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Negotiations Update December 31, 2013: Tentative Agreement (TA) Roadshows

Dear Flight Attendants,

 

Next week your Negotiation Committee and Master Executive Council (MEC) will be traveling to all the bases to meet with you and discuss the Tentative Agreement (TA). These “roadshows” give you the opportunity to HAVE The TA EXPLAINED ask questions and seek clarification on the language.

 

The full text of the TA will be posted electronically as soon as possible and we anticipate having a printed TA Summary and full TA available in the crew rooms the first week of the roadshows. Unfortunately, the holidays have hampered our timeline, as the rest of the world does not operate 24/7 like we do!

 

An electronic summary of the TA is posted on alaskamec.org and we encourage you to review (AND /OR PRINT OUT) the summary prior to attending any Roadshow.

 

You are welcome to attend any Roadshow in any base. There are two sessions offered on each day: generally one morning session from 9am to 12pm and one afternoon session from 1pm to 5pm.

 

A full TA will be supplied electronically prior to the Road Shows and will be available in print at the Road Shows.

 

It is very important to educate yourself and ask questions if you are unsure. Your Local Executive Council (LEC) officers are available via email and phone to help answer any questions that you may have. You may also send questions directly to the Negotiating Committee at negotiations@alaskamec.org.

 

We do apologize for the last minute scheduling of the first round of roadshows. If you cannot attend one of the January roadshows please know that we will be releasing the February dates before February bidding has closed and we’re targeting to get that information out before bidding even opens. The February roadshows will occur in the first two weeks of the month. A link to a calendar of the January roadshows is at the bottom of this communication.

 

IMPORTANT: BALLOTS WILL BE MAILED TO YOUR HOME ( ELECTRONIC VOTING) AND THE POLLS OPEN ON JANUARY 17 and close on February 14.

 

 

In solidarity,

 

 

Your Negotiating Committee – MEC President Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Tracy, Karina Cameron-Fetters, Jake Jones and AFA Senior Staff Negotiator Paula Mastrangelo

 

negotiations@alaskamec.org

 

ALA TA January Roadshows

Negotiations Update December 30, 2013: MEC Approves the Tentative Agreement (TA) + TA Summary

Dear Flight Attendants,

 

 

The AFA Alaska Master Executive Council (MEC) and your Negotiating Committee have reviewed all documents and provisions associated with the Tentative Agreement (TA) and the MEC has approved the TA to be sent out for a ratification vote. The MEC and the Negotiating Committee recommends that you vote “FOR” this TA.

 

We know you are all eager to see the entire document and we’re working diligently to finalize the full text language for your review. In the meantime, we’re including a summary of the TA. Most will skip straight to the compensation table and check out their pay rates but remember that a TA is the sum of its parts. As a courtesy to your Negotiating Committee and all the hours they have put into the TA, please consider the TA in its entirety and read the full text language once it is made available. If possible, come see the Negotiating Committee at a Roadshow (schedule included in the back of the attached TA Summary) for further dialogue and explanation.

 

The Negotiating Committee has secured a 10.9% increase to the top of scale (TOS) rate, with variable increases throughout the scale slightly below and significantly above 10.9%. The number of steps have been lowered from seventeen (17) to sixteen (16). There was a concerted effort to level the progression through the step rates rather than having to wait until Step 11 for the “big jump.” In order to make this happen you will see a proportionately smaller increase for those who just received the “big jump” (at Steps 11 and 12 under the current Agreement) but a proportionately larger increase for the steps leading up to Step 11.

 

In addition to a very healthy increase at top of scale, we are very proud to have secured an additional one dollar ($1) longevity premium for every additional five (5) years of service as an Alaska Airlines Flight Attendant starting at twenty (20) years of service (YOS). Given that we have Flight Attendants on the payroll with over forty five (45) YOS, our effective pay rate can be as high as six dollars ($1) above the TOS rate of $51.50/TFP ($51.50 + $6 = $57.50) on all TFP flown or credited exclusive of vacation or sick leave pay.

 

We have eliminated the profitability bonus starting in 2014 (but eligible Flight Attendants will still receive the profitability bonus from 2013 paid out on April 20, 2014); but this is in exchange for the more generous longevity premium. Even for those at 20 YOS with “only” one dollar ($1) longevity premium paid on all Worked TFP (all TFP paid exclusive of sick leave or vacation), this is a much more generous application than the profitability bonus has paid even in the best of years. And it only gets better than that for those at 25 YOS and above!

