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    You are here: Home / Archives for Master Executive Council (MEC) / Message from the MEC President

    Response to the November 18th Inflight Town Hall Webcast

    November 18, 2022 12:00

    California meal & rest breaks

    Management’s continued scare tactics and speculative “what-if’s” as put forward during the Inflight Town Hall webcast today regarding California meal & rest breaks are unnecessary and extremely disappointing. Although it is true there are some challenging aspects of compliance with California meal & rest break laws for commercial aviation, AFA International continues to partner with Alaska Airlines management, other labor groups and the wider aviation industry to achieve a legislative fix. Alaska Airlines management, if you want AFA’s continued partnership on this issue, then maybe you can lay off the specific gloom and doom scenarios for now?

    From our perspective, management is nowhere near implementing the following for California-based Flight Attendants: clocking in and out during a duty period, attesting to meal & rest break opportunities, restricting 4k flying, or downsizing or closing California domiciles. Remember earlier this year when management was adamant that they would have to take drastic efforts in response to Bernstein v. Virgin America? It’s been mostly crickets since then. Meanwhile, staffing has started to increase in California – and other carriers have yet to make any discernible changes to their operations.

    Management is unnecessarily freaking you out – don’t fall for it!

    Filed Under: Message from the MEC President Tagged With: Bernstein, California meal & rest

    ALPA Alaska Approves Tentative Agreement for Pilot Ratification

    September 23, 2022 18:00

    Master Executive Council (MEC) President Jeffrey Peterson

    The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) Alaska Airlines leadership recently announced they approved a tentative agreement (TA) with Alaska Airlines management for pilot ratification.

    Click here for the Alaska Airlines Pilots TA Quick Guide (September 2022) >

    At a quick glance, the TA contains impressive improvements to scope, compensation, work rules, hours of service, retirement, and other additional improvements.

    Regardless of the outcome of the ratification vote, this TA raises the bar for Alaska Airlines pilots — and raises our expectations of Alaska Airlines management in Flight Attendant negotiations!

    In Solidarity,

    Jeff

    Filed Under: AFA Alaska News Now, Message from the MEC President Tagged With: ALPA, negotiations, pilots, TA, tentative agreement

    Masks Are No Longer Required in Airports or Onboard

    April 18, 2022 16:41

    The CDC and TSA report the federal mask mandate is no longer in effect after today’s court ruling. The Administration is still reviewing its legal options for addressing the issue of executive authority to issue public health initiatives. 

    Additionally, Alaska Airlines management just announced via multiple channels that the mask mandate is lifted effective immediately on all aircraft. This policy change has been picked by media outlets, so it is very likely that passengers will be reading this information possibly before crews hear about it.

    We have asked management to push an ACARS message to all aircraft, which we are told should be happening soon–if it hasn’t already.

    Filed Under: Message from the MEC President Tagged With: 2022, mandate, masks

    December 2021 MEC Meeting Recap

    December 8, 2021 17:00

    December 2021 MEC Meeting Recap

    Master Executive Council (MEC) President Jeffrey Peterson

    Just wrapped up chairing our monthly MEC meeting yesterday and today.

    As usual, your AFA committee chairs and reps provided written reports to the MEC about the latest developments in their areas, and we received live briefings regarding dispute resolution & grievances, scheduling, FA pay, and fatigue. Lots going on out there!

    Meeting w/ COO + Inflight + Labor Relations + FA Crew Pay

    Notable topics discussed:

