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AFA Alaska News in Review – April 19, 2024

In This Edition

After Relentless AFA Advocacy, Alaska Management Finally Takes Initial Step To Protect Against Injuries From Dangerous Coffee Makers

Originally posted April 18, 2024

Alaska Airlines management has directed that older-style B/E Aerospace coffee makers must not be used without a Brew Shield. The action follows months of advocacy by the AFA ASHSC, Inflight Service Committee, and MEC, highlighting ongoing injuries to Flight Attendants from the coffee makers. Our Committees and MEC continue to call for a complete suspension of the older coffee makers until the issue is fully resolved to ensure the safety of both crewmembers and passengers.

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Mediation Session 3

Originally posted April 18, 2024

This week was our third Mediation session with management and the mediator assigned by the National Mediation Board. We presented a comprehensive proposal that would significantly elevate pay for Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants and bring us in line with industry standard for RIGs/MPRs. We encourage management to come to the table ready to reach a deal soon. We are ready for a contract NOW.

Read More >

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April Mediation Agenda

Our Negotiating Committee is meeting today to prepare for mediation beginning tomorrow. Even though there was no mediation session in March, they used that time to discuss several sections that will be presented to management and the mediator during the April session. 

Every last detail of these sections affects our quality of life. We are standing strong in solidarity to fight for the contract we have earned!

C-Suite Bonuses

While Alaska Flight Attendants continue to struggle with severely outdated pay rates, Alaska C-Suite officers took their huge pieces of the pie. AFA led the fight for the airline’s Payment Protection Program approval during COVID. Don’t forget where those BILLIONS came from!

Watch Our Instagram Reel >

Mediation Session 3 Update

Our AFA Alaska Negotiating Committee presented a full comprehensive proposal to management during Mediation Session 3. This infographic focuses on proposed changes to Section 21: Compensation and additional economic components within the contract. Our proposals will only increase as additional airlines reach and ratify new contracts.

Update Video on Instagram >

Infographics for Section 21 >

Infographics for Economics >

Next Week’s Events

Tuesday, April 23Monthly Scheduling Committee Meeting
Thursday, April 25SEA Base Safety Meeting
Thursday, April 25Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR)

See the MEC Event Calendar >

Find Us on Social Media

You can find the most up-to-date official information on our AFA Alaska social media accounts.  Click below and follow so you can stay connected!

After Relentless AFA Advocacy, Alaska Management Finally Takes Initial Step To Protect Against Injuries From Dangerous Coffee Makers

Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC)

  • Alaska Airlines management has directed that older-style B/E Aerospace coffee makers must not be used without a Brew Shield.
  • The action follows months of advocacy by the AFA ASHSC, Inflight Service Committee, and MEC, highlighting ongoing injuries to Flight Attendants from the coffee makers.
  • Our Committees and MEC continue to call for a complete suspension of the older coffee makers until the issue is fully resolved to ensure the safety of both crewmembers and passengers.

After months of relentless advocacy by our AFA Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC), Inflight Service Committee, and Master Executive Council (MEC), Alaska Airlines management has finally taken the first step towards meaningful action to protect crewmembers and passengers from injuries related to scalding hot coffee and grounds spewing from the brew basket of older-style B/E Aerospace coffee makers. Effective immediately, management has directed that older-style B/E Aerospace coffee makers must not be used to brew coffee under any circumstances if a Brew Shield is unavailable. In such cases, alternate coffee makers must be used to brew coffee; if no other coffee makers are available, coffee will not be served. If a Brew Shield is available, it must be installed and used. Flight Attendants should refer to Special Edition Bulletin #2024-0045 (April 17, 2024) for specific procedures, instructions for reporting missing Brew Shields, and other essential information.

Note: Management refers to the older-style B/E Aerospace coffee maker as the “B/E Classic Coffee Maker,” also identified as Coffee Maker #1 in the FAM. It has five square buttons that include the “COLD WATER” option and does not have a paddle on the hot water spigot.

Management’s recent action is a step in the right direction, but it should have been taken long ago when our ASHSC first raised this issue. It’s unacceptable that several months have passed, and more Flight Attendant injuries have occurred due to the continued use of older-style B/E Aerospace coffee makers. Our AFA ASHSC and Inflight Service Committee have been vigilant in putting management on notice that they were knowingly placing the physical safety and well-being of employees and passengers at risk by continuing to allow the use of these coffee makers. We have advised management that the temporary procedures implemented to mitigate the hazards are inadequate and unrealistic given the working environment that Flight Attendants face onboard the aircraft. The ineffectiveness of management’s mitigations has become increasingly evident as Flight Attendants continue to be injured by coffee makers spewing scalding hot coffee and grounds. 

