Dear Flight Attendants,

 

 

Under the direction of federal mediator Victoria Gray, your AFA Negotiating Committee and Transportation Economist Dan Akins return to the National Mediation Board (NMB) in Washington, DC, October 28-30 for another round of talks with Alaska Airlines management. It is extremely fortunate that the government shutdown was resolved just in time to bring back Mediator Gray from mandatory furlough!

 

The remaining seven sections of our Contract to be negotiated are Scope, Definitions, Compensation, Expenses, Insurance, Profit Sharing/Retirement and Duration. Before the end of our last mediation session in September, the Negotiating Committee decided that passing multiple economic proposals back and forth with management would simply be a waste of time. That is because we are already aware of the Membership’s expectations in terms of the overall economics.

 

Therefore we thoughtfully prepared a comprehensive compensation and benefits proposal that cut to the chase. After explaining to management our motive for doing so—Flight Attendants want a deal yesterday and they’re tired of waiting—we presented the package so that they would have something significant to work on during the six week break between sessions. The idea behind this was to give the management negotiating team, the Alaska Air Group (AAG) executive leadership and the AAG Board of Directors plenty of time to consider our respective positions.

 

It seems in every Company communication and meeting recently we hear from management that the major challenge coming our way is competition from other airlines moving into our territory. In this morning’s communication from CEO Brad Tilden “Alaska’s Q3 Financial Results” Brad was quoted as resonating with a colleague who said, “The best defense (to competition) is … performance.” We couldn’t agree more! What better way to defend against the competition than to deploy an army of proud Flight Attendants who will strengthen the relationship with our loyal customers and win over new ones into our fold?

 

After all, the Flight Attendants are the front line ambassadors of the “Alaska Airlines product” who by far have the most time spent with our customers compared to any other workgroup in the Company. As such we are the “tip of the spear” in any war with our competitors. Management can ensure this army feels valued and proud by recognizing Flight Attendants with a contract which reflects our contributions to the current and future success of Alaska Airlines!

 

During this past month the flood of emails to management and your passionate attendance at recent Company meetings have proved that Flight Attendants are now more than ever united and serious about achieving a contract we deserve. We expect management to show up in DC next week having carefully considered our most recent comprehensive proposal, to acknowledge our resolve, and to be prepared and focused to “get ‘er done.” This mediation session should significantly reveal the direction negotiations are heading. (No pressure, management!)

 

Keep united and stay tuned for more developments next week!

 

 

In solidarity,

 

 

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

“Five Bases, One Voice”

negotiations@alaskamec.org

Dear Flight Attendants,

 

 

Your AFA Negotiating Committee recently tentatively agreed (TA’d) Section 16 Sick Leave/On the Job Injury. Because the information contained in management’s latest “Grab & Go” has caused so much confusion and discussion, we will share with you a detailed explanation of the newly agreed graduated accruals and sick leave banks concepts.

 

Going forward there will be two sick leave banks: a Primary Sick Leave Bank (PSLB) for “everyday” use and a Secondary Sick Leave Bank (SSLB) for illness or injury greater than fourteen (14) days. The SSLB may also be utilized for for an intermittent Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) absence of shorter duration if the PSLB is exhausted. Flight Attendants will continue to accrual sick leave at a base rate of 1 TFP for every 10 TFP flown or credited between the the two banks. Flight Attendant will accrue sick leave each bid month based on a rolling twelve (12) bid month look-back as follows:

 

Accrual Rate Threshold (based on rolling 12 bid month ‘look-back’) politically	Primary Sick Leave Bank (PSLB)	Secondary Sick Leave Bank (SSLB)
Worked TFP during rolling 12 month bid look-back ≥ 480 TFP [greater than or equal to 480]	1.0 TFP accrued for every 15.0 TFP of Worked TFP and paid Vacation/PTO in current bid month	0.5 TFP accrued for every 15.0 TFP of Worked TFP and paid Vacation/PTO in current bid month
Worked TFP during rolling 12 month bid look-back between 240 TFP and 480 TFP	0.5 TFP accrued for every 15.0 TFP of Worked TFP and (credited) Vacation/PTO in current bid month	.25 TFP accrued for every 15.0 TFP of Worked TFP and (credited)Vacation/PTO in current bid month
Worked TFP during rolling 12 month bid look-back ≤ 240 TFP [less than or equal to 240]	No accrual in current bid month	No accrual in current bid month

 

Important Concepts to Understand:

 

Worked TFP = ALL credited TFP (including premiums, training etc), but excluding Sick Leave and Vacation.