    • Recent leadership change and the path forward
    • Acting on FA feedback – Management to communicate administrative details to FAs as soon as possible in the next bulletin
      • 1.5x pay for all  DHD conversions (i.e., including unscheduled DHD conversions) November 1, 2021 – January 2, 2022 – There is no mechanism in Crew Access to track all conversions, so FAs must manually submit in Rainmaker. (November flight activity will process soon, so please submit ASAP if you want November conversions to be paid in December!)
      • Forgiving attendance points for all FA COVID+ absences (i.e., up to 10-day Single Continuous Occurrence substantiated by a positive COVID test that includes the FA’s name, testing facility and date) – Use the COVID+/Vaccine Reaction Points Forgiveness Form (AAG SSO required: Inflight –> Admin –> Performance –> COVID+/Vaccine Reaction Points Forgiveness Form)
      • Removing time restrictions for submissions of the COVID+/Vaccine Reaction Points Forgiveness Form (i.e., no longer a requirement to submit by the end of the next sequence and retroactive 18 months) – Management is researching whether records for previous timeliness denials can be used to retroactively approve.
    • Q4 Computer Based Training (CBT) aka Annual Compliance Training (ACT) – Due December 31st. More than 3000 FAs have not yet completed this.
    • Existing inflight service and pending additional offerings – FAs are exhausted, frustrated, and anxious. Due to pandemic-related concerns, they do not want to be out in the cabin more right now. There is no room for trash. In the MEC’s opinion, Alaska FAs will grow even more upset and mobilized unless management provides additional relief.

    I hope you found this recap timely and informative.

    In Solidarity,
    Jeff

    Filed Under: Latest News, Message from the MEC President Tagged With: 2021, CBT, COVID-19, Inflight Service

    Inflight Leadership Change and the Path Forward

    December 6, 2021 12:10

    Master Executive Council (MEC) President Jeffrey Peterson

    Now that is has been officially announced that Travis will be stepping away as leader of the Inflight division, I thought Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants might want to hear from their MEC president.

    I may not always be at liberty to communicate the details of every conversation advocating on your behalf that I have with executive management, but I would like to assure you that those conversations occur regularly and will continue as such. On that note, I have been in communication with Ben, Constance, and Travis, and it is clear that the decision was not made lightly. It is gratifying to see management be so responsive to our concerns.

    Although the leadership change introduces additional uncertainty within Inflight, at least in the near term, it also offers potential opportunity for improvement. It will be interesting to see how this all works out—especially with negotiations less than a year away!

    /jeff

    Filed Under: Latest News, Message from the MEC President Tagged With: 2021

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    The first set of observations under the Line Operations Safety Audit (LOSA) program begin today (January 27) and will continue through February 28. Similar to the Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP), participation in LOSA is entirely voluntary and identifying information such as Flight Attendant names, dates, and flight numbers are never associated with observation data. If you have any questions about the LOSA program, please don’t hesitate to contact the AFA members of the LOSA Steering Committee.
    Read details from our Negotiating Committee about Session 8 of contract negotiations, including a tentative agreement on Hotels and updates on current progress.
    AFA and management recently agreed to a defined process for when a debrief meeting with management needs to be conducted following an operational safety event. The agreement ensures protections for Flight Attendants while guaranteeing pay, duty day limitations, and AFA representation. Details can be found in the Operational Safety Debriefs Letter of Agreement (LOA).
    Our AFA Scheduling Committee Chairpersons met on Tuesday, January 24 to discuss their ongoing program of work to represent Flight Attendants interests related to lineholder scheduling. The Committee also met with management to receive updates and discuss issues and problems that Flight Attendants are experiencing with scheduling, pairings, and bidding. Your Local Scheduling Committee is available to answer questions, provide clarification, or help to resolve any lineholder scheduling-related issues. Please don’t hesitate to reach out!
    The recent severe weather in Northern California that caused flooding, landslides, and mudslides has destroyed property, damaged infrastructure, and forever changed countless people’s lives. A Presidential Declaration of Disaster has been issued for California’s Merced, Sacramento, and Santa Cruz counties. Flight Attendants whose primary residences are in these counties and have been affected by the current disaster can request help from the AFA Disaster Relief Fund.
    Read details from our Negotiating Committee about Session 7 of contract negotiations, including updates on current progress and sections in discussion.