Management’s action may have been overdue and necessary, but it still does not address the root cause of the hazard through physical mitigation. Our ASHSC, Inflight Service Committee, and MEC firmly believe that the only responsible action for management to take is to completely suspend the use of the older B/E Aerospace coffee makers until the issue is resolved. We continue to call on management to “own safety” by removing these coffee makers from service immediately. The safety of both Flight Attendants and passengers must not be compromised. It’s our right to work in a safe environment, and we demand that this right be upheld.

AFA Alaska News in Review – April 12, 2024

In This Edition

The 2024 Flight Attendant Financial Security Survey is Now Closed

Originally posted April 9, 2024

59.1% of Alaska Flight Attendants participated in the survey to help shed light on how painful it is trying to live with our outdated pay rates. The data compiled will be brought to the bargaining table during the next mediation session, taking place April 16-18. Management cannot continue to ignore the fact that our Flight Attendants are struggling to pay for normal life necessities due to their inaction at the table.

Read More >

April 2024 MEC Meeting Recap

Originally posted April 11, 2024

The April 2024 Regular MEC Meeting was held this week on Wednesday, April 10. Our MEC met with management to receive updates and review concerns, including DOT drug testing procedures, lack of meetings with the AFA Benefits Committee, coffee maker safety, and staffing adjustment leave administration. Our Negotiating Committee will return to the bargaining table next week in a scheduled mediation session, focusing on data from the Flight Attendant Financial Security Survey.

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Flight Attendant Financial Security Survey: 24 Hours Left to Participate

Note: this post was originally published on Monday, April 8. The survey closed on Tuesday, April 9 at 12 PM PT and is no longer accepting additional responses.

The Flight Attendant Financial Security Survey closes tomorrow at Noon PT. If you have not yet taken it, please do so now so our Negotiating Committee can show the hard facts of our outdated pay rates to the mediator!

Next Week’s Events

Tuesday, April 16 – Thursday, April 18Contract Negotiations (Mediation)
Thursday, April 18SAN Base Safety Meeting

See the MEC Event Calendar >

Find Us on Social Media

You can find the most up-to-date official information on our AFA Alaska social media accounts.  Click below and follow so you can stay connected!

April 2024 MEC Meeting Recap

Master Executive Council (MEC)

  • The April 2024 Regular MEC Meeting was held this week on Wednesday, April 10.
  • Our MEC met with management to receive updates and review concerns, including DOT drug testing procedures, lack of meetings with the AFA Benefits Committee, coffee maker safety, and staffing adjustment leave administration.
  • Our Negotiating Committee will return to the bargaining table next week in a scheduled mediation session, focusing on data from the Flight Attendant Financial Security Survey.

Our AFA Alaska Master Executive Council (MEC) held its regular meeting for April 2024 on Wednesday, April 10. These meetings, required under the AFA Constitution & Bylaws, provide an important opportunity for the MEC to discuss and address issues and concerns affecting our Union and Members at the airline level. Your directly elected LEC President (or their designee) attends these meetings as your representative and votes on your behalf when decisions need to be made.

During the meeting, the MEC received updates from the MEC Officers and LEC Presidents. Additionally, the MEC reviewed written reports submitted by other AFA MEC Committee Chairpersons detailing their current work and activities.

Meeting With Management

During most Regular MEC Meetings, our MEC meets with management to review the current issues and challenges that Flight Attendants face. Attendees from management this month included Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer Constance von Muehlen, Vice President of Inflight Matt Prainito, Managing Director of Inflight Services Gloria Chow, Senior Labor Relations Program Manager Mike Link, Director of Payroll Leah Ables, Vice President of Finance Ryan St. John, Managing Director of Operations Staffing and Resource Management Brittany Audette, and Director of Crew Staffing Nick Giles.

