Negotiations News Archives

AFA Alaska Negotiations Update – December 17, 2020

December 17, 2020 20:00

AFA Alaska Negotiations Update – December 17, 2020

Master Executive Council

In This Edition

Updated Contract Negotiations Timeline
Negotiations Delayed Until September 1, 2021
Overview of the Railway Labor Act

Updated Contract Negotiations Timeline

1^st round Negotiating Committee interviews – March & April 2020

Full pay scale increase of 2.5% – December 17, 2020 – This is the final full pay scale increase under this contract. A confirmation email from Employee Records to all Flight Attendants is expected in the next few days.

Revised “Early Opener” date – September 1, 2021 – Original Early Opener date: December 17, 2020. Negotiations may start on or after this date if notice is served by either AFA or management at least 60 days prior.

Amendable date – December 17, 2021 – Under the Railway Labor Act (RLA), the amendable date of a contract is generally the date on which the provisions of a collective bargaining agreement may be changed. Unlike under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), contracts under the RLA do not automatically expire and instead generally remain in force throughout negotiations and the amendable period.

Negotiations Delayed Until September 1, 2021

AFA leadership and Alaska Airlines management have agreed to hold off on engaging in negotiations until September 1, 2021. Both parties recognize that entering into negotiations during the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic would not be productive for either party. Consequently, the parties have executed a side letter of agreement amending the Early Opener date from December 17, 2020 to September 1, 2021 in Section 35 [Duration] of the Joint Collective Bargaining Agreement (JCBA).

Click here for the “Amendment to JCBA Section 35 [Duration]” Sideletter of Agreement >

Overview of the Railway Labor Act

Credit to “The Railway Labor Act Simplified” by the Pennsylvania Division of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division – IBT

Historical Background

The Railway Labor Act (RLA) was passed in 1926 to allow railroad union workers to resolve disputes with management while minimizing the potential for interstate commerce disruptions. The airline industry was folded into the RLA under Title II in 1936. The RLA was the first federal law guaranteeing the right of workers to organize and join unions and elect representatives without employer coercion or interference. The RLA makes it the duty of all carriers and their employees to exert every reasonable effort to voluntarily settle disputes. Negotiations procedures were historically contained in Section 6 of the RLA, which is why one often hears “Section 6” as a catch-all phrase for everything having to do with negotiations under the RLA. The RLA is currently located in 45 USC Chapter 8 Sections 151 – 188.

Who is Covered?

The RLA applies to freight and commuter railroads, airlines, companies directly or indirectly controlled by carriers who perform services related to transportation of freight or passengers and the employees of these railroads, airlines and companies.

Basic Purposes

Avoid any interruption to commerce.
Assist in the prompt and orderly settlement of disputes covering rates of pay, work rules, or working conditions.
Assist in the prompt and orderly settlement of disputes growing out of grievances or out of the interpretation or application of existing contracts covering the rates of pay, work rules or working conditions.
Ensure an unhindered right of employees to join a labor union (added in 1934).
Provide complete independence of organization by both parties to carry out the purposes of the RLA.

“Minor” vs. Major” Disputes

Disputes are divided into two categories under the Railway Labor Act: “minor” (resolved via the grievance and arbitration process) and “major” (resolved via the negotiations process).

Minor Disputes: Grievances growing out of the interpretation or application of collective bargaining agreements (CBAs). – System boards of adjustment (often administered by a neutral third-party arbitrator) have exclusive jurisdiction over grievance disputes. A system board’s findings are conclusive, and any awards through this process are binding on the parties. Self-help (e.g., work slowdowns or stoppages, worker strikes or management imposed work rules) not allowed. (See “Arbitration in the Airlines Industry: System Boards of Adjustment” by Thomas J. Kassin and Sarah L. Fuson for more information.)

Major Disputes: Matters affecting rates of pay, rules and working conditions; and the creation or modification of the collective bargaining agreement between the parties. – There is almost total reliance upon collective bargaining for major dispute settlement. Self-help (e.g., strikes and imposed work rules) are permitted after negotiation and mediation procedures have been exhausted.