    Latest News

    • LOSA Observations Are Underway
    • AFA Alaska News in Review – January 27, 2023
    • Operational Safety Debriefs
    • Scheduling Committee Meeting Recap – January 2023
    • AFA Alaska News in Review – January 20, 2023
    • AFA Disaster Relief Fund – California Severe Storms
    • AFA Alaska News in Review – January 13, 2023
    • January 2023 MEC Meeting Recap
    • Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee Meeting Recap – 1st Quarter 2023
    • iPhone 13 Inflight Mobile Device Distribution

    LOSA Observations Are Underway

    January 27, 2023 Leave a Comment

    Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC) As previously communicated, AFA and management agreed to conduct a Line Operations Safety Audit (LOSA) to help improve safety for Flight Attendants, other crewmembers, and passengers.  The LOSA program is jointly administered by AFA and management as outlined in the Inflight Line Operations Safety Audit (LOSA) Program letter of agreement. The […]

    Operational Safety Debriefs

    January 26, 2023 2 Comments

    Master Executive Council (MEC) In 2019, AFA filed grievance number 36-99-2-170-19, which alleged management’s violation of section 19.A of the collective bargaining agreement. The violation was related to an incident where management conducted a debrief meeting with Flight Attendants while they were still on duty following a slide deployment incident. As there was no contractual […]

    Scheduling Committee Meeting Recap – January 2023

    January 25, 2023 Leave a Comment

    Scheduling Committee On Tuesday, January 24, our AFA Scheduling Committee Chairpersons met to discuss their ongoing work to represent our Flight Attendants and push for improvements in our workplace. Representing you at the meeting were Heather Reier (ANC), Rita Tillou (SEA), Melodie Anderes (PDX), Jaqui Bellenie (SFO), Natalie Codd (LAX), and Kitty Cohen (SAN). Also […]

    AFA Disaster Relief Fund – California Severe Storms

    January 18, 2023

    AFA International The recent severe weather in Northern California that caused flooding, landslides, and mudslides has destroyed property, damaged infrastructure, and forever changed countless people’s lives. A Presidential Declaration of Disaster has been issued for California’s Merced, Sacramento, and Santa Cruz counties. Flight Attendants whose primary residences are in these counties and have been affected by […]

    January 2023 MEC Meeting Recap

    January 13, 2023

    Master Executive Council (MEC) The January 2023 Regular MEC Meeting was held this week on Tuesday, January 10.  The meeting consisted of updates from our MEC Officers, LEC Presidents, Grievance Committee, and Scheduling Committee.  Our MEC also reviewed written reports submitted by other AFA MEC Committee Chairpersons about their current programs of work.  No Meeting With Management […]

    Response to the November 18th Inflight Town Hall Webcast

    November 18, 2022 By Jeffrey Peterson (MEC President)

    California meal & rest breaks Management’s continued scare tactics and speculative “what-if’s” as put forward during the Inflight Town Hall webcast today regarding California meal & rest breaks are unnecessary and extremely disappointing. Although it is true there are some challenging aspects of compliance with California meal & rest break laws for commercial aviation, AFA […]

    ALPA Alaska Approves Tentative Agreement for Pilot Ratification

    September 23, 2022 By Jeffrey Peterson (MEC President)

    Master Executive Council (MEC) President Jeffrey Peterson The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) Alaska Airlines leadership recently announced they approved a tentative agreement (TA) with Alaska Airlines management for pilot ratification. Click here for the Alaska Airlines Pilots TA Quick Guide (September 2022) > At a quick glance, the TA contains impressive improvements to scope, […]

    Masks Are No Longer Required in Airports or Onboard

    April 18, 2022 By Jeffrey Peterson (MEC President)

    The CDC and TSA report the federal mask mandate is no longer in effect after today’s court ruling. Additionally, Alaska Airlines management just announced via multiple channels that the mask mandate is lifted effective immediately on all aircraft.

    RSS Negotiations News

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    Recent Posts

    • LOSA Observations Are Underway
    • AFA Alaska News in Review – January 27, 2023
    • Operational Safety Debriefs
    • Scheduling Committee Meeting Recap – January 2023
    • AFA Alaska News in Review – January 20, 2023
    • AFA Disaster Relief Fund – California Severe Storms
    • AFA Alaska News in Review – January 13, 2023
    • January 2023 MEC Meeting Recap
    • Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee Meeting Recap – 1st Quarter 2023
    • iPhone 13 Inflight Mobile Device Distribution

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