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Management Eliminates Remaining Pay Protection and Points Reduction Related to COVID-19 Effective Today

Master Executive Council (MEC)

  • Management eliminated all remaining COVID pay protection and attendance points forgiveness, effective today.
  • Going forward, Flight Attendants who experience COVID-related illnesses–even if attributed to workplace exposure—will be forced to use sick leave to replace lost income during Company-directed quarantine and will be subject to attendance points in accordance with Section 32 of our contract.
  • AFA leadership attempted to work with management to enter into an agreement for continued attendance points forgiveness related to COVID-19, but management declined to engage.

As indicated in “Further COVID Policy Changes” which was emailed to all employees on March 10th, Alaska Airlines management eliminated all remaining pay protection and Attendance Policy points reduction related to COVID-19, effective today. Management cited employee rates of infection having dropped “to only a handful of cases this week,” “vaccinated employees…staying out of the hospital even if they get infected,” and overall “lower risk to our employees” as justification for this most recent policy change.

Although those statements are currently true—and we hope that they remain true, AFA Alaska leadership strongly disagrees with management’s decision. Until the World Health Organization (WHO) or the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) officially reclassifies COVID-19 from a pandemic to an endemic disease, then pushing financial and work performance ‘liability’ for this disease to employees is, in the MEC’s opinion, premature.

AFA leadership would be remiss if we overlooked the other commercial factors that management did not acknowledge:

  • Shifting pay replacement for absences related to COVID-19 from the Company to employees’ respective personal sick (or PTO) banks minimizes the Company’s pandemic-related financial burden; and
  • Assessing attendance points (or similar work performance ‘demerits’) to employees for absences related to COVID-19 may lead to increased reluctance by employees to call out sick for other issues, which potentially minimizes pandemic-related operational challenges and inefficiencies—and ultimately improves the bottom line in a roundabout way.

Management advised AFA leadership of the plan to return to situation normal some weeks ago, and we lodged our pandemic vs. endemic objections at that time. Whether it was because of pushback from union leadership or perhaps other factors, management temporarily delayed rollout. However, management was unwilling to wait any longer.

The MEC also requested that the parties bargain on another temporary agreement for point reduction related to COVID-19 absences similar to AFA MOU “§32 Attendance Policy Points Related to COVID-19” that expired on September 30, 2021. Unfortunately, management declined to engage.

Stay tuned for more details about that drama in a forthcoming update!

March 2022 MEC Meeting Recap

Master Executive Council (MEC)

  • Our AFA Alaska Master Executive Council (MEC) met this week on Tuesday, March 8 to conduct their ongoing work to represent our Flight Attendants.
  • The MEC was originally scheduled to meet with management and a group of union leaders from other company workgroups, but the meeting was cancelled by management due to scheduling conflicts.
  • The next Regular MEC Meeting is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, April 12 and Wednesday, April 13.  Please don’t hesitate to reach out to your LEC President if you have any questions.

The March 2022 Regular MEC Meeting was held this week on Tuesday, March 8.  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. 

Meeting with Management Cancelled

As part of this meeting, the MEC was scheduled to meet with company management and a group of union leaders from the other union-represented workgroups within the company.  The intent of these meetings, usually held once per quarter, is to receive updates from management and allow for a broader discussion of issues and concerns facing all company employees.  Unfortunately, management had to cancel the meeting due to scheduling conflicts.

MEC Government Affairs Committee Chairperson

Last month, Krystle Berry stepped down from the MEC Government Affairs Committee Chairperson position to allow her to focus on other responsibilities.  The MEC thanks Krystle for her years of service in the position and commitment to our Flight Attendants.  Krystle will continue to serve in her role as Council 39 Portland LEC Vice President.

Martin Monteblanco has served as AFA Alaska CWA NextGen Representative since January 2020.  In this role, he has taken on duties as an alternate to the MEC Government Affairs Committee Chairperson and most recently has stepped up to serve as Acting MEC Government Affairs Committee Chairperson during the transition period.  Given his experience, the MEC has appointed Martin to permanently fill the position for the remainder of the term through December 31, 2022.

Questions?

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

Upcoming Pilot Informational Picketing

Master Executive Council (MEC)

  • Alaska Airlines pilots and management began negotiations in spring of 2019, and have recently entered into mediation under the authority of the National Mediation Board (NMB). Some of the pilots’ key negotiating priorities are schedule flexibility and job security improvements.
  • The pilots will be conducting informational picketing in a number of locations on Friday, April 1 to bring attention to the issue.
  • Flight Attendants in full uniform who participate in the “rules of engagement and picketing training” portion of the event are welcome and encouraged to picket with our pilots as a show of unity.

Alaska pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), have been in contract negotiations with management since spring of 2019, and their current contract became amendable on April 1, 2020. The parties have recently started mediation under the authority of the National Mediation Board (NMB). Among the pilots’ negotiating priorities are schedule flexibility and job security improvements.  You can find more information about the pilots’ perspective regarding the challenges they are facing in bargaining at alaskapilots.org or on The Alaska Pilots podcast.

Informational Picketing Event – Friday, April 1

On Friday, April 1, Alaska pilots will be conducting informational picketing to raise public awareness to the struggle they are facing.  Picketing events will be conducted at all five pilot bases: Anchorage, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.  The ALPA Alaska MEC has extended an invitation to our Flight Attendants to join the picket in a show of solidarity.  Flight Attendants who would like to picket must attend the “rules of engagement and picket training” portion of the event and will also be required to be in full uniform to participate. 