Next Up

(Order is subject to change)

Negotiations Under the Railway Labor Act
Negotiating for Our Future
Block hours vs. TFP
Block or Better vs. Block Delay
Incentive Pay vs. Productivity Premium Program (PPP)
Inflight Team Leader (ITL) Pay vs. “A” Pay

AFA Alaska Negotiations Update – October 24, 2020

October 24, 2020 12:00

AFA Alaska Negotiations Update – October 24, 2020

Master Executive Council

In This Edition

Recap
Negotiations Delayed Until 2021
Final Full Pay Scale Increase of 2.5% Effective December 17, 2020
Contract and Negotiations Education

Recap

The contract is amendable in December 2021, but negotiations may start one year prior to the amendable date if notice is served by either party (AFA or management) at least 60 days prior to December 17, 2020. The Master Executive Council (MEC) completed first round interviews in March and April with potential Negotiating Committee candidates. However, it will be no surprise to anyone that the bargaining ‘landscape’ has significantly changed over the past several months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Negotiations Delayed Until 2021

In consultation with AFA Collective Bargaining, the MEC and Alaska Airlines management have agreed to hold off on engaging in negotiations until 2021. Neither party believes that entering into negotiations at this time would be productive. Consequently, we are currently working on an alternative date, and the MEC will provide an updated timeline once AFA and Alaska Airlines management have formally agreed to the details.

Final Full Pay Scale Increase of 2.5% Effective December 17, 2020

As a reminder, the contract provides a 2.5% increase to the entire Step Rates of Pay scale effective December 17, 2020, which is the final scale increase scheduled to occur pursuant to Section 21.A [Step Rates of Pay]. Refer to the last (i.e. righthand) column in Section 21.A for the applicable rates.

However, Flight Attendants who are not yet at the Year 16 Step Rate (i.e. top of scale) will continue to receive a pay increase on the anniversary of their Flight Attendant Occupational Seniority Date, if applicable, pursuant to Section 21.B [Anniversary Step Increases…] and Letter of Agreement 7 (“Virgin America ‘Red Circle’ Pay Rates”). Flight Attendants will also continue to be eligible for Longevity Premium upon achieving the applicable number of years of Occupational Seniority pursuant to Section 21.C [Longevity Premium].

Contract and Negotiations Education

AFA will take the intervening time until negotiations begin to provide periodic contract and negotiations education updates. Those efforts will start as soon as we have an updated negotiations timeline.

Next Up

(Order is subject to change)

Updated Negotiations Timeline
Railway Labor Act Negotiations Overview
Negotiating for Our Future
Block hours vs. TFP
Block or Better vs. Block Delay
Incentive Pay vs. Productivity Premium Program (PPP)
Inflight Team Leader (ITL) Pay vs. “A” Pay

A Message About Current Events, and Planning for the Future

June 5, 2020 15:00

A Message About Current Events

Nearly constant bombardment of disturbing news lately

The Master Executive Council (MEC) recognizes there has been a nearly constant bombardment of disturbing news lately. The COVID-19 pandemic and the killings of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd and Breonna Taylor have touched every one of us in some way or another, and we are all struggling to process the enormity of the situation. Flight Attendants are feeling understandably anxious about their safety, health and financial security and for those they care about.

Impact of recent events on our Black sisters and brothers

We would be remiss as union leaders if we did not acknowledge that our Black sisters and brothers are understandably feeling particularly impacted by recent events. An injury to one is an injury to us all, and AFA will continue to defend our members’ rights, safety and freedom. We can and must do better as a society to achieve true racial equality. Black Lives Matter!

Juneteenth and Pride Month

June brings the celebration of Juneteenth and also is Pride Month. AFA’s mission is to unite Flight Attendants and promote equality for all regardless of race, color, creed, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression. We also recognize the increased discrimination that Black and brown LGBTQ+ Flight Attendants face.

Discrimination undermines our country

Discrimination of any kind undermines the strength of our country. We must work together to protect the rights that should belong to every human being. We stand up for fairness and equal opportunity for all.

Planning for the Future

Future staffing discussed by management

Alaska Airlines management hosted an all-employee webcast yesterday morning (AAG SSO required) during which the subject of future staffing was discussed. CEO Brad Tilden and President Ben Minicucci also sent an email message (“An update on our airlines from Brad and Ben”) to all employees shortly thereafter. Flight Attendants want to know how the data translates into implications for future staffing, and we’re here to help.

