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AFA Alaska-Virgin America Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) Prepares to Meet with Management This Week

This week will mark the start of merger negotiations with management. The Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) will attend AFA negotiations training in Seattle at the beginning of the week. The JNC is comprised of three Flight Attendants appointed by the MEC: two Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants, Jennifer Wise MacColl and Lindsey Steele, and one Virgin America Flight Attendant, Jamie Cogen. MEC President Jeffrey Peterson is chairperson of the committee and AFA Senior Staff Negotiator Paula Mastrangelo rounds out the committee as the professional negotiator. After training and preparation early in the week, the first meeting with management will occur on Wednesday and Thursday.

This initial session will be confined to discussing transition issues necessary to combine Flight Attendants at each carrier into one employee group and covered by a single collective bargaining agreement. The occasion will also provide an opportunity to get further details from management on merger plans and updated timelines and to reaffirm AFA’s position that we are looking for targeted improvements. However, discussing specific improvements will not be a subject for this first meeting and will be addressed later.

Keep in mind that merger negotiations are a different process than regular negotiations. These talks are not under the jurisdiction of the National Mediation Board or Section 6 of the Railway Labor Act, and neither side believes that the entire contract is open for discussion. Discussions will focus on a short list of items, and all the provisions in our Contract (pay raises, etc) will continue in force.

What are some of the transition issues necessary to merge the two Flight Attendant groups?

  • How VX FAs will transition to the uniform and how uniform points will translate.
  • How sick leave will be converted.
  • How transition (aircraft differences) training will be accomplished for AS and VX FAs.
  • Attendance policy – how points will be handled for past occurrences for VX FAs.
  • Ensure that VX FAs get credit for “time served” on probation and are not subject to another probationary period on the Alaska side.
  • Confirm that the VX FAs will retain their vacation slots.
  • How 401(k) plans will be transitioned.
  • …and more.

There are many items that must be carefully considered so VX and AS Flight Attendants will be on equal footing in relation to the many provisions in the Alaska contract. The Joint Negotiating Committee and management will work to define the scope of transition issues that must be addressed. Again, the parties will take up this task before discussing improvements. We know you will be very interested in knowing more about AFA’s bargaining objectives and potential “improvements,” but it is too early in the process to discuss those in a meaningful way. Once the JNC completes talks this week and defines the strategy going forward, we will provide you with another update.

In Solidarity,

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

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

[AS] Open Time Negotiations Update – June 1, 2017

For release to pre-merger AS councils only

Open Time Tentative Agreement reached

Your Negotiating Committee recently reached an agreement in concept with Alaska Airlines management regarding a new Open Time system. As a reminder, the Master Executive Council (MEC) ended the Open Time Trial last July (see “Open Time Trial Cancellation” for additional background). The MEC’s decision was based on overwhelming membership feedback from the Open Time satisfaction surveys and pursuant to Collective Bargaining Agreement §12.F.9 [Exchange of Sequences: Open Time Trial]. The parties have been negotiating a potential successor Open Time system ever since AFA provided notice to management of the cancellation last summer.

The Negotiating Committee presented a draft full text Open Time Tentative Agreement (TA) for the MEC’s consideration two weeks ago. The MEC was impressed with many elements of the proposed new Open Time system, which is in many ways a fusion of the 2012-2015 “Back to Book” Open Time system and the current system. Some highlights of the proposed Open Time system include incorporating the beloved “day for day or greater” trading of Back to Book with the ability to drop into Open Time much like the current system.

The MEC unanimously voted against releasing the Open Time TA due to a lack of implementation guarantees

Despite the Negotiating Committee’s best efforts, management would not agree to implementation guarantees. The MEC and the Negotiating Committee held a special conference call meeting last week to discuss our concerns with a lack of such guarantees. After much consideration, the MEC has unanimously voted against releasing the Open Time TA for membership ratification.

The MEC has heard loud and clear that you expect meaningful and specific implementation guarantees. Therefore, the MEC is sending the Negotiating Committee back to the table to achieve implementation guarantees, and management has been informed of our expectations. Management acknowledged receipt and is planning to meet with Jeppesen in the coming week or so to discuss options.

What is “Back to Book”?

The “Back to Book” Open Time system is the trading system outlined in the 2006-2010 Flight Attendant Agreement as modified by the 2011 AFA Arbitration Award No. 6-99-2-18-11 “Withholding Open Time.” This modified trading system was in place 2012-2015. The contractual language associated with this system is found in CBA §12.F [Exchange of Sequences – Back to Book: Open Time Trading]. The “Back to Book” Section 12 Exchange of Sequences follows the regular Section 12 and precedes Section 13 Uniforms in your contract. The arbitration award follows LOA 6 Contract Implementation Schedule and precedes the index.

Where is “Back to Book”?