For more information about the picketing event or to RSVP, visit the event website (link can be found in the version of this article sent to your personal email address on file with AFA Alaska).  When completing the RSVP form, please input your contact information and indicate you are a Flight Attendant in the appropriate space near the bottom on the form.

Use of Non-Revenue Travel Privileges to Attend Picketing is Prohibited

As a reminder, company policy strictly prohibits the use of any type of non-revenue travel (including offline/OAL travel) in order to participate in picketing activities against the company. For more information, please refer to page 4 of the Employee Travel Handbook (AAG SSO required).

Questions?

If you have questions about the picketing event that are not answered on the event page (see above), please contact your LEC President.

February 2022 MEC Meeting Recap

Master Executive Council (MEC)

  • Our AFA Alaska Master Executive Council (MEC) met last week on Tuesday, February 8 and Wednesday, February 9 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, March 8.  Please don’t hesitate to reach out to your LEC President if you have any questions.

The February 2022 Regular MEC Meeting was held last on Tuesday, February 8 and Wednesday, February 9.  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. 

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, Managing Director of Inflight Strategy & Support Gloria Chow, Vice President of Labor Relations Jenny Wetzel, Managing Director of Labor Relations Carmen Williams, and other management employees from inflight, labor relations, crew administration, and payroll.

Some of the topics that were discussed include:

  • Flight Attendant hiring update and staffing plans.  Management plans to increase the size of upcoming initial training classes to 90 people per class beginning in April.
  • Uniform policies and updates that are being planned by management.
  • Open inflight management positions and what progress the company is making to fill them.  Management indicated that they are also planning to increase the number of supervisor positions in SEA as well as add new base admin positions to provide support in designated locations.
  • COVID-19 policies and contact tracing protocols.  There is still a lack of clear information posted and accessible to Flight Attendants.  AFA has asked inflight management to put out an FAQ document offering additional clarification with real life examples.  AFA also provided management with a list of questions to help expedite the development of the FAQs.
  • IMD connectivity issues in the State of Alaska related to the changeover of the company’s cellular service provider.  

Questions?

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

January 2022 MEC Meeting Recap

Master Executive Council (MEC)

  • Our AFA Alaska Master Executive Council (MEC) met this week from Tuesday, January 4 through Thursday, January 6 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 last two days of the meeting were spent interviewing candidates for the three Negotiating Committee Member positions.  The MEC selected several candidates to advance to the final interviews to be held on Wednesday, January 26.

The January 2022 Regular MEC Meeting was held this week from Tuesday, January 4 through Thursday, January 6.  The first day of 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. 

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, Managing Director of Inflight Strategy & Support Gloria Chow, Vice President of Labor Relations Jenny Wetzel, Managing Director of Labor Relations Carmen Williams, and other management employees from inflight, labor relations, crew administration, and payroll.

Some of the topics that were discussed include:

  • December 2021 Pacific Northwest snowstorm, the subsequent operational meltdown, and the significant impact it had on Flight Attendants.  Management needs to do better.
  • Winter holiday incentive pay and what steps management is taking to ensure that Flight Attendants will be paid correctly on January 20th.
  • Open inflight management positions and what progress the company is making to fill them.
  • COVID-19 policies and contact tracing protocols.  Flight Attendants are reporting that they are not being notified of reported exposure in a timely manner.
  • Ongoing hotel & transportation issues including reports of Flight Attendants having to transport to/from hotels alone at destinations outside of the US and Canada.
  • Recurrent Training concerns including why it took so long to notify F/As that the written exam had been removed from the CBT and returned to an in-class activity, acceptable deviations in drill commands, and how evaluations of equipment preflight are conducted.

Negotiating Committee Interviews

Wednesday and Thursday were spent interviewing candidates for the three Negotiating Committee Member positions who will represent us at the bargaining table 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.  After conducting interviews and reviewing all candidates, several were selected to participate in a final interview with the MEC.  We’ll have more information to provide after the final interviews on Wednesday, January 26.

Questions?

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

Struggling With A Coworker? Consider AFA Professional Standards.

We all know flying can be demanding—long days, irregular hours, and fatigue are part of the job. It’s natural for tensions to rise. Before you head to management or vent on social media, consider Professional Standards. In this video, Ava McWilliams-Ellington, pre-merger Alaska LAX EAP/Professional Standards Committee Chairperson, shares how Professional Standards provides a confidential, […]

Crew Meal Survey Closing Soon

This message is for both pre-merger Alaska and Hawaiian Flight Attendants Our Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) is committed to prioritizing your nutrition during the work day through our crew meal provisions. We are eager to hear your thoughts on which elements of crew meals are most meaningful to you, as we continue to advocate for […]

Council 43 (HNL) LEC Officer Election Results

Polls closed at 12 PM PT today for the election of Council 43 LEC Officers, representing Hawaiian Airlines Flight Attendants based in Honolulu. The following AFA Flight Attendants have been elected to Local Council Officer positions: LEC President: Kela Chong IVLEC Vice President: Martin GusmanLEC Secretary: Soon Kim View the certified election results here >> These newly elected […]

Council 39 (PDX) LEC Officer Election Results

Polls closed at 11 AM PT today for the election of Council 39 LEC Officers, representing Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants based in Portland. The following AFA Flight Attendants have been elected to Local Council Officer positions: LEC President: Krystle Shae BerryLEC Vice President: Melodie AnderesLEC Secretary: Kevin Sharp View the certified election results here >> These newly elected […]

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