Disclaimer

All indications are that management has been very transparent with the entire employee group, but keep in mind that any projections for future demand, revenue, capacity, block hours, etc., are all based on continually shifting data. These figures are potentially highly variable depending upon numerous factors that are too complex to anticipate with absolute certainty, and the forecasts become less certain the further into the future one goes. The following analysis is the MEC’s “worst-case” assessment based on management’s projections, so actual results may vary.

We’re going to cut through all the statistics, underlying assumptions and calculations by going straight to our assessment. The MEC does not feel at liberty to explain our methodology at this time because we do not wish to disclose data that could unintentionally provide a competitive advantage to other carriers. All that being said, we have vetted our calculations and feel confident in our conclusions—or as confident as we can be given all the caveats.

Q4 2020 staffing

Beginning on October 1, Alaska Airlines will possibly need 35%-50% less Flight Attendants systemwide—at least temporarily.

Summer 2021 staffing

Alaska Airlines will possibly need 20% less Flight Attendants through summer 2021 and for an indefinite period of time thereafter. Presumably, the other 15%-30% of Flight Attendants (i.e. from the initial reduction of 35%-50% in Q4 2020 above) would be brought back to active service by next summer if the 20% holds true.

Potential furlough mitigations

However, that does not mean the aforementioned percentages of Flight Attendants will be involuntarily furloughed. The number of actual involuntary furloughs could be much less depending on potential furlough mitigations such as extended leaves of absence, voluntary furloughs, et cetera. For example, there are more than enough Flight Attendants currently on Staffing Adjustment Leaves—over 3400 FAs and 55+% in June—to prevent involuntary furloughs if the staffing reduction were to be applied today.

AFA and management began discussions regarding early retirement back in March, and the parties have scheduled regular meetings starting next week in an effort to achieve an attractive “Early Out” package and explore other furlough mitigations as soon as possible. AFA will also continue to press Congress for additional payroll support programs and other legislative relief.

“Worst-case” assessment

The following “worst-case” assessment is based on the assumption of no furlough mitigations, which is quite simply not in the realm of possibility. At least some Flight Attendants will inevitably take extended leaves, voluntary furloughs and perhaps early retirement (if the parties agree to an Early Out package), all of which will reduce the potential number of involuntary furloughs. This information is provided only in order to give everyone a better sense of the theoretical scale of anticipated staffing reductions.

A forced 20% staffing reduction would hypothetically affect system seniority numbers 4780 to 5975 and occupational seniority dates March 2017 to August 2019. A 35% forced staffing reduction would hypothetically affect up to system seniority number 3884 and an occupational seniority date of March 2015. A 50% forced staffing reduction would hypothetically affect up to system seniority number 2988 and an occupational seniority date of May 2012. Again, AFA will work with management to mitigate the number of Flight Attendants who may be involuntarily furloughed.

Section 18 Reduction in Force

One of the key provisions that will potentially benefit Flight Attendants is the right to recall under Section 18 Reduction in Force. Flight Attendants are kept on the seniority list and have the right to be recalled in seniority order for up to five years. The MEC encourages Flight Attendants to familiarize themselves with Section 18 over the coming months.

Contract negotiations

Some Flight Attendants have asked about the status of upcoming contract negotiations. The contract is amendable in December 2021, but negotiations may start one year prior to the amendable date if notice is served by either party (AFA or management) at least 60 days prior to December 17, 2020. The MEC completed first round interviews with potential Negotiating Committee candidates in March and April. However, the bargaining ‘landscape’ has significantly changed in the past few months. In consultation with AFA Collective Bargaining, the MEC has decided to hold off on moving forward with second round interviews for now. We will provide another update on the issue no later than August.

Lots of sobering information to absorb! As your direct representative on the MEC, your LEC president is available to answer questions or concerns that you may have. Contact information for your respective LEC president can be found by clicking here.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Matt Cook, Terry Taylor, Mario de’Medici, Melissa Osborne, Tim Green and Brice McGee

AFA Update – March 25, 2020

March 25, 2020 17:00

In This Edition

Contacting AFA Representatives for Support
Pre-Cancellations (JCBA Section 10.S)
REMINDER: Negotiating Committee Interviews – Additional Opportunity
Grievance Committee Report

Contacting AFA Representatives For Support

As always, AFA representatives remain available to provide assistance during the current situation. In order to provide you with the best possible support, we ask that you continue to reach out using the following methods of contact:

AFA Online Support Center. Contractual concerns, scheduling or reserve problems, and payroll issues can all be reported using the AFA Online Support Center. Once you open a ticket, your concern will be assigned to a specific AFA representative who will assist you in resolving the issue. Click here for more information about the AFA Online Support Center.

