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Negotiations News Archives

Alaska Airlines/Hawaiian Airlines Merger Moves Forward

Alaska and Hawaiian management have satisfied any questions raised during the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) review of the proposed merger. This means DOJ will not take further actions and has essentially approved the merger. 

The Department of Transportation (DOT) has the authority to review international routes and general compliance with DOT requirements as it relates to the merged carrier. This has typically been a perfunctory approval. 

Mergers take time — this first hurdle only relates to the financial closing of the merger which can now proceed. DOT and the Federal Aviation Administration will play a significant role in the operational merger.

As a reminder, the transition period includes specific protections for Flight Attendants as negotiated between our union, and both Alaska and Hawaiian management. Review last week’s communication on the Merger Transition Agreement (MTA). Negotiations for a contract at Alaska will continue separately according to the Railway Labor Act. Improvements for Alaska Flight Attendants will set a higher starting point for JCBA negotiations.

We will all do better through our solidarity. Stay close to union communications, fly safe, and as always look out for each other. We are stronger and better together.

Impact on AFA Alaska Negotiations 

AFA will continue to work on negotiating a second Tentative Agreement (TA2) for Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants. Alaska Airlines has a legal obligation to continue negotiations with AFA Alaska. 

The Negotiating Committee (NC) is drafting a survey to determine the targeted goals for TA2. Following MEC approval, we tentatively plan to release the survey on Tuesday, August 27 and close the survey on Wednesday, September 4. The NC will analyze the results and continue through the steps listed here, including drafting a TA2 proposal.

The status of our mediation has no impact on the merger transaction with Hawaiian.

Department of Justice Merger Decision Update

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced early this morning that they reached an agreement with Hawaiian and Alaska managements to extend the merger review process 10 days until August 15th.  

What does this mean? There is no way of knowing. In fact, the DOJ could not render a decision on August 15th and could further delay the review process. AFA International is monitoring the situation with the DOJ and we will continue to share any new developments or information with members. As a reminder, the Tentative Agreement (TA) was negotiated to position us to return to the bargaining table in the near term whether the merger is approved or not.

The Negotiating Committee is finishing up the TA roadshows in Portland and Anchorage today and tomorrow, respectively. We continue to welcome any questions from you during the ratification process.

AFA Alaska Contract and Negotiations Newsletter – May 22, 2021

AFA Alaska Contract and Negotiations Newsletter – May 22, 2021

Master Executive Council (MEC)

In This Edition

  • Contract Extension 2021 Ratified and Associated Sideletter Executed
  • A Historic All-Time Low Voter Participation
  • Negotiating Committee Interviews Paused and Applicants Released for Now
  • Contract and Negotiations Education Efforts Resume

Contract Extension 2021 Ratified and Associated Sideletter Executed

Although it is less than ideal for a tentative agreement (TA) to be ratified by such a small margin, the Contract Extension 2021 did pass with a spread of 25 votes or 1.4% of active members in good standing casting votes.

Click here for certified ballot results >

The associated sideletter of agreement has now been executed and posted on the AFA Alaska website –> Contract Home –> Letters of Agreement (LOAs). It will also be uploaded to Inflight Mobile Devices soon.

Click here for the One Year Contract Extension 2021-2022 Sideletter of Agreement >

A Historic All-Time Low Voter Participation

The Contract Extension 2021 TA voter participation was a historic all-time low for AFA Alaska with 37.7% of active members in good standing who cast votes. The MEC anticipated that voter turnout would be significantly impacted by the substantial number of Flight Attendants on leaves, many of whom may have understandably chosen to not convert themselves to “active” status by paying dues for every month they had been on leave through May 2021. We also know of a few who inadvertently barely missed the balloting window. Regardless, participation was much lower than anticipated.

Many Flight Attendants posted on social media that they were largely ambivalent about the vote. Although this was “just” a one-year contract extension with a minimal raise, it is extremely important that we get our participation rate much higher for next time. Member participation sends a signal to management regarding our collective engagement. The silver lining to this cloud is that we will have plenty of time to prepare for negotiations in September 2022 and to build our solidarity in the meantime.

Negotiating Committee Interviews Paused and Applicants Released for Now

Negotiating Committee interviews have been paused and the Negotiating Committee applicants have been released for now. The MEC is planning to re-post Negotiating Committee positions this coming October 2021 and to resume interviews in January 2022.

Contract and Negotiations Education Efforts Resume

AFA Alaska will resume contract and negotiations education efforts via periodic newsletters such as this one.

Next Up

(New topics may be added and the order subject to change)

  • Updated Contract Negotiations Timeline
  • Preparatory Work to Improve the Efficiency of Negotiations
  • Negotiations Under the Railway Labor Act
  • Growing Reliance on Non-AFA Social Media Outlets as Sole Source of Information
  • Negotiating for Our Future
  • Block-Hours vs. TFP
  • Block or Better vs. §21.J Block Delays
  • L-VX Incentive Pay vs. Productivity Premium Program (PPP)
  • L-VX Inflight Team Leader (ITL) Pay vs. “A” Pay

AFA Alaska Contract Extension 2021 Tentative Agreement Ballot Results

AFA Alaska Contract Extension 2021 Tentative Agreement Ballot Results

Master Executive Council (MEC)

Contract Extension Ratified

The certified ballot results for the Contract Extension 2021 Tentative Agreement are in: The Contract Extension has been ratified with 870 (50.7%) voting “for” and 845 (49.3%) voting “against.” Participation was 37.7% of 4545 active members in good standing casting votes.

Click here for certified ballot results >View / Download

Stay tuned for a more detailed update later this week after the completion of our monthly MEC meeting (Tuesday-Wednesday) and the annual AFA Board of Directors meeting (Thursday-Friday).

Joint Contract Negotiations Session 6 – August 2025

This message is for both pre-merger Alaska and Hawaiian Flight Attendants Negotiations Update The AFA Alaska + Hawaiian Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) met this week for three days of collective bargaining with management.  The JNC met with management on August 5 to August 7 in Seattle, WA.  At the negotiating table for this session were: […]

Pre-Merger Alaska MEC Committee Interviews—September 2025

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants In accordance with Article VI.C of the AFA Alaska MEC Policy and Procedure Manual, the terms of office for the MEC Committee Chairpersons and other MEC-level positions align with those of the MEC Officers. Since the current term for the MEC Officers will conclude on December 31, […]

Merged MEC Committee Chairperson Interviews—September 2025

This message is for both pre-merger Alaska and Hawaiian Flight Attendants The integration of our Master Executive Councils (MECs) is progressing steadily. Our first group of committees successfully merged on June 1, and we are now prepared to merge additional committees as we move forward. The next group of committees is scheduled to merge on […]

Understanding JCBA Negotiations

Joint Collective Bargaining Agreement (JCBA) negotiations are different from the usual Section 6 talks. Instead of updating one agreement, we’re working on merging two existing contracts into a single contract. Our Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) will be reaching out with focused surveys to hear your thoughts on specific sections, aiming to blend the best of both carriers.

Special Post IT Incident Debrief Next Week

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants This Week’s Monthly Scheduling Committee Meeting Canceled Due to Sunday’s IT outage and the subsequent ground stop, management has decided to cancel this Tuesday’s monthly Scheduling Committee meeting. This decision was made so their efforts could be focused on operational recovery activities to restore normal operations. Our […]

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