been trying to achieve an eleventh hour agreement that would be acceptable to our members over the past few weeks. At this point we are completely fed up with management and AFA is filing a grievance on the issue.

Trip-trading freeze negotiations

The MEC would like our members to know exactly how this all went down. When we first learned about the trip-trading freeze, the MEC fairly quickly realized this would cause disruption. However, we could not accept up to 78 hours of contractual violations. Of course the MEC started negotiating provisions on behalf of our members that would recognize how impactful this contractual violation would be as well as to minimize operational exposure. It could have been a “win-win” for all parties.

Paid drop coupons or the equivalent

The MEC’s opening position was one day of paid drop coupons or the equivalent in straight compensation for every Flight Attendant on the payroll for every partial day impacted by the trip-trading freeze (approximately three). Management was absolutely shocked we would open on a position that costs approximately $1 million per day. We told them the proposal was to get their attention and to give us a counter proposal. Negotiations continued.

“Super Reserves”

On the operations side, the parties fairly swiftly honed in on a “Super Reserve” concept that allowed Flight Attendants to be on voluntary call with no requirement to call back. This would help supplement the regular complement of Reserves during the cutover. If flown, a “Super Reserve” would receive the greater of 8.0 TFP or actual flying per day—all at premium pay. The only outstanding issue to be resolved was whether premium was double time (2.0x) or triple time (3.0x)—or somewhere in between. The parties also agreed to a liberalized process for resolving attendance points if Flight Attendants were granted Management Drops pursuant to Section 32 Attendance Policy during the cutover.

Positive Space Tickets, et cetera

Back to management’s “counter proposal.” Management refused to counter anything. The MEC attempted to be “more reasonable” (from management’s perspective) by suggesting every Flight Attendant receive an additional complement of positive space tickets (PST) to supplement our current allotment. We even gave them additional options by signaling that we were open to considering a bump to our Employee Choice travel credits. Nada. Management was concerned about setting a precedent for other employee groups asking for pass-related benefits due to contractual violations.

Attendance points credit

Earlier this week the MEC made a last-ditch proposal in which every Flight Attendant receives a credit of two attendance points (including up to two additional bank points if applicable) effective on or around the cutover date. This proposal was completely no cost and fully discretionary within Inflight (as in there would be no need to seek outside approval from executive management). Inflight management rejected the proposal as “too rich” but that they would consider perhaps one point.

What management thinks you are worth…

Inflight management has stated all along they believe the other provisions (the “Super Reserves” and a liberalized points forgiveness policy for Management Drops issued during the cutover) were good enough to make up for the contractual violation. This is what management thinks you are worth in relation to this unprecedented impact to your flexibility: Alaska Air Group will spend several billion dollars to purchase another carrier, but Inflight management can’t give us something that doesn’t cost a penny!

Grievance filed

So…that is why the MEC is done with management for now, and we’re filing a grievance.

>>> Click here to read Grievance No. 36-99-2-24-16: Suspension of Flight Attendants Trades and Denial of Related Contractual Provisions <<<

Considering how Inflight management is behaving these days, the MEC anticipates more grievances coming in the future.

If you have any questions or concerns, contact your LEC president.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Satterlee, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Tim Green and Brice McGee

AFA Grievance No. 36-99-2-24-16 Suspension of Flight Attendant Trades and Denial of Related Contractual Provisions

Single PSS Is Coming: What It Means For You

Tonight, the Alaska and Hawaiian merger will reach another major milestone—the integration of both airlines into a single passenger service computer system (PSS). While this change will affect Flight Attendants less than other groups—like Customer Service Agents and airport staff—there are still important updates you should know. Block2Block App and Onboard Service Pre-merger Hawaiian Flight […]

Navigating Acute & Delayed Stress As A Flight Attendant

Stress is an inherent aspect of the Flight Attendant profession, often stemming from the demanding nature of responsibilities and the unpredictable nature of air travel. It’s essential for Flight Attendants not only to understand the different types of stress they may encounter but also to recognize the warning signs of acute and delayed stress for […]

Protect Yourself From Potential Discipline on Social Media

Our Grievance Committee would like to provide background on social media, protected classes, and discipline. Federal protected classes include race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or transgender status), national origin, age, disability, or genetic information.  Alaska’s People Policy says: Personal Conduct22. Threatening, intimidating, or discourteous behavior, including abusive, profane, or obscene language, acts, […]

Human Rights & Equity Committee Meeting Recap – 1st Quarter 2026

On Wednesday, March 25, our AFA Human Rights & Equity Committee Chairpersons met to discuss their ongoing activism to raise awareness and create positive change within our workplace and community. Your representatives attending the meeting included Louise Borras (LAX-pmAS), Bruni Agosto-Pinal (LAX-pmHA), Aaron Miller (PDX), Nyachan Chuar (ANC), and Yan Yan Teague (SEA). MEC Human […]

Pre-Merger Hawaiian Inflight Service Committee Update – March 2026

Editor’s Note: Our MEC Inflight Service Committee now represents both pre-merger airlines, but management still makes service decisions that affect each group of Flight Attendants differently. This update covers changes for both Hawaiian- and Alaska-branded flying, but is specific to aircraft flown by pre-merger Hawaiian Airlines crews. As the work of the merger progresses, we […]

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