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MEC Update May 9, 2014: Alaska Air Group Shareholders Meeting Rally

Dear Flight Attendants,

Yesterday afternoon Flight Attendants demonstrated their solidarity by rallying at the Alaska Air Group (AAG) Shareholders meeting at the Anchorage Museum in downtown Anchorage. The Master Executive Council (MEC) thanks Council 30 Anchorage for hosting the event.

We estimate approximately 75 Flight Attendants participated in the rally and informational picketing, including those on an Anchorage layover in addition to Anchorage-based Flight Attendants.  The total crowd was well over 100, with friends, family and other union members joining in.  Many thanks for the support of the Communications Workers of America (CWA), the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), Working Washington, Jobs with Justice, Nursing Education Alumni Association (NEAA) Teachers, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), Alaska Public Employees Association / American Federation of Teachers (APEA/AFT), Longshoremen, Teamsters, Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union (HERE), United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) and Alaska Laborers.

The rally included an informational picket and the distribution of a flier (see below) to anybody passing by the picket line, including AAG Board of Directors members, Shareholders and management.  The rally was picked up by several media outlets, including KTUU Channel 2 Anchorage and Alaska Dispatch (reprinted on the front page of the Anchorage Daily News local section).  More pictures at KTUU.

Following the rally, some of your AFA leaders and Flight Attendant Shareholders moved inside for the meeting. MEC President Jeffrey Peterson, Council 30 President Becky Strachan and Council 30 Vice President and Negotiating Committee member Lisa Pinkston represented AFA.  During the question and answer portion of the Shareholders meeting, MEC President Jeff Peterson was given the opportunity to make a brief statement on behalf of AFA:

AFA Statement

The rally was an extremely successful demonstration of solidarity for AFA.  Feeling energized and want to do more?  Check out alaskamec.org/mobilization for more information.  Mobilization training will take place next week.  Get involved now and help make a difference!

In solidarity,

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

 MEC 5BSS Logo

MEC Update May 7, 2014: Shareholders Meeting Informational Picketing and Rally

Dear Flight Attendants,

 

AFA-CWA Council 30 Anchorage will be hosting a solidarity event tomorrow, May 8, 2014. Flight Attendants will be participating in a rally and informational picketing at the Alaska Air Group Shareholders meeting. Because Alaska Airlines System Regulations prohibit traveling non-revenue in order to picket, we invite Flight Attendant Shareholders, Anchorage-based Flight Attendants and Flight Attendants laying over in Anchorage to join in the event. The festivities will occur on the public sidewalk outside of the Anchorage Museum at Rusmuson Center (625 C St, Anchorage, AK) from 3pm to 4pm ADT.

 

Following the rally, we invite all Flight Attendant Shareholders to join Master Executive Council (MEC) President Jeffrey Peterson, Council 30 President Becky Strachan, and Council 30 Vice President and Negotiating Committee member Lisa Pinkston as they participate in the Shareholders meeting from 4pm to 6pm. Be advised we anticipate entry will be restricted to Shareholders only.

 

AFA appreciates the support of our probationary Fight Attendants, but we’re going to ask them to sit this one out. Probationaries are technically allowed to participate in informational picketing but AFA believes probationaries can best support their ‘tenured’ brothers and sisters by focusing on staying informed, familiarizing themselves with the Contract and passing probation.

 

Any Flight Attendants participating in informational picketing CANNOT wear the Flight Attendant uniform to the event. Instead, we encourage all Flight Attendants to wear their blue AFA t-shirts as a sign of solidarity. AFA t-shirts will also be provided on site in various sizes while supplies last. A plain royal blue t-shirt will suffice as a backup. Alternatively, you can never go wrong wearing your AFA pin along with a generic blue t-shirt of any shade!

 

If you’re in the Anchorage area tomorrow afternoon, join in the fun!

 

In solidarity,

 

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

 

MEC 5BSS Logo

4 Reasons To Become a Mobilization Volunteer

For over two years, our Flight Attendants have worked without seeing an improvement in our collective bargaining agreement.  We spoke in a resounding way and with a unified voice during the vote on our recent tentative agreement (TA). We told management “NO,” the TA does not recognize the contributions Flight Attendants make towards the numerous industry awards and record profits the company continues to achieve.

Becoming a Mobilization Volunteer is how you can directly contribute to the success of our Negotiating Committee.  Read on to find out why being a Mobilization Volunteer is right for you:

1.      You’re Tired of Waiting

Our contract has been amendable for over two years.  After more than two years of negotiating, the parties have failed to reach an acceptable tentative agreement.  This is two years too long!

2.     You’re Not Afraid To Let Management Know How Serious We Are

When our voices are united in support of our Negotiating Committee, we send a loud message to management.  When our actions are united in solidarity, the message is even louder.

3.     You Want Management To Recognize Our Contributions

Flight Attendants have the most direct and longest customer interaction than any other position within the Company.  We have been told time and again by management that it is our people who make the difference and keep these customers coming back.

4.     Quality of Life Is Important To You

Being able to balance work and life is important to us.  Together, we bargain for work rules and provisions that allow us to achieve this.

It’s time to get involved.  Mobilization Training sessions are scheduled for next week in all of our base cities.  In one two-hour session, you’ll learn about how we got to where we are in the negotiating process, where we’re going from here, and how you can make an impact.

