Latest News – Page 222

Preferential Bidding System (PBS) Update for May 2015

April 4, 2015 16:48

The PBS program was down for a short while on March 18th so that a program update could be installed. This update addresses the contractual changes related to bidding in April for May schedules. Please familiarize yourself with these PBS-related changes and pass the word about them. Both management and AFA will be communicating the many changes coming in April for May…both bidding-related and pay-related.

Effective bidding in April for May:

Minimum TFP bid eliminated:

The ‘Set Condition Minimum TFP’ bid preference is no longer available. This bid preference will still appear on PBS for a few more months until it can be removed…but if you bid for a Minimum TFP line that request will NOT be honored. All lines will be built within the ‘Normal’ range of TFP. The ‘Set Condition Maximum TFP’ bid is still available, giving you a line built between the base line average and the maximum allowed that month. If you’re currently using ‘Set Condition Minimum TFP’ you might want to delete that line from your bid…it will no longer be honored.

Change in Bid Protest:

The bid protest period will now be from 9am Pacific on the 13th to 9am Pacific on the 14th…24 hours in length. The reason for this is that very few protests were filed in the second day of bid protest. You can send your line award question to the PBS Q&A at any time outside the bid protest period. See Sec 10 Par L for information regarding Bid Protest.

New Line Average Range:

The monthly posted ‘base line average’ can now range from a low of 75tfp to a high of 85tfp. If past history is any guide, you can expect higher line averages in the summer and lower line averages in the winter (except possibly December). Remember, a ‘legal’ line can range anywhere from 10tfp below the posted line average to 10tfp above. Again, the ‘Minimum TFP’ bid has been eliminated but the ‘Maximum TFP’ bid remains available.

New rules:

No Same-Day Pairings will be awarded (two pairings on the same calendar day) unless…

PBS will no longer be able to award you more than one pairing on any calendar day. You can waive this new rule if you wish…look for this option at the ‘Waive’ tab. If you wish to be awarded back-to-back SEA-ANC/FAI redeye turns, consecutive LAX-GDL/MEX pairings, back-to-back ANC-Hawaii-ANC-ORD pairings or ANY other situation where you wish to be awarded two different pairing numbers on the same day then you must ‘waive’ the ‘No Same-Day Pairings’ rule.

‘Coverage Awards’ and this new rule…attention junior lineholders!!

This new rule ALSO applies to ‘Coverage Awards’ (aka ‘unstacking). You cannot be forced-assigned two different pairings on the same day (get home in the morning and leave again that evening). Most all would agree this is a good thing but there is a potential down-side for the most junior lineholders. If being awarded two pairings on the same day was necessary for someone to hold a line and they failed to ‘waive’ the rule, they could be potentially forced to Reserve. This is a tough call…no one can tell you whether to ‘waive’ this new rule or not….or what might happen in any given month.

No Charters can be awarded by PBS unless…

Charters cannot be awarded or forced onto anyone via ‘Coverage Awards’ during bidding. If you’re ANC-based and wish to bid for RDG charters, you MUST waive the new ‘No Charters’ rule at the ‘Waive’ tab and ‘Allow Charters‘. The ANC-Red Dog charter is currently the only ‘known charter’ that can be bid for during bidding on PBS. Other frequent charters such as the Apple charter (ORD-PVR) have such a long duty day that they cannot be bid for or awarded during PBS bid awards.

48/7 waiver

Lineholders can now ‘waive’ the 48/7 contractual rest rule down to 24 hours off, Look for this option at the ‘Waive’ tab. A Lineholder could have as little as 24 hours off between up to six-day blocks of flying. Contractual rest must be at your base for bidding purposes…only during trading can it be on a layover.

If you do NOT choose to ‘waive’ the ’48/7′ rule then your line award must still respect that rule during line construction.

New six day block option for Reserves

Reserves can fly a block of six days instead of the previous five days maximum. The ‘Waive Maximum Days On 5’ option is found at the ‘Waive’ tab. The minimum two calendar days off per week rule is still in effect. This new ‘waive’ option will assist the bidder in potentially getting a longer stretch of days off somewhere in the month. For example, by flying six on, two off, six on, two off, six on you can now potentially have up to eight consecutive days off in a 30-day month, nine consecutive days off in a 31 day month. Being able to hold this long of stretch of days off may be contingent on the requirement for someone to work ‘Coverage’ days in a month.