 

There were smaller increases made to the date of hire (DOH) rate and the six month rate, but we put more money into the one year (Step 1) rate. Because of all the hiring the Company has done in the past couple years, any changes made to the bottom steps of the scale significantly affected the overall costing of the Agreement. The Negotiating Committee made sure that newly-hired Flight Attendants only have to survive for one year before receiving a healthy increase. Check out the percentage increases (including step rates) over the life of the agreement in the following table. Keep in mind the table does not include the longevity premium for eligible Flight Attendants with 20 YOS or above, which would make those increases even larger!

 

Percentage Increase Over Term of Agreement Chart

 

There have been significant enhancements to “unproductive” sequences in the way of “minimum pay rules.” We have retained the “four (4) TFP minimum” which is now called the Duty Period Minimum and have improved the “midnight to midnight rule”–now the Extended Overnight Rule (EOR). There are also new minimum pay rules: an Average Duty Period Guarantee (ADPG) of 5 TFP per duty period across the life of the pairing, a Multi-day Sequence Minimum (MSM) of 4 TFP per calendar day and Sit Pay of 1 TFP for any scheduled or unscheduled sit of two (2) hours or more (unless Stranded Pay is more).

 

Retro pay will be due back to December 1, 2013 (paid on the Step rates only), and payable on the March 20th paycheck. Down-line increases to the Step rates are one and one-half percent (1.5%) annually. At the final hour, the Negotiating Committee had a decision to make: to achieve a signing bonus or put that money into the rates where it would compound over the years and pay us more money in the long run. The Negotiating Committee chose the latter, although we were able to secure some retro pay back to December.

 

Although this communication is largely about compensation, as mentioned early there is so much more to a TA than simply pay. However, we hope this quick overview into compensation will whet your appetite. Rest assured more information is forthcoming as soon as possible!

 

 

In solidarity,

 

 

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

Your Negotiating Committee – MEC President Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Tracy, Karina Cameron-Fetters, Jake Jones and AFA Staff Negotiator Paula Mastrangelo

 

Summary of ALA TA 2013-12-31

MEC Update December 28, 2013: [Reminder] Harvard Flight Attendant Health Study

Dear Flight Attendants,

Several weeks ago you may have received an email from researchers at Harvard asking you to join a new Flight Attendant health study. Your AFA Alaska Master Executive Council (MEC) also sent out a communication (MEC Update December 4, 2013: Harvard Flight Attendant Health Study) advising you of the health study. For those of you who participated, your MEC and the Harvard researchers thank you for donating your valuable time.

 

For those of you who haven’t participated yet, there is still time. Your participation is key. Knowledge about the health effects of our profession is lacking and only you can change that. You’ve read the recent news articles. You’ve talked to your colleagues about your health on the job. Now let’s make it count by telling the folks who are equipped to study what’s going on.

 


Any former and current Flight Attendants can participate by following this link: https://harvard.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_4O5cAMbgQV1B4Cp. Be assured all responses will be kept confidential!

Want to know more about the study? Then follow this link: http://www.fahealth.org/116/. Tell your coworkers and all current or former Flight Attendant friends about the study (www.fahealth.org). Thank you very much for advancing knowledge about the health effects of our profession!

In solidarity,

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

 

MEC Benefits & Grievance Update December 27, 2013: 16.C & 16.H

Dear Flight Attendants,

 

 

Your AFA-CWA Alaska Master Executive Council (MEC) is pleased to report two beneficial changes to Section 16 [Sick Leave/On the Job Injury] that impact Flight Attendants who are on a medical leave of absence (MLOA) or worker’s compensation leave of absence (WC).

 

In 2012 we became aware that the Company was misapplying Section 16.H:

 

“During a leave of absence of thirty (30) days or more, granted to a Flight Attendant, sick leave will continue to accrue at a rate of seven (7) TFP per month for a period not to exceed ninety (90) days.”

 

We discovered that unless an illness or injury conveniently began on the first of a bid month and ended on the last day of a bid month, the appropriate sick leave accrual was not being credited. For example, if a sixty-day leave began on May 15 and ended on July 15, only seven TFP would have been credited for the full bid month on leave (June). If a leave had begun May 15 and ended June 29, no sick leave would have accrued because there no was no full bid month on leave. Consequently, we filed a grievance—a grievance which was recently settled. This is the full settlement document: 36-99-02-14-12 Settlement 2013-09-19.