Flight Attendants have been inquiring where is the “Back to Book” Open Time system. Management has been citing “IT limitations” as the reason for why reverting “Back to Book” is still delayed: “If reverting, the timeline for rolling back will be dictated by IT limitations” (§12.F.9.a [Exchange of Sequences: Open Time Trial]). Management says that Jeppesen has not had the resources to program “Back to Book” due to all available resources being allocated to implementation of the new crew tracking and trip trading system. However, the next scheduled update to the trading system places Alaska onto the “main branch” of the program, which is more or less the stock version.

Therefore, it seems obvious to AFA that IT limitations can no longer be used as an excuse for why “Back to Book” is delayed. We will be filing a contractual grievance disputing the “Back to Book” implementation delay in the coming days.

AFA will provide an update once management formally responds to the grievance and has an opportunity to meet with Jeppesen to consider implementation guarantees. After all the disappointments with extremely delayed implementation timelines and a disastrously executed transition to the new trip trading system, it’s time to make a stand!

In Solidarity,

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

Your Negotiating Committee – MEC President Jeffrey Peterson, Kristy Stratton, Lisa Pinkston, Christina Frees and AFA Senior Staff Attorney Kimberley Chaput

Open Time Negotiations Update – March 3, 2017

Open Time negotiations this week

The AFA Negotiating Committee (NC) and Alaska Airlines management met again February 28-March 1, 2017, in Portland to negotiate a new Open Time system. As you may recall, our current open time system was implemented on a trial basis. AFA chose to end the trial, which put us into negotiations for a new system. Our contract states that we will revert “Back to Book,” which was the Open Time system in effect under the previous contract. For information, see “Back to Book” following the signature block below.

Meanwhile, the parties will negotiate a new system. However, this cannot be accomplished until some computer programming is done, which may take several months. The current system remains in effect until then.

We are very close to reaching a tentative agreement

The NC is pleased to report that we are very close to reaching a tentative agreement (TA) with management. Both sides have worked hard to create an Open Time system that is easier to understand than the current one, gives Flight Attendants more schedule flexibility and does not negatively impact the operation. The parties will meet again on April 18th in Seattle, and we hope to be able to announce a TA after that session.

Master Executive Council approval, membership ratification and roadshows

If everything goes according to plan, the NC will present the Open Time TA to the Master Executive Council (MEC) at the scheduled meeting April 25-26. The Local Executive Council (LEC) presidents will vote whether or not to accept the TA for membership ratification. If the MEC approves the TA for membership ratification, all members in good standing (dues current) will have the right to vote on it. Assuming the TA is approved by the MEC for a membership vote, the NC is anticipating roadshows sometime during the month of May.

The Negotiating Committee thanks you for your support and patience, and we hope to see you at a roadshow somewhere around the system in May!

In Solidarity,

Your Negotiating Committee – MEC President Jeffrey Peterson, Kristy Stratton, Lisa Pinkston, Christina Frees and AFA Senior Staff Attorney Kimberley Chaput

 

Back to Book

AFA has received several requests from our members to refresh the group on the “Back to Book” provisions. We are definitely intending to put together a membership release dedicated to that topic as soon as we get a chance. As you can imagine, the Jeppesen Crew Access (JCA) cutover and the subsequent fallout has kept AFA busier than usual. If you would like to familiarize yourself with “Back to Book,” refer to Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) §12 Exchange of Sequences: Back to Book, which follows the regular CBA §12 of your contract; most of the related provisions are in CBA (BTB) §12.F [Trades with Open Time]. See also AFA Grievance No. 36-99-02-18-11 “Withholding Open Time Award” at the back of the contract immediately following LOA 6 [Contract Implementation Schedule].

Open Time Negotiations Session 2 Update – December 7-8, 2016

The AFA Negotiating Committee and Alaska Airlines management met for the second time to negotiate a new Open Time system, with the session taking place in Seattle this past Wednesday and Thursday.

Background

As you may recall, our current Open Time system was implemented on a trial basis. AFA chose to end the trial, which put us into negotiations for a new system. Our contract states that our old system (the one in effect under the previous contract) will be reinstated while we negotiate a new system; however, this cannot be accomplished until some computer programming is done, which will take several months. Until then, the current system remains in effect.

Overview

Negotiating an open time system is always challenging. AFA wants to maximize Flight Attendants’ scheduling flexibility—the ability to trade trips, to get certain days off or even to straight drop trips. Management believes that every flexibility gain for us increases “liability” for the Company by negatively impacting the staffing and therefore the overall operation, which ultimately leads to higher costs. AFA recognizes that the entire workgroup cannot work only when we choose. In turn management understands, at least to some extent, that Flight Attendant morale is important and ultimately benefits the Company.

Details

With those competing interests in mind, the parties engaged in very spirited discussions. Both sides are supportive of the ability to do multiple trades (e.g., trade a 4-day for two 2-days), which we know is very important to Flight Attendants. The parties did not reach actual agreement on any specific provisions, but we did emerge with what we hope will be a framework for a new system. AFA’s last proposal of the session will require management to do some data crunching. If management believes our proposal will create too much liability in the form of uncovered trips, then AFA will need to know how management reached that conclusion. We want facts and numbers.

