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Understanding Our Union: How AFA Works at Our Airline

Communications Committee

  • Representation within our Union starts at the domicile level with your Local Council.  Local Executive Council (LEC) Officers are directly elected from among your fellow Flight Attendants who are members of the same Local Council.
  • LEC Officers work to resolve concerns specific to Flight Attendants from your base with local management.  Your LEC President also represents your base at the airline level as a member of the Master Executive Council (MEC). 
  • The LEC Presidents from all six bases together form our MEC, which works to coordinate the activities of our Union at the airline level.  They make decisions on our behalf and give direction to the MEC Officers, who represent the MEC to management.

AFA is first and foremost a union organized by Flight Attendants for Flight Attendants.  The structure of AFA, as laid out in the constitution and bylaws, is designed to be democratic and driven by Members. A single Member has the power to bring forward ideas to change the course of our Union, to elect the officers who directly represent us, and to serve in any elected or appointed position within our Union.

At Your Base—Your Local Council

Each Local Council is made up of the AFA Member Flight Attendants within a given domicile.  In the case of a new or smaller domiciles where the number of active Members does not meet the constitutional threshold, multiple domiciles may be grouped together into one Local Council for purposes of representation. At Alaska Airlines, each base is represented by its own AFA Local Council.

At Your Base—Your Local Executive Council (LEC)

AFA Member Flight Attendants in each Local Council directly elect Local Executive Council (LEC) Officers to represent them.  These Local Executive Council Officers consist of a President, Vice President, and Secretary.  In some Local Councils, additional officer positions called Council Representatives may also be elected to the LEC.

The LEC Officers are responsible for representing Flight Attendants directly.  They are who a Flight Attendant goes to when there is a question, when assistance is needed, or when they want to make a suggestion for change.  The LEC Officers primarily work with local management and other immediate supervisors to address and resolve Flight Attendant issues that are specific to the domicile they represent.  

LEC Decision Making

When a decision needs to be made at the LEC level, the LEC Officers work together to come to consensus.  If consensus can’t be reached, the LEC President makes the final decision.

At Our Airline—the Master Executive Council (MEC)

The LEC Presidents from each of our Local Councils come together to form the Master Executive Council (MEC).  The MEC is responsible for coordinating the activities of AFA across our entire airline and administering the collective bargaining agreement.  Each LEC President serves as a voting member of the MEC, directly representing the members of the Local Council that elected them.

The voting members of the MEC (the LEC Presidents) elect three MEC Officers: a President, Vice President, and Secretary-Treasurer.  These MEC Officers administer the day-to-day business of AFA at our airline and represent the MEC in interactions with company management.  They do not have a vote on the MEC with the exception of the MEC President, who votes only to break a tie.

MEC Decision Making

The MEC frequently makes decisions ranging from granting contractual exceptions, approving letters of agreement (LOAs), determining MEC priorities, and providing direction to the MEC Officers.  Often times, the MEC is able to come to consensus and decisions are agreed upon by all.  If there is not consensus on an issue, the voting members of the MEC (the LEC Presidents) will vote to determine the outcome.  If there is a tie, the MEC President is responsible for casting the deciding vote.

Questions?

If you have questions about how our Union works at the local or airline levels, please reach out to your LEC President.

System Board of Adjustment Interviews

Master Executive Council (MEC)

Our Master Executive Council (MEC) will be conducting interviews for one (1) member to serve on the AFA System Board of Adjustment.

Scope

Members are to serve on the System Board of Adjustment for the purpose of arbitrating any disputes or grievances that may arise under the terms of the Agreement between Alaska Airlines and its Flight Attendants.

Policy/Responsibilities

  • There shall be two members selected by the MEC from active members in good standing to represent the Association.  Members will be selected at-large without regard to Local Council or domicile. 
  • Any person seeking a position as a System Board of Adjustment Member must submit a resume.  Candidates must interview with the MEC.
  • System Board Members shall be selected for a two (2) year appointment period in accordance with the AFA Constitution and Bylaws.  At least one appointment will be reviewed in June of each year.  Selection shall be made, insofar as possible, to ensure that both members will not be new at the same time.  
  • The System Board Members will act in the best interest of the membership and the Association and will be consistent with the Agreement between the Flight Attendants and Alaska Airlines.
  • The MEC President shall have the ability, in the event of an emergency, to appoint a qualified member in good standing to fill an ad hoc position on the Board, should the alternate not be available.
  • The MEC on an ad hoc basis, by majority vote, may appoint an expert as a substitute for one member of the System Board of Adjustment.

