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Council 18 LAX Officer Election Results

April 21, 2013

 

 

Dear Flight Attendants,

 

 

The Council 18 LAX officer election ended at noon Pacific Time on Tuesday, April 16, 2013. Nominations and elections are governed by procedures outlined in the Association’s Constitution & Bylaws, Article VIII and the AFA Policy Manual. The results are as follows:

 

President: Sandra Morrow

Vice President: Kelly Johnson

Secretary: Kelese Stallings

Council Representative: David Lehman

 

The upcoming three year term for Council 18 officers is from July 1, 2013, through June 30, 2016. The Master Executive Council (MEC) congratulates the officers-elect and we sincerely thank all those who stepped forward to run in the election.

 

[Note from MEC President Jeff Peterson: This was a particularly eventful week for us because of all the developments surrounding negotiations—and the Boston Marathon bombings occurred on Monday as well. It was an honest error that the Council 18 election results were not posted that day (or during the week, for that matter). I personally apologize to all LAXFAs and SANFAs for the oversight!]

 

 

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:

ALA Council 18 LAX certified election results: http://afacwa-elections.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Certified-Results-20137.pdf

Negotiations Update April 15-18, 2013

Negotiations Update April 15-18, 2013

Dear Flight Attendants,

This session was a roller coaster of a week for your AFA Negotiating Committee.  It started out on a negative note and ended with a renewed commitment to forging ahead and narrowing the gap.

The week started off somewhat contentiously before talks had even started because management disallowed our “Show Us the Money” pin backers over the weekend.  Many of you had started to wear the pin backers when the memo came out banning them. 

The Master Executive Council was in Seattle to meet with the Negotiating Committee and receive management’s response to our comprehensive proposal.  Management did not meet with us on Monday, saying that some on their team did not have the date reserved on their calendars.  For us, it was a wasted day and wasted resources.

On Tuesday, a key member of management’s team was unavailable to meet.  At this point, we were doubting management’s focus and commitment to Flight Attendant  negotiations.  We contacted CEO Brad Tilden, who agreed to meet with the MEC and the Negotiating committee that same day.  The extended meeting took place at corporate HQ with Brad, COO Ben Minicucci and Vice President Labor Relations Shane Tackett and VP Inflight Services Andy Schneider.  

A very frank discussion ensued regarding frustrations with these negotiations and relations between AFA and management. Management reaffirmed their commitment to negotiations and to good labor relations.  How to get the talks back on track was the focus of our discussion.  All agreed that the parties engaging in some “off the record” discussions might be helpful to jump-start negotiations. As a sign of good faith, the MEC resolved that the officers and the Negotiating Committee would not wear the pin backers during this session.

Negotiations resumed on Wednesday morning. Both teams continued to exchange proposals on non-economic sections: section 3 Scope, S27 Association general, S16 Sick Leave.  We are moving closer in all those sections.

We gave a power-point presentation to management detailing Flight Attendants’ loss of real buying power as a result of wages not keeping up with inflation.  The presentation highlighted FAs contribution to Alaska’s success and the many awards FAs have earned consistently over the years.

Neither the AFA nor the management negotiating teams passed formal comprehensive proposals this week.  However, both sides engaged in detailed discussion about components of the proposals.  The mood at the table was much improved from the beginning of the week.  At this point in negotiations and as talks progress, the elements of comprehensive compensation proposals may rapidly and significantly change so we will not be reporting out specifics about our proposals.  However, we will keep you informed about how negotiations are going in general. 

We’ve gotten reports of individual FAs or groups of FAs taking their own solidarity actions such as wearing colored ribbons, etc.  While we admire your spirit, we have to caution everyone against taking independent actions not sanctioned by AFA.  We do not want to see anyone disciplined over this.

Our next session is in Seattle in less than a week and a half, starting on April 29.  Until then, please remember to wear your AFA pin as a sign that your Negotiating Committee has the support of over 3,100 Flight Attendants.

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”

www.alaskamec.org

AFA-CWA_logo

References:

AFA Alaska Negotiations channel on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/AFAALANegotiations

Alaska Airlines Negotiations facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/#!/alaskaairlines.negotiations

VOICE Comment Card Report April 2013

[Important: Going forward the Negotiating Committee will read every comment card just like today. However, we will only confidentially publish non-anonymous comment cards. That is, for a comment card to be pushed there must be some identifying information on the card such as a name or arctic number. We will continue to “scrub” the identifying information from the cards when published.]

MEC Special Update April 16, 2013 @ 1215 PDT: American Airlines Flights On Ground Hold

April 16, 2013 @ 1215 PDT

Dear Flight Attendants,

It was just announced that all American Airlines flights have been placed on a ground hold until later today. To the best of our knowledge the ground stop is related to a planned cut-over from SABRE to JetNet that did not go well. The failed cut-over is now affecting operations at American. This may seem suspicious in light of the Boston Marathon bombings yesterday but so far it seems to be unfortunate timing. If we get any additional updates, we will pass them along to you.

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

AFA-CWA_logo

Coping with the Boston Marathon Bombings

When we hear about or experience a tragedy of this magnitude, the brain and central nervous systems Immediately respond. They cover our emotions with a protective “blanket” we sometimes call shock. Shock allows us to try and function in our lives while trying to process the tragedy of this event. For some, shock recedes very quickly and for others, it hangs on.

We are all different and there is no right or wrong way to experience shock. As shock falls away, emotions will make their way to the surface. It is very normal to feel a “roller coaster” of emotions following the shock stage. Emotions may ebb and flow. Emotions may feel manageable one second and out of control the next.

You don’t have to be alone with your shock and emotions. Contact your AFA Alaska Airlines Employee Assistance Program (EAP) committee representative at 1-949-470-0493 or eap@alaskamec.org. Their number can also be found at www.afanet.org or through the AFA International EAP toll free help line 1-800-424-2406.

MEC Special Update April 15, 2013 @1550 PDT: Explosions at the Boston Marathon

April 15, 2013 @ 1550 PDT

 Dear Flight Attendants,

 All crews outbound from Boston have been contacted and are safe. There are several off-duty Flight Attendants who were competing in or were spectators at the marathon and so far all are reported as fine, although at least one missed the affected area at the finish line by only a few minutes. Public transportation in downtown Boston has been disrupted but the airport is operating normally at this time. This will be the last special update unless circumstances change.

 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

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