 

We are pleased to announce that for the first ninety (90) days of a medical, maternity or worker’s compensation leave of absence, sick leave accrual will now be credited for each thirty (30) day period at seven (7) TFP per month, regardless of start and end dates. If there are additional days beyond thirty (30), sick leave accrual will be prorated at the rate of twenty-three hundredths (0.23) TFP per day for a partial month rounded to the nearest tenth (0.1) TFP (not to exceed 21 TFP).

 

Flight attendants who have been on a leave of absence that overlapped or began after September 14, 2012, will have the additional accrual credited to their sick leave banks. The adjustment process was completed by Inflight Administration and is reflected on your December 20th flight crew pay sheet. You will not see a specific line item that reflects the additional TFP. It has been added directly into the total for December.

 

In order to verify the amount credited take your November sick leave bank total, then add December’s accrual amount (this is for S/L earned on TFP flown or credited) then subtract that from your total. The difference is the amount you have been credited as a result of the grievance. We realize that it would be much easier if there was just a line that referenced the amount credited for the correction and your normal accrual but unfortunately the flight crew pay sheet is not set up to do so.

 

If you believe that you should have received this sick leave accrual and you don’t see it on your December 20th flight crew pay sheet, or you have any questions regarding the amount, contact Inflight Pay and Leave Analyst Supervisor Debbie Bakke via email (Debbie.Bakke@alaskaair.com) or at (206) 392-6139. Also contact Debbie if you are on a leave of absence and need to use the additional sick leave.

 

In addition your MEC has agreed to early implementation of the agreed upon tentative agreement (TA) change to Section 16 C. Currently, this language only allows a F/A on an approved medical-related leave of absence to use sick leave to supplement her/his income up to no more than ninety (90) TFP per month. This also applies to those who coordinate sick leave with Short Term Disability (STD) or California State Disability.

 

Effective December 12, 2013, a Flight Attendant may opt to use sufficient sick leave to be paid up to 120 TFP: AFA LOA 2013-12-02-A Section 16.C 70-120 TFP of Sick Leave. Those Flight Attendants who are currently on an approved medical-related leave will have a one-time ability to change the amount of sick leave that they are using if they wish to do so. Those who wish to make a change to the amount of sick leave they are using on an applicable medical leave should contact their payroll administrator no later than Sunday, January 5, 2014. This will enable you to make a one-time change to use up to one hundred twenty (120) TFP of sick leave beginning December 2013 and effective for the duration of your approved medical-related leave.

 

Because of the very short lead time until the deadline of January 5, 2014, we encourage any affected Flight Attendants to review their flight crew pay sheets and contact Inflight administration if appropriate as soon as possible!

 

 

In solidarity,

 

 

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Terry Taylor, Yvette Gesch, Melanie Buker, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn and Sandra Morrow; MEC Benefits & Retirement Chair Terry Taylor; MEC Grievance Chair Jennifer Wise MacColl; and AFA Senior Staff Attorney Kimberley Chaput 

36-99-02-14-12 Settlement 2013-09-19

AFA LOA 2013-12-02-A Section 16.C 70-120 TFP of Sick Leave

Christmas Eve Staffing and Media Attention: It Wasn’t Us!

December 25, 2013

Dear Flight Attendants,

Merry Christmas to you and yours from your AFA Alaska Master Executive Council (MEC)!

We wish this were a simple message with tidings of goodwill from your AFA leadership. However, we know the reality is the joys of this holiday season have been tempered because of staffing issues at work over the past few days. In fact, several of our co-workers have had their holiday plans ruined because of junior assignment (JA).

To add insult to injury, did anybody get asked by their friends or family about recent media coverage regarding flight cancellations at Alaska Airlines? For those of you who have not already heard about this, media outlets across the country reported flight cancellations due to sick Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants and pilots. This story was widely circulated, even getting attention in national outlets such as USA Today (“Flu Hits Alaska crews, canceling flights.”)

Your MEC is here to set the story straight for our Members. First, no Inflight managers or supervisors who hold an FAA-certification as a Flight Attendant flew as minimum crew yesterday. Second, there were no Alaska Airlines mainline flights canceled due to Flight Attendant sick calls. That’s right—not one flight was canceled because of a shortage of Alaska Airlines Flight Attedants. Confused? Totally understandable!