E-Mail. Your Local Committee Members, Chairpersons, and LEC Officers can all be contacted by email. Please refer to your Local Council’s committee roster for contact information for each of your committees. Your LEC Officers can also be easily be contacted as a group using by email addresses below. Using the group email address ensures that your question or concern can be addressed as soon as possible by the first available officer.

ANC	anc@afaalaska.org
SEA	sea@afaalaska.org
PDX	pdx@afaalaska.org
SFO	sfo@afaalaska.org
LAX	lax@afaalaska.org
SAN	san@afaalaska.org

When making contact by email, please use your personal email address and not your company-provided Outlook email account. Company-provided email accounts are subject to monitoring by management and there is no expectation or guarantee of privacy.

Telephone Call. Telephone numbers for most Local Committee Members, Chairpersons, and LEC Officers can also be found on your Local Council’s committee roster. If you receive a voicemail prompt, please leave a message that includes your full name, PeopleSoft number, and contact telephone number. Voicemail messages will be returned as soon as possible and within 24 hours.

In order to ensure that your request, question, or concern is properly documented and receives the appropriate follow-up, please limit contact to one of the methods outlined above when reaching out to AFA representatives. Text messages, messages sent to personal social media accounts, and other methods of contact may not necessarily be regularly monitored for AFA-related communications and could cause a significant delay in response.

Pre-Cancellations (JCBA Section 10.S)

Scheduling Committee

Pre-cancellations occur prior to your trip, while reassignments occur same day. Currently, trips are being pre-cancelled, and you may have more than one trip that is affected. Crew Scheduling may offer more than one alternate trip if multiple awarded trips are cancelled when you call.

If you have a pre-cancellation, a CR code will be placed on your roster. You may acknowledge your cancellation on your roster, however the JCBA requires you to call Crew Scheduling. If you fail to contact Crew Scheduling prior to your trip, you must report to work as scheduled. If you are flying during your pre-cancellation, then you are required to call Crew Scheduling no later than release at domicile if the trip reports the next day.

If you do not report at the original show time and you have not contacted Crew Scheduling, you will be subject to the attendance policy and will receive a no-show under Section 32 of the JCBA. Crew Scheduling will send you an email via Outlook and leave a message for you to call them back using your PeopleSoft phone number on file, so ensure your numbers are up to date. You may be offered an alternate assignment (the footprint of which can begin or end 2 hours beyond original footprint of the trip) or you may decline the alternate assignment and waive pay protection. If the flight you are offered has a check in and/or release time outside of the footprint described above, you will have a third option to contact Crew Scheduling the night prior to that assignment. Pay protection may apply depending on the options available at the time you contact Crew Scheduling. Please refer to sections 10.S.2 and 10.S.3 for your contractual options prior to calling Crew Scheduling. Please always remember you are able to decline the alternate assignments and waive pay protection.

The Scheduling Committee has compiled a “cheat sheet” on the pre-cancellation process and section 10.S language that you can access by clicking here.

Questions?

If you have any questions about pre-cancellations or reassignments, please contact your Local Scheduling Committee.

REMINDER: Negotiating Committee Interviews – Additional Opportunity

Master Executive Council (MEC)

The Master Executive Council (MEC) conducted interviews with several Negotiating Committee candidates during the March Regular MEC Meeting. The candidates interviewed in March ranged from less than one year to eight years of Flight Attendant seniority. All candidates who met the original deadline of March 3 to express interest will be given the opportunity to interview and will be included in the candidate pool that the MEC will elect the Negotiating Committee from.

It is important to the MEC that the candidate pool is representative of the entire Flight Attendant group. As such, the MEC has re-opened the expression of interest process for Negotiating Committee Members. Additional interviews will be conducted at the April Regular MEC Meeting. The MEC is specifically seeking additional candidates with 25 years or more of Flight Attendant seniority and/or those with previous negotiating experience. Other candidates will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Our current Joint Collective Bargaining Agreement (JCBA) becomes amendable on December 17, 2021 but also contains an early opener clause for the negotiating process to begin as early as December 2020. In anticipation of early openers, the Master Executive Council (MEC) will be conducting interviews for the Negotiating Committee during the April Regular MEC Meeting, to be held April 7 and 8, 2020. 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.