New flying:

Long Stage Length/Duty Period pairings

Long Duty Period (aka ‘4K’) pairings will not be awarded during bidding unless you ‘waive’ that rule. There is a separate rule for both day and redeye 4k pairings. Go to the ‘Waive’ tab to ‘Allow Non-Redeye Long Duty Period Pairings’ or ‘Allow Redeye Long Duty Period Pairings’. If you wish to waive both rules, you must enter two separate lines. If you are waiving the ‘Non-Redeye’ rule, this will NOT allow the program to award you a ‘Redeye’ 4k pairing.

Redeye Definition: Any flight that departs between 14:00 and 04:00 that then lands between 02:00 and 12:00.

Screenshot that includes the new ‘Waive’ options…found at the ‘Waive’ tab:

If you have any questions, send them to PBS Q&A via Outlook or FirstClass.

Thanks!

Your AFA PBS Committee—MEC chairperson Stephen Poynter, Rebecca Asbell; and MEC Scheduling chairperson Jake Jones

“Same Calendar Day” Alcohol Policy

April 4, 2015 05:00

We’re just as disappointed as you are…

The AFA Alaska Master Executive Council (MEC) is just as disappointed as you are in regards to the new “same calendar day” alcohol policy. We resolutely oppose this Company policy and will put forward our best effort to turn this around. The MEC is currently working to schedule a meeting with executive management as soon as possible to discuss our members’ concerns.

Message to management: stop being overly paternalistic!

Our message to management will be clear: the vast majority of flight attendants consume alcohol responsibly, so stop being overly paternalistic! Management talks about wishing to align us with “FAA recommendations that encourage 24 hours free from alcohol for flight deck crew.” That sounds all well and fine, but then where are our flight deck rest and fatigue rules? Full transparency: our contractual duty day and rest limitations may be more generous than those outlined in 14 CFR Part 117 (“Flight and duty limitation and rest requirements: flightcrew members”) in some instances—but you get the point.

Current reporting requirements for drug and alcohol abuse results in a culture of fear

The MEC believes this new rule will not change the behavior of those very few who abuse alcohol but rather drive them further underground. Your AFA leadership and Employee Assistance Program (EAP) committee have long advocated that the current reporting requirements for drug and alcohol abuse results in a culture of fear. There is the fear of losing one’s job if you suspect a problem but you’re not ready to come forward; fear of causing a co-worker who you suspect of abusing to lose her or his job if you report the concern; or fear losing one’s job if you do not report the concern about a fellow co-worker and are subsequently terminated for “hiding” a safety violation.

AFA is committed to working with management to develop a “return to cabin” system

This culture of fear creates a “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” approach, which obviously cannot result in a culture of safety. AFA is committed to working with management to move away from a punitive approach and develop a new “return to cabin” system that holds safety in the highest regard while also recognizing a modern understanding of addiction. This system should also provide employees with the tools to help their co-workers without fear of termination for themselves or their co-workers.

Realistically AFA cannot file a grievance but this doesn’t mean we’re powerless

Some members have asked us to file a grievance on this issue but the alcohol policy is not protected in the contract. Rather, this is a Company policy and would not be eligible for a contractual grievance. We are not aware of any collective bargaining group at any airline that has a contractually protected right to consume alcohol up to a certain cutoff. However, just because we cannot realistically file a grievance does not mean we’re powerless!

Email management

The MEC encourages all flight attendants to respectfully share their feelings about this new rule by emailing the following Alaska Airlines management personnel:

Chief Operating Officer (COO) Ben Minicucci,
Vice President of Inflight Services Andy Schneider, and
Managing Director of Inflight Operations Ron Calvin.

Express your thoughts directly to management at the upcoming Inflight “happy hours” in April

There are also several Inflight “happy hours” upcoming in April in SEA (April 16^th 4:30-6:30pm), PDX (April 23^rd 4-6pm) and SAN (April 27^th 4-6pm)—all locations to be determined. These events are a fantastic opportunity for you to express your thoughts about this ridiculous policy face to face with Inflight management. Meanwhile, you can reflect upon the irony of discussing this restrictive alcohol policy at happy hour. 😉

Suggestions welcome

The MEC welcomes any suggestions on how to leverage our solidarity. If you’re going to email your creative solutions please use a private email address—do not use your Company email. Contact your local officers with your ideas.

ANC 30: http://afaalaska.org/anc/officers/

SEA 19: http://afaalaska.org/sea/officers/

PDX 39: http://afaalaska.org/pdx/officers/

LAX 18: http://afaalaska.org/lax/officers/

SAN 15: http://afaalaska.org/san/officers/

* * *

MEC Update – April 3, 2015

April 3, 2015 21:00

MEC conference call earlier today

The Master Executive Council (MEC) held a conference call earlier today to discuss several issues currently of importance. It was a very productive call and we are now working our way through the action items that developed from our agenda. This is the first in a series of communications to update you on the latest developments.