That’s because all the canceled flights were operated by the other Alaska Air Group (AAG) carriers—such as Horizon Air or SkyWest—doing business as Alaska Airlines. That’s right—no flights canceled due to sick Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants but somehow we still get blamed for it. Not cool at all! However, if you check out the Alaska’s World article “Ops challenges: Horizon and SkyWest cancel flights due to illness, weather, mechanicals” (log-in required) you will see that the Company accurately reports cancellations at Horizon and SkyWest.

So what gives, you wonder? Well, in our humble opinion this kind of mix-up is bound to happen when Horizon and SkyWest planes are painted with the Alaska Airlines livery and the passenger tickets are sold as Alaska Airlines. Have you ever noticed that in announcements to customers the Horizon Air CSAs and Flight Attendants refer to the flight only as Alaska Airlines? They’re allowed to make only one passing reference that the flight is “proudly operated by Horizon Air.”

So as far as the customer sees, there are very few cues that Horizon Air and SkyWest are distinct carriers operated under separate certificates. No wonder why the media might report them as one and the same as Alaska Airlines! The MEC is aware Alaska Airlines management knew the media intended to report the cancellations in a blanket statement attributed to Alaska Airlines as early as the afternoon of December 23rd. The timing of the early media reports are unclear, however. Your MEC will definitely be digging further into this to understand the timeline and what clarifications, if any, were initiated by Alaska Airlines management to the media. Things that make you go “Hmmm…”

The story gets even more complicated. The AFA Alaska MEC has been in contact with our colleagues in the AFA Horizon MEC and they informed us AFA Horizon has raised concerns with their own management in regards to how the press release was handled. Obviously AFA Horizon objects to publicly blaming flight cancellations on sick Flight Attendants without any further explanation or qualifications. (Like staffing decisions, perhaps? Sound familiar?)

At the end of the day, it is extremely upsetting that Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants are being blamed for flight cancellations that never actually occurred at our carrier. Consequently, we have been caught in the cross-hairs of undesirable attention from the media, our customers and even our family and friends as a result of how this story was reported. The AFA Alaska MEC requests that Alaska Airlines management respond to our concerns as soon as possible.

We hope our Flight Attendants will find some comfort in knowing all the facts and that you will be able to tell your family and friends “It wasn’t us!”

In solidarity,

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

That’s a Wrap on Government Affairs Focus Month!

As Government Affairs Committee Focus Month comes to a close, we want to sincerely thank everyone who tuned in, asked insightful questions, and shared resources throughout September. Whether you watched a quick video on the van or started a conversation about voting in the crew lounge, your engagement made a difference. We started this month […]

Human Rights & Equity Committee Meeting Recap – 3rd Quarter 2026

On Wednesday, September 23, 2026, our AFA Human Rights & Equity Committee Chairpersons met for their regular quarterly meeting to advance ongoing activism, promote workplace equity, and champion meaningful policy improvements across our workplace. Your representatives attending the meeting were Nyachan Chuar (ANC), Soon Kim (HNL), Bruni Agosto-Pinal (pmHA LAX/SEA), Aaron Miller (PDX), Erika Daniel […]

MEC Town Hall Video and Q&A Recap – September 23, 2026

Whether you joined us live or are ready to watch on your own schedule, the full recording of our September 23 MEC Town Hall is now available! Catch up on the discussions and hear directly from our MEC Officers and AFA panelists. Watch the video anytime on our AFA Alaska + Hawaiian YouTube channel using the link below. (Note: […]

Hotel Committee Meeting Recap – September 2026

In September, our Hotel Committee participated in two meetings: the standing monthly meeting with Crew Hotels on September 14, and a Quarterly Business Review (QBR) with the company’s hotel procurement vendor, API, on September 23 (pmAS) and September 24 (pmHA) in Seattle.  Representing you at these meetings were Dori Marron (ANC), Jarod McNeill (SEA pmAS), […]

Register Now: Reserve Webinar – Wednesday, October 21

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants When Crew Scheduling calls at 3 AM with a change to the trip you self-assigned, do you know your contractual rights? Understanding what management can—and cannot—do on reserve is your strongest line of defense. Join our Reserve Committee for “Is This Legal?”, the second installment in our three-part pre-merger […]

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