Expressing Interest and Interview Scheduling

The MEC will hold interviews during the April Regular MEC meeting from April 7-8, 2020. Please plan to arrange your schedule accordingly to accommodate.

Interested candidates should submit an expression of interest and resume online at https://forms.gle/YGCUtxVETB3z9aZW7. The deadline for submissions is 5 PM Pacific time on Friday, March 27. After that time, MEC Secretary-Treasurer Linda Christou will contact qualified candidates to schedule a specific interview time.

Please note that in order 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 Negotiating Committee positions or application process should be directed to MEC President Jeffrey Peterson at jeffrey.peterson@afaalaska.org.

Grievance Committee Update

Grievance Committee

The Master Executive Council (MEC) has been very hard at work ensuring disciplinary due process and contractual compliance on your behalf. The contract requires a minimum of 13 arbitration dates yearly to dispute discipline/termination cases and contractual issues. AFA typically prioritizes termination cases in order to return a Flight Attendant back to work as soon as possible; however, we seek a balance between discipline and contractual cases. AFA and management mutually decide which cases to arbitrate next based on many factors.

Steps of discipline are confirmation of oral warning (COW), written warning (WW), suspension (varied number of days) to termination. COWs, WWs, and suspensions remain in the Flight Attendant’s file for 18 months, and then are removed. If a Flight Attendant is in a step of discipline and gets another violation, the new violation will build on the previous violation. Management doesn’t always progressively travel up the steps of discipline. If management investigates a Flight Attendant for theft or abuse of sick leave, for example, management will terminate the Flight Attendant if there is evidence to support its findings; if there is no evidence, then the Flight Attendant will most likely be issued a record of discussion (ROD). A ROD is not considered discipline. There is no middle ground for certain violations.

Subject of Most Recent Discipline

In order to keep terminations low, we want to give you an idea of what areas management has recently focused on in regard to disciplining (including terminating) Flight Attendants. See below:

Theft. Anything other than an opened/used bottle of water, unused pilot crew meal or purchased food removed from the aircraft will result in termination. (Temporarily there are Covid-19 exceptions).
Sick leave and FMLA abuse—Terminations on the rise due to travel audits among other things. Anything written in the comments posting of trip trades and personal drops can be seen, even if eventually deleted. If management determines abuse it results in termination.
Timecard fraud—For example: Holding the door open to obtain sit pay. Management has terminated for this violation.
Drug/Alcohol violations
Harassment
Reserves commuting during reserve availability period even if self-assigned a trip. Management has terminated for this reason several times.
Social media violations Including “friending” passengers on FB from information gained from the IMD
Commuter Violations-1. Flight Attendant released from DHD and used D8Y home; 2. Flight Attendant used D8Y when they picked up out of base; 3. Flight Attendant used D8Y to/from incorrect cities; and 4. Flight Attendant used D8Y for pleasure travel.
Lost IMD or other required items
Failing to complete CBT—even if Flight Attendant just forgets to hit the close out x at the top to switch it from in process to complete.

Recent and Upcoming Arbitration/Mediation

Arbitration	Thursday, January 30	Disciplinary Grievance
Mediation	Tuesday, March 3	Contractual Grievance
Arbitration	Tuesday, March 31 (postponed)	Disciplinary Grievance

Recent Settled Grievances

Grievance No.: 36-99-2-5-16- Non-Negotiated Compensation. This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement Section 21 [Compensation] and Section 32 [Attendance Policy], past practice and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and the Railway Labor Act when it awarded, without prior consistent notice, policy and application, $5 gift cards to all Anchorage based Flight Attendants for meeting the daily attendance goal.

Settlement: The Company will issue one $5.00 (five dollar) Starbucks gift card to Flight Attendants who were employed by Alaska Airlines as Flight Attendants as of 12/31/15, except for those based in ANC as of that date. Management agrees not to issue non-negotiated compensation related to the contractual attendance policy. This is not intended as an agreement that non-negotiated compensation is or is not permissible in other circumstances.