Qualifications

  • Current Alaska Airlines Flight Attendant
  • Willingness to attend the requisite grievance training(s)
  • In depth knowledge of the contract
  • Understanding of the principles of just cause
  • Adherence to Grievance Committee policies, procedures, and standards of ethical conduct
  • Ability to maintain confidentiality of sensitive and personal information
  • Maintenance of member-in-good-standing status
  • Ability to remain in good standing with the company
  • Ability to analyze written data and information with high attention to detail
  • Strong written and communication skills
  • Strong computer skills.

Term of Appointment

The selected candidate will serve the a term of appointment that begins on July 1, 2022 and concludes on June 30, 2024.

Expressing Interest and Interview Scheduling

The MEC will hold interviews of eligible candidates during the June Regular MEC Meeting on June 14 and 15, 2022.  If you’re interested in interviewing, plan to bid around this date or adjust your schedule accordingly to accommodate.  All interviews will be conducted using Google Meet videoconferencing.

Interested candidates should submit an expression of interest and resume using the online expression of interest form.  The deadline for submissions is 5 PM Pacific time on Friday, June 3, 2022.  After the submission deadline, an MEC representative will contact eligible candidates to arrange a specific interview time.

Please note that to submit an expression of interest, you must have a Google account.  If you do not have a Google account, you can create one for free at https://accounts.google.com/signup.

Questions?

Any questions regarding the position or application process should be directed to MEC Grievance Committee Chairperson Stephanie Adams at stephanie.adams@afaalaska.org.

Masks Are No Longer Required in Airports or Onboard

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.

April 2022 MEC Meeting Recap

Master Executive Council (MEC)

  • Our AFA Alaska Master Executive Council (MEC) met this week on Tuesday, April 12 and Wednesday, April 13 to conduct their ongoing work to represent our Flight Attendants.
  • As part of the meeting, the MEC met with members of inflight, labor relations, and executive management to discuss issues and concerns that are facing our work group and need to be addressed.
  • The next Regular MEC Meeting is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, May 24.  Please don’t hesitate to reach out to your LEC President if you have any questions.

The April 2022 Regular MEC Meeting was held this week on Tuesday, April 12 and Wednesday, April 13.  The meeting consisted of updates provided by 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. 

MEC Mobilization Committee Chairperson Interviews

Part of Tuesday was spent interviewing candidates for the MEC Mobilization Committee Chairperson position who will be responsible for coordinating mobilization activities across all six bases during upcoming contract negotiations.  Our MEC would like to thank all of the candidates who expressed a willingness to serve and interviewed for the positions.  We’ll have more information tomorrow morning about the outcome of the interviews.

Meeting with Management

As part of most Regular MEC Meetings, our MEC meets with management to review current issues and challenges that Flight Attendants are facing.  Attendees from management this month included EVP & COO Constance von Muehlen, Managing Director of Inflight Operations Michaela Littman, Director of Inflight Crew Scheduling Denia Pisia, Vice President of Labor Relations Jenny Wetzel, and Director of Payroll Leah Ables.

Some of the topics that were discussed include:

  • Leave and absence management issues.  The approval process has been slow and employees have not been receiving timely responses to inquiries and requests.
  • PBS bid award delays and frustration surrounding management errors (note: the discussion with management took place before the bid award publishing deadline and a contractual violation had not occurred yet).
  • April OPR goals and management’s claim that inflight did not meet the safety goal due to a partial slide event.  Based on information published on Alaska’s World, inflight did meet the goal as there is no stipulation that a slide event causes the goal to be missed.  Our MEC has requested that management pay out according to the goals that they published.
  • Pilot staffing and associated flight cancellations.  Management has indicated they plan to make schedule adjustments in May based on the amount of flying remaining in open time after pilot bidding is complete.
  • Excessive use of reassignments by Crew Scheduling and frustration that Flight Attendants have an expectation to work the trips they bid/picked up when they come to work.
  • Spring incentive premium and feedback received from Flight Attendants about how the incentive was constructed.  There is significant dissatisfaction about vacation pay being excluded from Worked TFP and the high threshold necessary to receive the incentive payout.  
  • Pairing construction and cost analysis.  AFA has a long-standing request that management analyze pairings after the bid period is complete to determine what pairings actually end up costing the company.  This data could potentially be used to support changes in pairing construction to reduce undesirable trips that end up costing the company more money in the long run.
  • Company marketing activities on social media, particularly on TikTok.  Looking for answers from management as to what the intent of the content is and who it is being marketed toward. 