Next session

Based on the parties’ limited availability, our next session is scheduled for late February. Our plan is to see management’s data in advance of the session so that we can ask any questions and get clarifying information in the interim. The Negotiating Committee expects the session to start off with management passing its next proposal.

“Back to book”

AFA has asked for updates from management with respect to programming the old (“back to book” Open Time system). Although we recognize it may take some time, the process needs to begin. We will pass along management’s response when we receive it.

Thanks as always for your support. If you have comments or other feedback, you may email the Negotiating Committee at negotiations@afaalaska.org or else contact your Local Executive Council (LEC) president.

In Solidarity,

Your Negotiating Committee – MEC President Jeffrey Peterson, Kristy Stratton, Lisa Pinkston, Christina Frees and AFA Senior Staff Attorney Kimberley Chaput

Open Time Negotiations Begin

The AFA Negotiating Committee met with management November 14-17 this week in Portland to negotiate a new Open Time system. Representing Alaska Airlines management: Vice President of Inflight Services Andy Schneider, Managing Director of Labor Relations Elizabeth Ryan, Director of Inflight Crew Scheduling Kieran Whitney, Manager of Inflight Operations Performance Mike Link and Manager of Financial Planning & Analysis Brittany Schaub. Vice President of Labor Relations Greg Mays also made a guest appearance on Monday to kick off the week.

Under §12.F.9 [Exchange of Sequences: Open Time Trial] of our contract, AFA officially cancelled the Open Time trial in July. The contract provides that once the trial is cancelled, we will go “back to book”. “Back to book” means reverting to the Open Time system used in the 2006-2010 agreement and related 2010-2012 extension as modified by the “Withholding Open Time” arbitration award. You will find the language associated with “back to book” (BTB) Open Time in BTB §12.F [Exchange of Sequences Back to Book: Open Time Trading] of your contract. A copy of the “Withholding Open Time” arbitration award is also at the back of the contract.

Management is currently working on programming the old BTB OT system in the new Crew Exchange. As soon as programming is completed, we will go back to book. This is meant as a placeholder while the parties negotiate a new Open Time system.

The difficulty in negotiating any Open Time system is that management and Flight Attendants have interests that can be challenging to harmonize. From our survey and from our own experience, we know that Flight Attendants want more flexibility—whether to fly less or more, to get certain days off, or to improve the trips on their lines. Management wants to be able to run the operation without increasing its liability for uncovered flying, and to minimize premium pay, junior assignment and the potential for flight cancellations.

The week started out very collaboratively with both parties spending many hours crafting several different conceptual proposals. However, the Negotiating Committee became disheartened on Wednesday after management proposed changes to Open Time that in our opinion would be significantly worse for Flight Attendants than either the current system or the old system. There is no value in negotiating an Open Time agreement that would be worse than “back to book,” since “back to book” will apply if no new agreement is reached.

Consequently, we left the session disappointed.

The parties agreed to meet again on December 7-8 in Seattle. In the meantime, the Negotiating Committee will continue working on possible solutions. We welcome your thoughts and feedback at negotiations@afaalaska.org.

In Solidarity,

Your Negotiating Committee – MEC President Jeffrey Peterson, Kristy Stratton, Lisa Pinkston, Christina Frees and AFA Senior Staff Attorney Kimberley Chaput

We Will Never Forget – September 11, 2001

AFA Never Forget Website United Flight 175 Robert J. FangmanAmy N. JarretAmy R. KingKathryn LaBorieAlfred G. MarchandMichael C. TarrouAlicia N. TitusCaptain: Victor SaraciniFirst Officer: Michael HorrocksCustomer Service Representatives: Marianne MacFarlane and Jesus Sanchez United Flight 93 Lorraine G. BaySandra BradshawWanda A. GreenCeeCee LylesDeborah WelshCaptain: Jason DahlFirst Officer: Leroy Homer American Flight 11 Barbara AresteguiJeffrey CollmanSara […]

Vacation Survey Now Open

This message is for both pre-merger Alaska and Hawaiian Flight Attendants Your Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) is working diligently to understand and improve the vacation benefits for our Flight Attendants at Alaska and Hawaiian. Your input is essential in ensuring that the vacation provisions we adopt reflect your needs and preferences. To gather your perspectives, […]

SEA Domicile Negotiations – September 2025

This message is for pre-merger Hawaiian Flight Attendants Negotiations Update The SEA Domicile Negotiating Committee met this week for three days of collective bargaining with management.  The SEA NC met with management on September 3 to September 5 in Honolulu. At the negotiating table for this session were: Representing AFA and our Flight Attendants   […]

Pre-Merger Alaska MEC Committee Interviews—October 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—October 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 planning for another group of committees to merge on November 1. As part of the committee merging process, our […]

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