Note: The settlement will be distributed when management can obtain the correct information regarding which FAs were based outside of ANC at that point in time.

Grievances Recently Granted by Management

Grievance No.: 36-99-2-161-19- Violation of §12.E Withholding Trips from Open Time. This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §12.E [Exchange of Sequences: Open Time], past practice and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when its Jeppesen Crew Access (JCA) failed to immediately place all uncovered sequences or portions of sequences including but not limited to sick calls, Management Drop(s), Personal Drop(s), leaves of absence, jury duty, bereavement leave.

Management’s Response: On September 24^th, during a scheduled JCTE release, a bug was unknowingly, and regrettably, introduced to JCTE that caused long delays (up to 10 minutes at times) in trips showing up in Open Time if a scheduler made a change to the sequence. Although the company did not intentionally delay these trips from showing up in Open Time immediately, the bug in the system did cause a delay. For this reason, this grievance is sustained. This issue was resolved with the November 8^th JCTE release.

Grievance No.: 36-99-2-20-20-Violation of §25.C.1 Failure to Include ASHSC in Safety Meeting. This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §25.C.1 [Air Safety Health and Security: Safety Meetings], past practice and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when on or about January 13, 2020, it failed to include the Air Safety, Health and Security Committee (ASHSC) in a reactive safety risk assessment (SRA) meeting regarding unaccompanied minors who are sent to the wrong destinations.

Management’s response: After investigation, I agree with you that we did not appropriately include the ASHSC in the SRA meeting regarding unaccompanied minors who are sent to the wrong destinations. Going forward, the ASHSC will be included in all inflight safety meetings that the Cabin Safety Manager is invited to attend. As such, this grievance is sustained.

Grievance No.: 36-99-2-27-20-Violation of §12.F.3 Threshold Sequence Number Determination for Seattle Domicile February 2020. This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §12.F.3 [Exchange of Sequences: Threshold Sequence Number Determination], past practice and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when on or about January 16, 2020, it was discovered Crew Planning did not review and increase the Threshold Sequence Number (TSN) for the Seattle domicile from 12 to 13 for February 2020.

Management’s response: After investigation, I agree with you that we did not appropriately increase the TSN for the Seattle domicile from 12 to 13 for February 2020, prior to Open Time commencing on January 16, 2020. For this reason, this grievance is sustained and the Director of Crew Planning and the Director of Crew Scheduling commit to working together to develop a documented process to ensure this does not happen again in the future.

Grievance No.: 36-99-2-30-20-Violation of §30.C.1 Training Pay. This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §30.C.1 [Training: Training Pay/Recurrent Training], past practice, and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when its 2020 Recurrent Training (RT) home study exceeded five (5) hours; per the agreed upon computer based training (CBT) run time test process, the run time was calculated to be six hours and twenty six minutes (6:26).

Management’s response: After investigation, I have found the above referenced information to be true and therefore the grievance is sustained. Our agreed remedy is that each Flight Attendant that completes the 2020 Recurrent Training (RT) home study will receive a flat pay out of $125.00 versus the $75.00 flat pay out referenced in Collective Bargaining Agreement §30.C.1.

Grievance No.: 36-99-2-37-20-Violation of §30.A.2 Training Hours. This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §30.A.2 [Training: Hours], past practice, and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when on or about January 24, 2020, Flight Attendants attending Recurrent Training (RT) in SEA were released at approximately 5:08pm, eight (8) minutes past the contractual release time of 5:00pm.

Management’s response: After investigation, I have found that on the date referenced above, that the class did in fact release at 5:08pm. This class ran late due to the addition of the flashlight exercise at the end of the day. For this reason, the grievance is sustained. The agreed upon remedy is 1 TFP for all Flight Attendants who attended this class.

Grievance No.: 36-99-2-125-20-Violation of §30.A.2 Training Hours. This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §30.A.2 [Training: Hours], past practice, and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when on or about February 14, 2020, Flight Attendants attending Recurrent Training (RT) in ANC were released at approximately 5:28pm, twenty-eight (28) minutes past the contractual release time of 5:00pm.

Management’s response: After investigation, I have found that on the date referenced above, that the class did in fact release at 5:28pm. The R2 training door was not airworthy and had to be re-built late the night before, pushing hands-on and drill evaluations to the second day. For this reason, the grievance is sustained. The agreed upon remedy is 6 TFP for all Flight Attendants who attended this class.

