May 27, 2013

Dear Flight Attendants,

Early this morning, a male passenger was arrested in Portland for interfering with flight crew after he allegedly attempted to open an emergency exit row window during descent on flight 132 from Anchorage to Portland. The attempt was unsuccessful as the locking pins for the next generation aircraft window exits were still engaged, and the passenger was ultimately restrained by passengers and crew. The Association praises our Portland- and Seattle-based Flight Attendants for their professionalism under pressure. This incident has made national headlines so we expect there to be increased media attention for the next few days. Please remember that Flight Attendants should not make statements to the media and should refer all inquiries to Alaska Airlines Corporate Communications.

In solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Terry Taylor, Yvette Gesch, Melanie Buker, Laura Masserant and Sandra Morrow

“Five Bases, One Voice”

www.alaskamec.org

References

Alaska’s World May 27, 2013 “Passenger arrest: FBI detains man after he tries to open emergency exit inflight” (login required): http://splash.alaskasworld.com/NEWS/2013/05/27_passenger_arrest.asp

May 23, 2013

Dear Flight Attendants,

Alaska Airlines management advised AFA that two “No Knives On Planes” stickers were found on the sides of two different inbound beverage carts yesterday. Management reports that the stickers cannot be removed so the affected side panel must be replaced at a cost of $100. Although the Master Executive Council (MEC) appreciates the enthusiasm our members have shown for ensuring that no knives are ever brought back into the cabin, we must insist that the stickers are not affixed to Alaska Airlines property. Thank you very much!

In solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Terry Taylor, Yvette Gesch, Melanie Buker, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn and Sandra Morrow

“Five Bases, One Voice”

www.alaskamec.org

‘No Knives’ sticker on a cart:

May 22, 2013

Dear Flight Attendants,

Many of our brothers and sisters participated in informational leafleting and picketing at the Alaska Air Group Shareholders meeting yesterday afternoon at the Bell Harbor Conference Center on Pier 66 in downtown Seattle. The event was a very successful solidarity action and the Flight Attendants delivered a professional, respectful message to management and our shareholders. Several AFA representatives entered the actual proceedings and Master Executive Council (MEC) President Jeffrey Peterson was the first to address the group during the Q&A portion of the meeting. AFA is appreciative of management’s efforts to ensure AFA was heard.

The Shareholders meeting was reported in an Alaska’s World article today (May 22, 2013) “Striving for success: Taking a long-term view on finances, growth and serving all stakeholders” (login required): http://splash.alaskasworld.com/NEWS/2013/05/22_annual_meeting.asp.

Private recording devices were prohibited during the proceedings, so we have to paraphrase the full text of Jeff’s question:

“The Flight Attendants have been negotiating with Alaska Airlines management for the past 18 months and talks have recently stalled, largely over compensation. We have since applied for mediation with the National Mediation Board. There are Flight Attendants engaging in informational picketing out front, which the Association believes is an unfortunate but necessary distraction. We had hoped to be announcing a tentative agreement at this meeting.

Back in 2009 AFA signed a contract extension that provided only very moderate increases to our base wage in order to ensure Alaska Airlines would be in a position to prosper in an uncertain economy and a turbulent industry. In the presentation we just saw, there was discussion about aligning shareholder and employee interests. It was mentioned that in the past several years there has been more than a 500% increase to share value. In approximately that same period, the Flight Attendant wage scale his slipped nearly 8% when adjusted for inflation.

Knowing all this, how are we going to move things forward to get the Flight Attendants a contract we deserve so that we can focus our efforts back on closing the gap with our competitors?”

The meeting broke at 3:30 pm, at which point the entire coalition reconvened outside for a brief recap of the activities. An unofficial social mixer followed at Anthony’s for several hours. Check out pictures of the event below!

The next negotiations session is scheduled for July 8-11, 2013, in Valencia, California.

In solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Terry Taylor, Yvette Gesch, Melanie Buker, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn and Sandra Morrow

“Five Bases, One Voice”

www.alaskamec.org

References:

Alaska’s World May 22, 2013 “Striving for success: Taking a long-term view on finances, growth and serving all stakeholders” (login required): http://splash.alaskasworld.com/NEWS/2013/05/22_annual_meeting.asp