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[AS] Coming Soon: Online Issue Reporting for AFA

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants

Over the past year, your AFA Master Executive Council (MEC) has been working to develop an online system to allow Flight Attendants to report contractual issues and other concerns.  We’re pleased to announce that this new online system will be launching next week.

The new AFA Alaska online support center will allow you to document scheduling and reserve concerns, situations where you might be facing discipline, potential contractual grievances, and any other issue where you might need AFA support.  After you’ve filed a ticket on an issue, the issue will automatically be routed to the appropriate AFA committee member or officer for follow up.  You’ll also be able to track the progress online and add additional information for your AFA representative to have available.

Be on the lookout for more information about the new system including access information next week.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Melissa Osborne, Tim Green and Brice McGee

 

Introducing Your Virgin America Joint Negotiating Committee Member and Merger Representatives

Your Master Executive Council (MEC) conducted interviews last week for one Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) Member position and two merger representative positions that will represent pre-merger Virgin America Flight Attendants. The MEC would like to thank the candidates who demonstrated willingness to represent our Flight Attendants. After thorough deliberation, the MEC has appointed Jamie Cogen to the JNC position and Lynne Voigtsberger and Rolando Teran to the merger representative positions.

Joint Negotiating Committee

About Jamie Cogen

Jamie started his career with Virgin America in 2009 as a Customer Service Agent. In January 2011 he joined the Inflight department and was initially based in New York (JFK). Jamie later transferred to San Francisco (SFO) where he upgraded into the role of Inflight Team Leader. In April 2013 he transferred to the newly opened Los Angeles (LAX) base where he remains today.

In July 2013 Jamie joined a few other advocates in approaching Transport Workers Union to help organize and unionize the Flight Attendants. Twelve months later, with the assistance of TWU, the organizing committee, and a lot of determination the Virgin America Flight Attendants were certified by the National Mediation Board.

Jamie graduated from the University of Phoenix with an AA degree in Hospitality, Travel and Tourism. Prior to becoming a Flight Attendant he worked for a large accounting software company helping clients with training, customization, and implementation.

When not flying, Jamie resides in Long Beach, California where he likes to ride his bike, cook, read, and travel.

About the JNC

The Joint Negotiating Committee works to obtain interim safeguards including a fence agreement with management (which maintains separate Inflight operations for a specified period of time) and merge the collective bargaining agreement(s) and/or respective work rules into a collective bargaining agreement for the combined airline. Additional information about the JNC can be found at http://afaalaska.org/merger/jnc.

Your full JNC is MEC President Jeffrey Peterson, Jennifer Wise MacColl, Lindsey Steele, Jamie Cogen and AFA Senior Staff Negotiator Paula Mastrangelo

Merger Representatives

About Lynne Voigtsberger

Lynne has been with Virgin America for 10 years. She worked in the role of ITM and is currently an ITL based at LAX.  She was an original member of the Work Rule Committee for 3 years and has also served as a Peer Review Panelist for 4 years.

Lynne has worked as a Flight Attendant for 31 years, and her past history includes TWA and American Airlines during the merger in 2001.  During the merger, when the TWA Flight Attendants were stapled to the bottom of the American Airlines seniority list, Lynne became part of a team that fought and ultimately helped to enact the McCaskill-Bond Act of 2007 assuring that all future flight attendant seniority would be handled fair and equitable in the event of a merger or acquisition.

Lynne lives in Redondo Beach with her husband and has a daughter living in Santa Barbara.  She loves all things beach related and spending time with friends. She does house, dog & cat sitting whenever possible, loves a fine wine, gardening, entertaining, and traveling.

About Rolando Teran

Rolando has been a San Francisco-based Flight Attendant with Virgin America for 10 years.  In addition to his flying duties, he has served as an Inflight Team Leader and Air Transportation Supervisor.  Prior to start up, Rolando also held a few other roles in assisting with other departments working at headquarters and a brief special assignment position in Guest Care after launch.

Prior to Virgin America, Rolando worked the Flight Attendant position with Northwest Airlines for 17 years based in Detroit, New York and San Francisco.   While at Northwest, Rolando was an active Union member working with the base representative while under the Teamsters, PFAA and AFA-CWA prior to leaving Northwest.  Rolando was an active founding organizing member of the union involvement with TWU in 2010 along with other Virgin America inflight team members.

Rolando resides in San Bruno with his partner of 21 years and their two Staffordshire Bull Terriers, Izzy and Lily.  He enjoys spending non-flying time with friends, beach and sand vacations, wine tastings, gardening or sometimes packing up the car with Izzy and Lily and taking hikes and long walks at any of the Golden Gate National Parks trails.