Questions?

If you have any questions about this month’s Regular MEC Meeting, please reach out to your LEC President.

Delayed Publication of May 2022 Bid Awards

Master Executive Council (MEC)

Like all of you, the MEC is extremely frustrated by management’s unacceptable violation of Section 10.J.8 of our collective bargaining agreement through their failure to post May 2022 bid awards on time. We will file a contractual grievance on behalf of all Flight Attendants for this violation, so please note there is no need to file a ticket through the AFA Alaska Support Center. We hear you loud and clear: You want transparency and accountability from management, and you expect AFA leadership to do everything in our power to make that happen on your behalf.

Management has already acknowledged “administrative error,” but this does not go far enough. Consequently, we have communicated your expectations that management transparently communicates additional details and management’s actions in response, including how responsible parties will be held accountable and what is being done to prevent a recurrence. The MEC has also requested Labor Relations to engage with us at the earliest possible opportunity regarding an appropriate and mutually acceptable remedy for the contractual violation.

What is a potential remedy? There is no identifiable loss of pay because of the contract violation, so there is no contractual basis to seek compensation or any other alternative remedy via arbitration. The best outcome we could achieve via a favorable arbitration ruling would be for management to cease and desist (i.e., not violate the contract provision going forward). However, management has already agreed there was a contract violation and signaled to AFA there is no intent for future violations.

Although management is neither obligated to pay anything for the inconvenience, nor would an arbitrator compel management to do so, nothing prevents the parties from mutually agreeing to compensation or some other compensatory-like remedy. AFA has expressed our desire to management to settle this dispute by negotiating such a remedy, so it’s their move next.

Joint Contract Negotiations Session 12 – February 2026

During this negotiation session, we made progress on Sections 15 (Leaves of Absence) and 22 (Expenses). The JNC advocated for positive developments from the Hawaiian CBA to strengthen our proposals. We also introduced our initial proposal for Section 28 (Domiciles) and remain committed to meaningful improvements in all areas of discussion.

Reminder: Don’t Miss Next Week’s MEC Town Hall!

Mark your calendar—Tuesday, March 3, is almost here! There’s still time to register for our Alaska + Hawaiian Town Hall and hear directly from your MEC Officers: MEC President Tim Green, MEC Vice President Brice McGee, and MEC Secretary-Treasurer Paul Ikioka. Join us for the latest updates and get answers to your questions. The Details What […]

Uniform Committee Meeting Recap – 1st Quarter 2026

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants On Thursday, February 19, our AFA Local Uniform Committee Chairpersons met to discuss their ongoing work to represent Flight Attendants and push for improvements in the workplace. Representing you at the meeting were Kim Mazzolini (ANC), Dena Heath (SEA), Bob Moore (PDX), Lisa Mueller (SFO), Heather Holmes […]

Scheduling Committee Meeting Recap – February 2026

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants On Tuesday, February 24, our pre-merger Alaska AFA Scheduling Committee Chairpersons and Representatives met virtually to discuss their ongoing work to represent our Flight Attendants and push for improvements in our workplace. Representing you at the meeting were Rebekah Olds (ANC), Rita Tillou (SEA), Russel Rivinius (PDX), […]

Important Update: Irregular Operations Due to Civil Unrest In Mexico

In response to the significant operational disruptions caused by the civil unrest affecting cities throughout Mexico, particularly Puerto Vallarta (PVR), Guadalajara (GDL), and Manzanillo (ZLO), management continues to operate under an Irregular Operations (IROPS) situation. Our MEC and Committees are actively monitoring the situation and working with management to support our Flight Attendants. Management has […]

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