Dear Flight Attendants,

The Master Executive Council (MEC) will be conducting interviews for the Negotiating Committee at the MEC Office in Seattle on April 17.  All three Negotiating Committee positions are up for interview and consideration.  Per the AFA Constitution & Bylaws, the MEC President is the chairperson of the Negotiating Committee and rounds out the Committee as the fourth member.

The Negotiating Committee is charged to negotiate and institute the needs and desires of the Flight Attendants into an effective collective bargaining agreement (CBA).  The Committee should have a good working knowledge of the current CBA and be willing to devote their full time to the Committee during negotiations.  The members of this Committee shall serve as the CBA Interpretation Committee until a new agreement is completed.

Selection of Committee Members

• Any person seeking a position on the Negotiating Committee must submit a resume to the MEC
• Committee Members will function until a new Committee is selected
• The Chairperson of the Negotiating Committee will be the MEC President or her/his designee
• Committee Members are selected by majority vote of the voting members of the MEC (LEC Presidents)

Committee Member Duties & Responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities of the Negotiating Committee shall include the following:

• The Committee, with the advice of the Staff Negotiator shall have the authority to conclude an agreement, subject to the provisions of Article XII of the Constitution and Bylaws.
• All members of the Committee, including alternates whenever possible, shall complete a negotiations training seminar prior to writing an “opener.”
• Be familiar with Union policy and keep abreast of new developments in the industry.
• Utilize the facilities and resources of the Union and the experience and knowledge of Union Officers, International Office staff and study committees of the Union. (eg., Legal, Retirement and Insurance, Wage and Working Conditions, etc.).
• Maintain a current record of the:
  • Financial condition of the company.
  • Management lines of authority and methods of communication.
  • Operations statistics and experiences of the airline which may be used in bargaining, grievances, litigation, etc.
• Be familiar with the wishes of the Flight Attendant group with respect to wages, working conditions, and work rules, through, for example, system-wide distribution of contract surveys, periodic road shows, etc.
• Prepare the contract opener with the advice of the Staff Negotiator
• Provide regular updates to the membership on the status of negotiations
• Proof CBA language and agree with the Company on implementation and effective dates
• Review tentative agreement with the MEC
• Prepare membership summary package and Roadshow schedule
• Present the tentative agreement to the members
• Proof printed agreement and prepare CBA index
• Prepare CBA interpretations for new concepts
• Remain available as a resource for interpretations
• Maintain a complete record of the negotiations, including proposals, notes and communications, and such record is the property of AFA-CWA.  A copy of this record will be forwarded to the International Office by the Negotiating Committee.
• Maintain contact, through the MEC President, with IAM, ALPA, TWU, AMFA, and other applicable labor unions on property

Flight Pay Loss Reimbursement

Flight pay loss (FPL) reimbursement will be provided to Negotiating Committee Members at the rate of 6 TFP at “A” pay for 8 hours of work.  FPL is not reimbursed for days that solely contain travel to/from an activity.

Application Process

Interested candidates should submit an expression of interest and resume to candidate@alaskamec.org.  The deadline for applications is Thursday, April 10 at 5 PM PDT.

A member of the MEC will contact candidates to schedule an in-person interview.  Interviews will be held at the MEC Office in Seattle on Thursday, April 17.  Instructions for listing for positive space travel will be provided to those who do not live in the Seattle area.  Hotel rooms or other expenses are the responsibility of the candidate.

Questions

Any questions regarding the Negotiating Committee positions or application process should be directed to MEC President Jeffrey Peterson at jpeterson@alaskamec.org.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Gesch, Becky Strachan, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn and Sandra Morrow

References

• AFA-CWA International Policy Manual, Section VI – Contract Negotiations

Dear Flight Attendants,

This has been a busy week for the Master Executive Council (MEC).  On Monday, the MEC met with the members of the Negotiating Committee to conduct a debrief on the failed Tentative Agreement vote.  Below is an update on upcoming activities related to negotiations.

Negotiations Survey

A new negotiations survey is in the beginning stages of being written and will be released within the next several weeks.  The survey will be open for approximately two weeks.

The results from the survey will be used by the Negotiating Committee to write the AFA opener for the second round of negotiations.  At this time, negotiations are tentatively expected to resume during the second week of May.  As we are still in the mediation process, all negotiations sessions will continue to be facilitated by National Mediation Board (NMB) Mediator Victoria Gray.

Negotiating Committee

After thorough discussion, it has been determined that all Negotiating Committee positions will be up for interview and consideration of candidates.  All qualified candidates who apply—including current Negotiating Committee members—will be considered.  Interviews for the three positions will be held in Seattle at the AFA MEC Office on April 17.

If you are interested in applying for a Negotiating Committee position, please send your expression of interest as well as a resume listing your qualifications to candidate@alaskamec.org.  After submitting your resume, you will be contacted to schedule an interview time on April 17.

The Evolution of the VOICE Committee

Your MEC is very excited to announce some forthcoming changes with the VOICE Committee.  VOICE, or Volunteer Organizers for Information, Communications, and Education, has been an integral part of communications between the Negotiating Committee and the Flight Attendants for the past several contract negotiations.  The committee was first organized at a time when information was not as readily accessible as it is today, and we depended on VOICE committee members to provide us with the latest updates on the progress of the Negotiating Committee through the information they shared.

Today, many of us use email, social media, and the Internet to stay connected to current news and updates in the negotiating process.  The original purpose of the VOICE Committee has essentially become obsolete.  The MEC is currently working with MEC VOICE Chairperson Adam Clarey and your Local VOICE Chairs to harness the power of our VOICE Committee in new ways that will demonstrate our solidarity and unity as we go back to the negotiating table.

More information about the evolution of the VOICE Committee will be coming soon once these changes have been finalized.  In the mean time, please ensure that you add info@alaskamec.org and negotiations@alaskamec.org to your address book or contacts to prevent AFA communications from being filtered out as spam.  If you are not already subscribed to AFA Alaska email updates, visit http://alaskamec.org/signup to subscribe.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Gesch, Becky Strachan, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn and Sandra Morrow

Dear Flight Attendants:

Polls closed today at 12 PM PST for voting on the Tentative Agreement (TA) reached by the Negotiating Committee on December 12, 2013.  The results of the vote are as follows:

As indicated above, the TA has failed.

What’s Next?

More than ever, this is a time for all of us to come together and stand united.  You have spoken through your votes and the Negotiating Committee is prepared to go back to the table and send management a message that we demand more improvements!

Prior to the Negotiating Committee going back to the table, a new survey will be sent out to you to help the Committee to determine what areas of importance need more attention and focus.  You can expect to see an invitation to participate in the survey in your email within the next several weeks.  If you are receiving this email, we already have your email address on file for your survey invitation.  Please ensure that info@alaskamec.org is in your address book to prevent any potential spam filtering or bounce back from our email servers.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Gesch, Becky Strachan, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, and Sandra Morrow

Your Negotiating Committee – MEC President Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Tracy, Karina Cameron-Fetters, Jake Jones and AFA Senior Staff Negotiator Paula Mastrangelo

References

• AFA International Press Release