Grievances Recently Filed and Awaiting Response from Management

None

More Information

For more information, including the status of previously filed grievances, please visit the Grievance Committee Activity Page.

Questions?

Please contact your Local Grievance Committee if you have any questions about the Grievance Committee update.

AFA Update – March 6, 2020

March 6, 2020 12:00

In This Edition

COVID-19 Continuing Developments
Negotiating Committee Interviews – Additional Opportunity
Never Refuse a Drug or Alcohol Test
MEC Meets with FAA to Discuss Recurrent Training

COVID-19 Continuing Developments

Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC)

The AFA Alaska Master Executive Council (MEC) and Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC), in conjunction with our AFA counterparts at Horizon Air and AFA International, continue to closely monitor the situation in regard to the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). A meeting was conducted between AFA Alaska and Horizon leaders on Wednesday to have further discussion about AFA’s requests to improve Flight Attendant protections. This meeting will be followed up by an additional meeting between all Alaska and Horizon labor leaders and management from across Alaska Air Group (AAG) to further discussions about the impact of the virus and the steps that need to be taken to protect Flight Attendants, other employees, and passengers.

AFA Alaska released a communication earlier this week with more detailed information about the requests that we have made of management to improve protections for all of us on the job. In addition to this communication, you can find the most up-to-date, pertinent information about COVID-19 and its impact on Flight Attendants on the Coronavirus Outbreak page of the AFA International website. The page contains the latest news on the outbreak, resources for Flight Attendants to guard against the spread of infection, and links to additional governmental resources such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and CDC.

Negotiating Committee Interviews – Additional Opportunity

Master Executive Council (MEC)

[Note: The MEC has become aware of chatter elsewhere on social media that we’re discriminating against junior and/or Legacy Virgin America (L-VX) FAs. This is due to the reposted opening for the Negotiating Committee that is soliciting for 25+ years occupational seniority and/or prior negotiations experience. This is definitely a misunderstanding about intent. The MEC has already received approximately 20 applications from both Legacy Alaska (L-AS) and L-VX FAs. We have full intention of interviewing all of them for the NC.

With a few exceptions, nearly all applicants have less than 15 years of occupational seniority and no formal negotiations experience. It is the MEC’s desire to have a representative NC, so we are looking to fill in the applicant pool with more senior FAs so that we have a representative sampling of the Membership. Additionally, Section VI.A.1 of the AFA Constitution & Bylaws specifically states “The Negotiating Committee selected should include a member, or members, who have had previous experience, insofar as is practicable.”

It is regrettable that some FAs have misconstrued the call for additional applicants with specific qualifications to mean the NC will be exclusively comprised of FAs with 25+ years of seniority and therefore all L-VX will be locked out of representation on the NC. This is absolutely not true.With only three members on the NC (plus the MEC president as chair), the MEC must consider each appointment very carefully. There are no guarantees who will ultimately be appointed because it will depend on each applicant’s qualifications and interview(s), but the MEC has a strong desire to choose a NC that is representative of all members and all constituencies as much as possible (e.g. seniorities, domiciles, legacy carriers, etc.). ^jtp 03/06/2020 @ 17:50 PT ]

The Master Executive Council (MEC) is currently in the process of scheduling interviews for prospective Negotiating Committee candidates who submitted expression of interest forms prior to the March 3 deadline. In order to provide an additional opportunity, the MEC has decided to re-open the expression of interest process for Negotiating Committee Members. Additional interviews will be conducted at the April Regular MEC Meeting. The MEC is specifically seeking candidates with 25 years or more of Flight Attendant seniority and/or those with previous negotiating experience. Other candidates will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

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

Expressing Interest and Interview Scheduling

The MEC will hold interviews during the April Regular MEC meeting from April 7-8, 2020. Bid around the interview date or plan to arrange your schedule accordingly to accommodate.

Questions?

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

Never Refuse a Drug or Alcohol Test

Grievance Committee

As Flight Attendants, we are all aware that we are subject to random drug and alcohol testing. This requirement is contained in 49 CFR part 40 and falls under the jurisdiction of the Department of Transportation. At Alaska Airlines, the Drug Abatement department, which is part of the Safety Division, is responsible for administering the testing program and ensuring that the company remains compliant with all applicable rules and regulations pertaining to drug and alcohol testing.