New alcohol policy communication from AFA is pending

A communication has been drafted and is currently being reviewed by the full MEC. That communication will be out as soon as possible following approval.

Easter Weekend 2015 staffing

The MEC is pleased to see management very frankly addressed the staffing challenges for this weekend in the Inflight bulletin 2015-0093 “staffing issues due to system error” (sic) that was posted earlier today. To summarize, there is a glitch in eMaestro that allowed for trades out of closed days in Open Time. Jeppesen acknowledged the glitch during a conference call with Alaska Airlines management and AFA. Jeppesen has taken steps to correct the issue but at this time it is unknown if the glitch is completely resolved so troubleshooting continues.

Yes, it is true that Open Time was also left more open for April than usual. Many of you noticed this and even contacted AFA with your concerns. AFA definitely appreciates management’s efforts to keep the days more open but unfortunately this also probably contributed to the problem.

In fairness to management, there was no reasonable way for them to foresee the glitch. Based on adequate staffing going into Open Time Day it seemed like minimal risk to allow increased trading flexibility for April. All indications are that this weekend’s (and possibly next weekend’s) staffing shortage is mostly due to circumstances beyond the control of Alaska Airlines.

Luckily, many flight attendants have signed up for VJA so coverage is looking marginally adequate for now. There is always the possibility of management flying to prevent a cancellation and JA but we’re encouraged that these options will be unnecessary. Here’s hoping (or hopping?) to an uneventful Easter weekend 2015!

***

In solidarity,

Your MEC—Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Gesch, Becky Strachan, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow and Stephen Couckuyt

What a week!

April 2, 2015 21:44

You want to hear from us

What a week! The Master Executive Council (MEC) knows you want to hear from us about a number of hot topics:

Contract implementation, including a contract publication update;
“Shoegate” (i.e. recent “clarifications” to the uniform and appearance standards);
Ongoing developments in the dispute over the Quarterly Productivity Premium (QPP);
All Minimum Pay Rules (MPRs) displayed in eMaestro for 11 hours on March 31^st;
Management’s recently announced notice of intent to change the alcohol policy “cutoff” from 10 hours prior to duty all the way back to the previous calendar day; and
Easter weekend 2015 staffing.

MEC conference call scheduled for tomorrow

The MEC has scheduled a conference call for midday tomorrow (Friday, April 3^rd) to discuss all these issues and we will communicate as soon as possible thereafter. Due to the amount of information cited here, we will likely break up our communications on these topics into digestible installments.

About that alcohol policy…

All these topics are important but the MEC would like to call out the alcohol policy in particular. We are just as incredulous as you are about this gross overreaction by management. As safety professionals and first responders, obviously AFA supports a culture of safety but in our opinion this is patently absurd. You can expect that we will expand upon this sentiment in short order!

Stand by for more soon…

In solidarity,

Your MEC—Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Gesch, Becky Strachan, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow and Stephen Couckuyt

Quarterly Productivity Premium

March 31, 2015 05:00

Definition

The Master Executive Council (MEC) has received several questions regarding the Quarterly Productivity Premium (Section 21.R). The first Quarterly Productivity Premium (QPP) of our new contract for the first quarter of 2015 (Q1 2015) is due to be paid out May 5^th. A flight attendant will receive the QPP of $500 if her/his Worked TFP (Section 5 Definitions) during Q1 2015 exceeds the TFP equivalent of her/his combined monthly PBS bid award in that calendar quarter. Taxes on QPP will be withheld at the flight attendant’s personal tax rate just like regular wages; this is in contrast to Performance Based Pay (PBP), which has taxes withheld at the IRS “supplemental rate” (or “bonus rate”).

Worked TFP is all paid TFP exclusive of sick leave and vacation/Longevity PTO. That is, Worked TFP includes but is not limited to regular TFP, deadhead, Minimum Pay Rules, pay protection, training, et cetera. As long as vacation/Longevity PTO and sick leave TFP is “made up” at some point in the quarter, usage of these benefits will not in and of themselves disqualify a flight attendant from achieving QPP.

QPP was a “take it or leave it” management proposal

As we explained at the roadshows, QPP was a management proposal. Management offered it at the end of the negotiations. Our Negotiating Committee told management at the time that the proposal had some problems. Management, however, told us we could take it as is or leave it. Since the Negotiating Committee understood that QPP would definitely put money in the pockets of many flight attendants, of course we took it.