Some of the topics discussed include:

  • Aircraft deliveries and anticipated summer flying. Aircraft deliveries from Boeing have slowed, and no aircraft have been delivered to Alaska this year. Management is adjusting the summer schedule to reflect the reduced fleet numbers.
  • Flight Attendant hiring and staffing. Management is still hiring as planned for 2024, with four initial training classes scheduled.
  • Base supervisor consistency. Management is working to improve consistency among base supervisors systemwide by documenting procedures better and setting expectations.
  • DOT random drug testing procedures. Our MEC brought forward concerns about the lack of private testing facilities in certain outstations and where tests are administered in those locations (Hawaii stations in particular). Additional concerns were brought forward regarding the isolated location of some facilities and the possibility of having another employee accompany a Flight Attendant. Management will review the concerns and respond to the MEC. 
  • AFA Benefits Committee meetings with management. The ongoing lack of meetings between our AFA Benefits Committee and their counterparts in management continues to have a detrimental effect on our ability to address and resolve problems affecting Flight Attendants. Though management did agree to hold a meeting late last year, they have not continued meeting with the Committee on an ongoing basis. Our MEC reiterated that we believe it is essential for management to meet with the Committee every quarter at a minimum. Management will review the request further and respond.
  • Ongoing coffee maker safety issues. Despite management’s attempted mitigations and procedure changes, Flight Attendants continue to be injured by coffee makers spewing hot coffee and grounds during brewing. These continued injury reports indicate that the mitigations and procedure changes implemented are insufficient. Our Air Safety, Health, and Security Committee (ASHSC) and Inflight Service Committee will officially request to re-open the associated safety risk assessment (SRA).
  • Staffing adjustment leave administration. Our MEC shared several concerns about how staffing adjustment leaves are administered for Flight Attendants and ongoing issues with resolving problems. Management will review the recurring issues and agree to improve the current processes causing problems.

Contract Negotiations/Mediation

Our Negotiating Committee will return to the bargaining table with management next week in a session facilitated by our assigned mediator from the National Mediation Board (NMB). The Committee plans to review and share statistical data from the Flight Attendant Financial Security Survey with management and the mediator at the session. Thank you to everyone who completed the survey and for the support from our Mobilization Volunteers who encouraged participation!

Questions?

If you have any questions about this month’s Regular MEC Meeting, please get in touch with your LEC President.

AFA Alaska News in Review – April 5, 2024

In This Edition

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Financial Security Survey: Open One More Week

There’s just one week left to participate in the Flight Attendant Financial Security Survey. Help our Negotiating Committee compile the hard financial data of our outdated pay rates for the mediator!

Our Mobilization Volunteers will be sending out text reminders this week to see if you’ve had a chance to complete the survey. If you haven’t yet participated, they’ll be able to send you the survey link.

Mediation and a Merger?

While our Negotiating Committee has been fighting at the table for a new contract, management announced a merger with Hawaiian Airlines. What does this mean for our negotiations?

Read on for answers to your questions about mediation and the merger with Hawaiian.To ensure you are receiving up-to-date negotiations information, subscribe to AFA newsletters here: https://afanewsletters.org/subscribe/

See the Instagram Post >

Next Week’s Events

Wednesday, April 10Regular MEC Meeting
Thursday, April 11Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR)

See the MEC Event Calendar >

Find Us on Social Media

You can find the most up-to-date official information on our AFA Alaska social media accounts.  Click below and follow so you can stay connected!

Human Rights & Equity Committee Meeting Recap – 3rd Quarter 2025

On Tuesday, September 16, 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 Nyachan Chuar (ANC), LaLa Davis (LAX-pmAS), Bruni Agosto-Pinal (LAX-pmHA), Aaron Miller (PDX), Erika Daniel (SAN), and Trista Vanta (SFO). […]

AFA News in Review – September 19, 2025

In This Edition Celebrating Hispanic-Latinx Heritage Month Originally posted September 15, 2025 Join us in celebrating Hispanic-Latinx Heritage Month from September 15 to October 15, a time dedicated to honoring the vibrant cultures and significant contributions of Hispanic-Latinx Americans. Discover the history, participate in special events, and grab your commemorative Hispanic-Latinx Heritage Month AFA Pin […]

Pre-Merger Alaska MEC Committee Election Results

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants During this week’s MEC Meeting, our MEC held interviews for the first group of pre-merger Alaska MEC Committee positions to be elected for the upcoming MEC Officer term. We want to thank everyone who expressed interest in the available positions and their willingness to serve. After careful […]

Merged MEC Committee Chairperson Election Results

This message is for both pre-merger Alaska and Hawaiian Flight Attendants During this week’s MEC Meeting, our MEC held interviews for the next group of merged MEC Committee Chairpersons. We want to thank everyone who expressed interest in the available positions and their willingness to serve. After careful consideration and deliberation, the following candidates have […]

Election Notice: Alaska + Hawaiian MEC Officer Elections

The term of office for our current Alaska + Hawaiian Master Executive Council (MEC) Officers will conclude on December 31, 2025. The voting members of the MEC (LEC Presidents) will elect new MEC Officers at the November Regular MEC meeting. This communication serves as notice of the election in accordance with the MEC Policy and Procedure Manual. […]

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