At the end of a duty period, many of us eagerly await block in and the opening of the boarding door to see whether or not a drug/alcohol tester is waiting for us. The Drug Abatement department has told AFA that their expectation of the drug testers is that they will be present in the jet bridge when the door is opened. Unfortunately, this does not always happen for a variety of reasons.

In order to prevent any misunderstanding and protect yourself, it is critically important that you never refuse a request to be tested. Failing to cooperate with any part of the testing process is also considered a refusal to test. Alaska Airlines drug and alcohol policy states that refusing to take a test is considered to be the same as failing a test.

Reporting any Drug or Alcohol Testing Irregularities to AFA

If you are notified of a drug or alcohol test and experience any irregularities with the process, fully cooperate with the tester but make a mental note of anything unusual. Irregularities could include:

The tester is not present in the jet bridge prior to aircraft block in
The test is conducted in a public restroom that is not closed off to public access

* Please note that even though these items could be considered irregularities, they are not prohibited under DOT regulations. Do not refuse a test based on a suspected irregularity.

Once the test is complete, please report any suspected irregularities to AFA as soon as possible. These reports should be filed as a ticket through the AFA Alaska Online Support Center. Be sure to include the date and time of the test, the name of the tester (if known), the flight number you worked immediately prior to the test, and any details of the irregularity. An AFA representative will follow up with you based your report.

Questions?

If you have questions about drug and alcohol testing or possible test irregularities, please contact your Local Grievance Committee.

MEC Meets with FAA to Discuss Recurrent Training

Master Executive Council (MEC)

On Wednesday, February 26, members of the Master Executive Council (MEC), including many Local Executive Council (LEC) Presidents, met with representatives from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)’s Cascadia Certificate Management Officer (CMO) as well as various members of Alaska Airlines inflight, flight operations, and labor relations management. During the meeting, the MEC was able to engage in direct dialog with both FAA and management representatives in an attempt to gain clarity surrounding the considerable changes made to the recurrent training (RT) program over the past several months. The MEC plans to have additional discussion about RT at next week’s Regular MEC Meeting and will provide another update within the next several weeks.

Negotiations News Archives

AFA Alaska Negotiations Update – December 17, 2020

In This Edition

Updated Contract Negotiations Timeline

Negotiations Delayed Until September 1, 2021

Overview of the Railway Labor Act

Historical Background

Who is Covered?

Basic Purposes

“Minor” vs. Major” Disputes

Next Up

AFA Alaska Negotiations Update – October 24, 2020

In This Edition

Recap

Negotiations Delayed Until 2021

Final Full Pay Scale Increase of 2.5% Effective December 17, 2020

Contract and Negotiations Education

Next Up

A Message About Current Events

Nearly constant bombardment of disturbing news lately

Impact of recent events on our Black sisters and brothers

Juneteenth and Pride Month

Discrimination undermines our country

Planning for the Future

Future staffing discussed by management

Disclaimer

Q4 2020 staffing

Summer 2021 staffing

Potential furlough mitigations

“Worst-case” assessment

Section 18 Reduction in Force

Contract negotiations

In This Edition

Contacting AFA Representatives For Support

Pre-Cancellations (JCBA Section 10.S)

Questions?

REMINDER: Negotiating Committee Interviews – Additional Opportunity

Selection of Committee Members

Committee Member Duties & Responsibilities

Flight Pay Loss Reimbursement

Expressing Interest and Interview Scheduling

Questions?

Grievance Committee Update

Subject of Most Recent Discipline

Recent and Upcoming Arbitration/Mediation

Recent Settled Grievances

Grievances Recently Granted by Management

Grievances Recently Filed and Awaiting Response from Management

More Information

Questions?

In This Edition

COVID-19 Continuing Developments

Negotiating Committee Interviews – Additional Opportunity

Selection of Committee Members

Committee Member Duties & Responsibilities

Flight Pay Loss Reimbursement

Expressing Interest and Interview Scheduling

Questions?

Never Refuse a Drug or Alcohol Test

Reporting any Drug or Alcohol Testing Irregularities to AFA

Questions?

MEC Meets with FAA to Discuss Recurrent Training

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