 

12-Month Look-Back = The last 12 months of full employment. Any month in which a Flight Attendant coordinates sick leave with short/long term disability or worker’s compensation pay will not count toward the threshold calculation. A full twelve (12) bid month look back will extend into additional months until twelve (12) full bid months are included in the determination of the threshold. This way, FAs are not penalized for months in which they are on a leave and coordinating with sick leave. This “rolling calendar” will move with each bid month and sick leave for each bid month will accrue based on the calculation within that rolling calendar.

 

1.333 Daily Credit for Leaves Not Using Sick Leave = FAs will receive an unpaid credit of 1.333 TFP for each day on which they are on an unpaid personal, military, extended, medical, maternity, FMLA, worker’s compensation or parental leaves of absence or on a furlough (including voluntary furlough) when they are not coordinating w/ sick leave. This credit will count towards the “240/480” thresholds.

 

Increased total bank(s) accrual: From 1443 to 1700 TFP.

 

Accrual rate: Still 1:10 in total between the two banks.

 

Two Sick Leave Banks: Sick leave bank maximum accrual was increased from 1443 to a total of 1700 between the two banks. In the Primary Sick Leave Bank (PSLB) you may accrue up to 1000 TFP. In the Secondary Sick Leave Bank (SSLB) you may accrue up to 700 TFP. The rate of accrual is still 1 TFP for 10 TFP flown or credited broken into two separate banks for which the PSLB will receive 1 TFP for 15 flown or credited and the SSLB 1 for 30 (0.5 for 15).

 

Usage of the SSLB will be for approved leaves of absence (LOAs) of fourteen (14) days or greater including Medical LOA, Maternity LOA, Worker’s Comp and FMLA. A Flight Attendant who is on an approved intermittent FMLA may access the Secondary bank after their Primary bank is exhausted. Both the Primary and Secondary banks may be coordinated with Short Term Disability and Workers’ Compensation.

 

We negotiated the ability to supplement pay during illness/injury by using sick leave from between 70 – 90 TFP per month to 70 – 120 TFP per month at the Flight Attendant’s discretion.

 

Using Sick Leave to Bridge to Long Term Disability: An important concern for Flight Attendants is the ability to “bridge” to Long Term Disability (LTD) while supplementing with sick leave. Flight Attendants do this in order to maintain health insurance for two years at the active rate while on LTD. Currently Flight Attendants must draw 11.3 TFP sick leave per month in order to remain active for benefits purposes during the 180 day waiting period for LTD. That means a Flight Attendant must have 67.8 TFP in her/his bank today in order to qualify for this benefit.

 

Under the TA a Flight Attendant will be required to draw less: 0.3 TFP per day (9 TFP in a 30-day bid month or 9.3 TFP in a 31-day bid month). We also secured a commitment from management that Flight Attendants will be able to “stretch” sick leave through the 180 day period in order to secure medical insurance coverage while on LTD—even if the Flight Attendant has less than 54 TFP (180 days x 0.3 TFP per day = 54 TFP) in her bank(s).

 

“Grandfather Clause” for Purchase of Retiree Healthcare Using Sick Leave Ages 62-65: Many Flight Attendants expressed their concern over deleting a provision that allowed the continuation of medical health insurance upon separation for Flight Attendants aged 62-65 using sick leave at 20 TFP per month. The Negotiating Committee secured a letter of agreement extending the provision (a temporary “grandfather clause”). This provision will expire either on the effective date of any new agreement or the end of the current agreement’s amendable period, whichever is earlier.

 

Sick Leave Cash-Out upon Retirement: The Negotiating Committee addressed the issue of large sick leave balances upon retirement.

 

Qualifications: 1) Flight Attendant must retire directly from Alaska Airlines; 2) Minimum age of 55 years; 3) Total of 10 years vesting in 401(k) or at least 20 years total Company seniority.

 

Cash-Out: Lump sum payout of 25% of total TFP in both sick leave accounts, paid at wage rate effective at retirement. For example if you accrued 1700 hundred hours of sick leave, 25% of that total amount is equal to 425 TFP, paid at $46.48 (top rate today) would be equal to a cash amount of $19,754.00.

 

Your Negotiating Committee spent countless hours reviewing, discussing and enhancing the provisions of Section 16. We were successful in achieving:

• A 1:10 accrual, split between two banks,
• An additional 25% cash out option for accrued sick leave at retirement,
• A full twelve (12) month look back for the 480 Worked TFP accruals,
• An increase from 1443 TFP to 1700 TFP maximum sick leave between banks, and
• A letter of agreement continuing the ability to purchase “retiree healthcare” for the employee and her/his dependents, if appropriate, using 20 TFP sick leave per month from ages 62-65 for the duration of the Agreement.

Once we present a TA to the membership for ratification, Flight Attendants should read over Section 16 Sick Leave/On the Job Injury and understand the complete depth of the accruals, changes, and improvements in the context of the overall agreement.

In solidarity,

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

“Five Bases, One Voice”

alaskamec.org