Example

To illustrate the language, let’s assume a flight attendant was awarded 82 TFP in January, 79 TFP in February and 67 TFP in March. His combined monthly PBS award over the quarter would equal 228 TFP (82 + 79 + 67). If the flight attendant were to be paid at least 228.1 TFP (228 + 0.1) not counting sick leave and vacation/Longevity PTO (the definition of “Worked TFP”), he would receive the QPP. If he were to be paid 228 or fewer TFP not counting sick and vacation/Longevity PTO, he would not receive it.

Simple trip trading does not directly affect QPP eligibility, only “downtrading”

There is no requirement to exceed the PBS bid award each month, only the combined amount of each month over the entire quarter. Please note you do not actually have to work your awarded schedule but rather the equivalent amount of TFP. Therefore trading in no way affects QPP unless you “downtrade” as measured against your combined monthly bid awards across the quarter.

Worked TFP excludes vacation/Longevity PTO (and sick leave)

Unfortunately, Worked TFP excludes vacation/Longevity PTO. Vacation/Longevity PTO TFP is part of the PBS award. So a flight attendant with a week of vacation has a deficit in that quarter. Assume the flight attendant was awarded the same schedule as in the previous example. Her combined monthly PBS bid awards over the quarter still equals 228 TFP. But 28 of those TFP (7 days of vacation x 4 TFP vacation credit/day) does not count as Worked TFP. In order to qualify for the QPP, she would have to work the 200 TFP from her bid award (228-vacation of 28), PLUS at least 28.1 additional TFP. Lack of vacation/Longevity PTO credit was a major problem we pointed out to management during negotiations but AFA knew there were several.

Dispute over QPP eligibility

Now our concerns have been realized. AFA and management disagree about how QPP should be paid out. So far we anticipate the dispute to be focused around flight attendants who have not received a full line at some point in the quarter (such as those on various leaves). AFA believes that the language is unambiguous and that a flight attendant who works one-tenth (0.1) TFP more than the total TFP equivalent of her/his PBS monthly bid awards over the quarter should receive it.

Quickly approaching deadline to pay QPP on time

Despite multiple requests by AFA over the past several weeks, management still has not articulated in writing exactly what their problem is with QPP. Management has also not provided an explanation of how they expect to pay QPP. In order for QPP to be paid on time on May 5^th the issue must be resolved by around April 10^th, which is the deadline for programming the payroll system to pay out QPP.

As of late last week, AFA’s understanding is that the payroll system is currently programmed to correctly pay out QPP exactly as the language indicates. Interestingly, the Information Technology (IT) department programmed the payroll system based on rules supplied by none other than the Alaska Airlines management negotiating team. Only after management had time to contemplate the implications of what they agreed to did they lodge objections.

It’s really too bad that management didn’t heed AFA’s concerns and take more time to fully vet QPP prior to signing the deal. In fairness to management, both parties were under pressure to conclude the deal in Chicago. However, that being said, management was under no obligation to pursue this provision. In our opinion it seems a little late to dispute the details after the fact simply because they don’t like what they negotiated.

AFA will file a grievance if QPP is paid any other way than according to the clear and unambiguous language

If management pays the QPP any way other than according to the clear and unambiguous language, AFA will file a grievance. We are certainly amenable to further discussions with management to resolve the issue short of taking this to arbitration since both sides stand to gain from a mutually beneficial agreement. Management has promised to provide us with an update this coming week. As soon as AFA has more information, we will also keep you posted on any other developments.

* * *

In solidarity,

Your MEC—Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Gesch, Becky Strachan, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow and Stephen Couckuyt; MEC Grievance chairperson Jennifer Wise MacColl; and AFA Senior Staff Attorney Kimberley Chaput

We’re just as disappointed as you are…

Message to management: stop being overly paternalistic!

Current reporting requirements for drug and alcohol abuse results in a culture of fear

AFA is committed to working with management to develop a “return to cabin” system

Realistically AFA cannot file a grievance but this doesn’t mean we’re powerless

Email management

Express your thoughts directly to management at the upcoming Inflight “happy hours” in April

Suggestions welcome

* * *

MEC conference call earlier today

New alcohol policy communication from AFA is pending

Easter Weekend 2015 staffing

***

You want to hear from us

MEC conference call scheduled for tomorrow

About that alcohol policy…

Stand by for more soon…

Definition

QPP was a “take it or leave it” management proposal

Example

Simple trip trading does not directly affect QPP eligibility, only “downtrading”

Worked TFP excludes vacation/Longevity PTO (and sick leave)

Dispute over QPP eligibility

Quickly approaching deadline to pay QPP on time

AFA will file a grievance if QPP is paid any other way than according to the clear and unambiguous language

* * *

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