About the Merger Representative Positions

In their roles as merger representatives, Lynne and Rolando will be responsible for compiling the necessary information to merge the Flight Attendant seniority lists in the upcoming Alaska Airlines/Virgin America merger. They will work closely with the pre-merger Alaska merger representatives, the MEC, and the AFA International Office.  Additional information about the seniority integration can be found at http://afaalaska.org/merger/seniority.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Melissa Osborne, Tim Green and Brice McGee

MEC Committee Chair Appointments

The MEC conducted interviews for several MEC Committee Chairperson positions at the MEC Meeting that concluded this afternoon.  We would like to thank everyone who expressed interest in the available positions and a willingness to serve.  After careful consideration and much deliberation, the following candidates were appointed:

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)/Professional Standards

Elizabeth Dillion
Jeanne McCleave

Scheduling

Zac Weeks

Preferential Bidding System (PBS)

Steve Poynter (Chairperson)
Rebecca Asbell (Committee Member)
Adam Clarey (Committee Member)

Uniform

Bob Moore

Reserve

Jarod McNeill

Air Safety, Health, & Security (ASHSC)

Seth Heiple

Benefits

Terry Taylor

Retirement

Terry Taylor

Hotel

Laura Hinojosa (Chairperson)
Jodi Snow (Vice Chairperson)

 

Appointments are effective immediately.  Terms of appointment coincide with those of the MEC Officers, concluding on December 31, 2019.

If you have any questions about MEC Committee Chairperson appointments, please contact your LEC President.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Tim Green and Brice McGee

MEC Committee Chairperson Interviews

Updated 02/07/2017

As previously announced on December 9, the Master Executive Council (MEC) will be conducting interviews for the majority of the MEC Committee Chairperson positions in early 2017.

All Candidates Advanced to Final Interviews

As part of the interview process, a series of screening interviews were scheduled to occur on January 4 by videoconference.  The purpose of the screening interviews was to narrow each position to two finalist candidates who would be invited to interview with the MEC in person at the February MEC Meeting.  Since only a few positions yielded more than two candidates, the MEC has decided to bypass the screening interviews and advance all candidates to an in-person interview at the February MEC Meeting.

More Information About the Candidates

Below is a list of candidates for each position.  For positions with more than one candidate, resumes for those candidates who have opted in may be viewed below.

Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC) Chairperson

Seth Heiple

Benefits Committee Chairperson

Terry Taylor

EAP Chairpersons (2 positions)

Elizabeth Dillon

Jeanne McCleave

Hotel Committee Chairperson

Laura Hinojosa

Hotel Committee Vice Chairperson

Jodi Snow (click here to view resume)

Dori Marron (click here to view resume)

Reserve Committee Chairperson

Jarod McNeill

Retirement Committee Chairperson

Terry Taylor

Scheduling Committee Chairperson

Jake Jones (click here to view resume)

Erik Velez (click here to view resume)

Zac Weeks (click here to view resume)

Scheduling Committee Vice Chairperson (PBS Subcommittee Chairperson)

Stephen Poynter (click here to view resume)

Shawn Grill (withdrawn 02/03/17)

PBS Subcommittee Member

Rebecca Asbell (click here to view resume)

Adam Clarey (click here to view resume)

Sheri Rochel (click here to view resume) (clarified intent to be considered for Subcommittee Member position instead of Chairperson, 02/07/2017)

Uniform Committee Chairperson

Bob Moore

Special Consideration for MEC Scheduling Committee Chairperson

In accordance with §27.P.2.c.1 of the collective bargaining agreement, the MEC will be soliciting input from Vice President of Inflight Services Andy Schneider regarding the selection of the MEC Scheduling Committee Chairperson position.  Though Andy is contractually entitled to provide feedback, final selection will be made by the voting members of the MEC.

Feedback

If you would like to provide feedback about the candidates or the MEC Committee Chairperson interview process, please contact your LEC President.  You may contact your LEC President by email at:

ANC Council 30 President Lisa Pinkston – lisa.pinkston@afaalaska.org

SEA Council 19 President Laura Masserant – laura.masserant@afaalaska.org

PDX Council 39 President Cathy Gwynn – cathy.gwynn@afaalaska.org

LAX Council 18 President Tim Green – timothy.green@afaalaska.org

SAN Council 15 President Brice McGee – brice.mcgee@afaalaska.org

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Tim Green and Brice McGee

MEC Committee Chair Interviews

In accordance with Article VI.C of the AFA Alaska MEC Policy and Procedure Manual, the term of appointment for the MEC Committee Chairpersons is concurrent with those of the MEC Officers.  As the current MEC Officer term of office will end on December 31, 2016, the MEC will be conducting a review of the MEC Committee Chairperson positions in early 2017.