Sign up now for a training session at alaskamec.org/mobilization/training.  Want to know more?  Visit alaskamec.org/mobilization or get in contact with your Local Mobilization Chairperson, listed below.

  • ANC – Thresia Raynor (thresiaraynor@gci.net)
  • SEA – Krystle Cook (kcook907@gmail.com)
  • PDX – Shawn Grill (sgrill@alaskamec.org)
  • LAX – Stacy Uebelhor (stacyc.uebelhor@yahoo.com)
  • SAN – Brice McGee (SanSecAFA@gmail.com)

As we prepare to go back to the table, we must show management that we are unified, organized, and prepared—that we are FIVE BASES, STANDING STRONG!

MEC 5BSS Logo

Resolution of Appreciation and Recognition for AFA-CWA International President Veda Shook

Dear Flight Attendants,

 

Our fellow Alaska Airlines Flight Attendant Veda Shook will soon conclude her term as International President of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA. As our International President Veda has made numerous invaluable contributions to our union.

 

Your Master Executive Council (MEC) officers put forward a floor resolution to the AFA Board of Directors (BOD) in recognition of Veda’s service. The resolution, which was adopted unanimously by the BOD, is as follows:

 

 

 

Association of Flight Attendants – CWA, AFL-CIO

Forty Second Board of Directors Meeting

April 28-30, 2014

Orlando, FL

 

Floor Resolution: Appreciation and Recognition for AFA-CWA International President Veda Shook

 

WHEREAS Veda Shook has tirelessly advocated for Flight Attendants at all levels of our union, and

 

WHEREAS we recognize Veda’s many contributions to our union in her many leadership roles, and

 

WHEREAS Veda has served her term as the voice for Flight Attendants on the job, in the workplace and on Capitol Hill, and

 

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED we stand in unity with Veda at the completion of the Forty Second (42nd) AFA-CWA Board of Directors meeting, and

 

THEREFORE BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED we thank Veda for her unwavering dedication as AFA-CWA International President.

 

 

Adopted unanimously by the Board of Directors on April 30, 2014

 

 

 

In solidarity,

 

 

Your MEC — Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Gesch, Becky Strachan, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn and Council 18 LAX/SAN Vice President Kelly Johnson (proxy for Sandra Morrow)

 

MEC 5BSS Logo

Negotiations Survey Update May 5, 2014

Dear Flight Attendants,

Your Negotiating Committee and the Master Executive Council (MEC) have been working with Hart Research Associates to resolve the challenges with the follow up AFA negotiations survey. Access to the online survey via individualized links Is being closed out. However, since there are many Flight Attendants who have yet to complete the survey, AFA and Hart Research Associates have coordinated to provide alternate access to the online survey.
Instructions will be sent In a separate email communication from AFA (not Hart Research Associates) shortly. The survey will remain open until Friday, May 9, 2014, at noon Eastern (0900 PDT). For security reasons, it is important that you do NOT post the instructions on social media.
What went wrong with the email invitations sent by Hart Research Associates? Very likely there is no single root cause. AFA reviewed the updated email addresses with our existing database and there were several discrepancies. In many instances the Flight Attendant provided the same address name but with a different email host (e.g. Gmail vs. Hotmail).
We also observed many issues resulting from certain email hosts rejecting the survey invitations altogether. This is called a “hard bounce.” More specifically, a hard bounce is when the email host filters out bulk emails by not even allowing them through the host’s filter. This results in email not even reaching an individual’s spam folder.
A hard bounce happens when an email host receives a number of emails around the same time from the same sender (FlightAttendantSurvey@hart-research.com in this case). AFA experienced similar issues with the last negotiations survey in 2011. Anecdotally, we can confirm AOL and Comcast appear to generate the largest number of hard bounces. Unfortunately there is nothing that can be done about hard bounces except to have Flight Attendants use another email host.
One of the other issues is that Hart Research Associates operates on Eastern Time Monday through Friday during normal business hours. It seemed many Flight Attendants who sent in troubleshooting inquiries outside of this window were getting frustrated when they were not receiving a response right away. Keep in mind that all survey invitations were being sent by Hart Research Associates directly and AFA had no way to expedite the process. We were simply passing along requests to Hart.
Combine all these reasons with the fact that your leadership was fully immersed in the annual AFA Board of Directors meeting during this time and it was a perfect recipe for frustration! Please be assured it is extremely important to AFA that your voice is heard. If you haven’t yet completed the survey, be looking for the instructions immediately following this communication.
Thank you very much for your patience!
In solidarity,
Your MEC–Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Gesch, Becky Strachan, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn and Sandra Morrow; and
Your Negotiating Committee–MEC President Jeffrey Peterson, Kristy Stratton, Lisa Pinkston, Jake Jones and Christina Frees
MEC 5BSS Logo

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 […]

Joint Contract Negotiations Session 13 – March 2026

Our JNC met this week for three days of collective bargaining with management. The JNC focused on clarifying questions about moving expenses and presented a proposal for Sick Leave, using feedback from Flight Attendants to guide improvements. The Committee is working to incorporate the strongest elements from both contracts to ensure better support for all members.

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