During this review process, the MEC will be interviewing for the following MEC-level chairperson positions:

  • Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC) Chairperson
  • Benefits Committee Chairperson
  • EAP Committee Chairperson (2 positions)
  • Hotel Committee Chairperson
  • Hotel Committee Vice Chairperson
  • Reserve Committee Chairperson
  • Retirement Committee Chairperson
  • Scheduling Committee Chairperson
  • Scheduling Committee Vice Chairperson (PBS Subcommittee Chairperson)
  • PBS Subcommittee Member (though not a chairperson position, this position is appointed at the MEC level)
  • Uniform Committee Chairperson

Appointments for the ASHSC Vice Chairperson, Government Affairs Committee Chairperson, Grievance Committee Chairperson, and Inflight Service Committee Chairperson positions were all made within the last several months.  As a result, these positions will not be reviewed and will continue their term until the end of the next MEC Officer election cycle.

General Qualifications

The following qualifications apply to all MEC-level Chairperson positions:

  • Previous experience as a Committee Member or Chairperson preferred (required for EAP)
  • Previous committee-specific training preferred (required for EAP)
  • Ability to attend meetings as required, including being present in Seattle on occasion
  • Strong computer skills. Good working knowledge of Inflight Mobile Device, Google email, and Microsoft Office.
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills. Ability to write membership communications, respond professionally to internal and external e-mail, prepare reports, and plan meetings agendas and take minutes.
  • Ability to meet deadlines, delegate responsibilities, and follow up on assigned tasks

Duties and Responsibilities

Information about the duties and responsibilities of each specific committee can be found in article VII of the MEC Policy and Procedure Manual, which can be accessed by clicking here.

Time Commitment and Flight Pay Loss Reimbursement

Time Commitment and Flight Pay Loss for each position will be discussed during the screening interview.

Interview and Selection Timeline

Qualified candidates will be invited to a screening interview with the MEC by video conference on Wednesday, January 4.

Finalists will be invited to an in-person interview at the AFA Alaska MEC office in Seattle at regularly scheduled February MEC meeting on February 21 and 22.

Expressing Interest and Interview Scheduling

Submit a declaration of interest and resume to MEC Secretary Treasurer-Elect Linda Christou at linda.christou@afaalaska.org no later than 5 PM Pacific Time on Wednesday, December 28, 2016.

Questions

Any questions about MEC Committee Chairperson positon duties and responsibilities can be directed to MEC Vice President Brian Palmer at brian.palmer@afaalaska.org.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Satterlee, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Tim Green, Brice McGee and MEC Secretary Treasurer-Elect Linda Christou

Refreshed Inflight Mobile Device (IMD) Distribution

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants Management has recently informed our Master Executive Council (MEC) that they are distributing new Inflight Mobile Devices (IMDs) to Flight Attendants with devices nearing the end of their lifecycle. The specific schedule for this distribution will be communicated by management separately. Flight Attendants with the oldest devices […]

Scheduling Committee Meeting Recap – September 2025

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants On Tuesday, September 23, our pre-merger Alaska AFA Scheduling Committee Chairpersons and Representatives met in person at Alaska Airlines Corporate Headquarters 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), […]

Meet Our Pre-Merger Alaska Committee Chairperson & Representatives

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants We’re excited to introduce the first group of pre-merger Alaska MEC Committee Chairpersons and Representatives for the upcoming MEC Officer term. They’ll begin transitioning into their roles over the next few months and officially start their terms on January 1, 2026. Below, you’ll find brief biographies that […]

Inflight Service Committee Meeting Recap – 3rd Quarter 2025

On Thursday, September 18, our AFA Inflight Service Committee Chairpersons met to discuss their ongoing efforts to represent our Flight Attendants and advocate for improvements in our workplace. Although our Inflight Service Committee has now merged, meetings with management continue to focus primarily on the Alaska or Hawaiian brands individually. This particular meeting was centered […]

Vacation Survey Closing Soon

There’s just 1 DAY LEFT to complete the crucial vacation survey that will help shape future provisions—your insights are essential for advocating the best outcomes for all Flight Attendants. The survey is currently open and will remain available until Wednesday, September 24 at 12 PM PT.

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