Negotiations News Archives

Dear Flight Attendants,

 

 

Under the direction of federal mediator Victoria Gray, your AFA Negotiating Committee and Transportation Economist Dan Akins return to the National Mediation Board (NMB) in Washington, DC, October 28-30 for another round of talks with Alaska Airlines management. It is extremely fortunate that the government shutdown was resolved just in time to bring back Mediator Gray from mandatory furlough!

 

The remaining seven sections of our Contract to be negotiated are Scope, Definitions, Compensation, Expenses, Insurance, Profit Sharing/Retirement and Duration. Before the end of our last mediation session in September, the Negotiating Committee decided that passing multiple economic proposals back and forth with management would simply be a waste of time. That is because we are already aware of the Membership’s expectations in terms of the overall economics.

 

Therefore we thoughtfully prepared a comprehensive compensation and benefits proposal that cut to the chase. After explaining to management our motive for doing so—Flight Attendants want a deal yesterday and they’re tired of waiting—we presented the package so that they would have something significant to work on during the six week break between sessions. The idea behind this was to give the management negotiating team, the Alaska Air Group (AAG) executive leadership and the AAG Board of Directors plenty of time to consider our respective positions.

 

It seems in every Company communication and meeting recently we hear from management that the major challenge coming our way is competition from other airlines moving into our territory. In this morning’s communication from CEO Brad Tilden “Alaska’s Q3 Financial Results” Brad was quoted as resonating with a colleague who said, “The best defense (to competition) is … performance.” We couldn’t agree more! What better way to defend against the competition than to deploy an army of proud Flight Attendants who will strengthen the relationship with our loyal customers and win over new ones into our fold?

 

After all, the Flight Attendants are the front line ambassadors of the “Alaska Airlines product” who by far have the most time spent with our customers compared to any other workgroup in the Company. As such we are the “tip of the spear” in any war with our competitors. Management can ensure this army feels valued and proud by recognizing Flight Attendants with a contract which reflects our contributions to the current and future success of Alaska Airlines!

 

During this past month the flood of emails to management and your passionate attendance at recent Company meetings have proved that Flight Attendants are now more than ever united and serious about achieving a contract we deserve. We expect management to show up in DC next week having carefully considered our most recent comprehensive proposal, to acknowledge our resolve, and to be prepared and focused to “get ‘er done.” This mediation session should significantly reveal the direction negotiations are heading. (No pressure, management!)

 

Keep united and stay tuned for more developments next week!

 

 

In solidarity,

 

 

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

“Five Bases, One Voice”

negotiations@alaskamec.org

Dear Flight Attendants,

 

 

Your AFA Negotiating Committee recently tentatively agreed (TA’d) Section 16 Sick Leave/On the Job Injury. Because the information contained in management’s latest “Grab & Go” has caused so much confusion and discussion, we will share with you a detailed explanation of the newly agreed graduated accruals and sick leave banks concepts.

 

Going forward there will be two sick leave banks: a Primary Sick Leave Bank (PSLB) for “everyday” use and a Secondary Sick Leave Bank (SSLB) for illness or injury greater than fourteen (14) days. The SSLB may also be utilized for for an intermittent Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) absence of shorter duration if the PSLB is exhausted. Flight Attendants will continue to accrual sick leave at a base rate of 1 TFP for every 10 TFP flown or credited between the the two banks. Flight Attendant will accrue sick leave each bid month based on a rolling twelve (12) bid month look-back as follows:

 

Accrual Rate Threshold (based on rolling 12 bid month ‘look-back’) politically	Primary Sick Leave Bank (PSLB)	Secondary Sick Leave Bank (SSLB)
Worked TFP during rolling 12 month bid look-back ≥ 480 TFP [greater than or equal to 480]	1.0 TFP accrued for every 15.0 TFP of Worked TFP and paid Vacation/PTO in current bid month	0.5 TFP accrued for every 15.0 TFP of Worked TFP and paid Vacation/PTO in current bid month
Worked TFP during rolling 12 month bid look-back between 240 TFP and 480 TFP	0.5 TFP accrued for every 15.0 TFP of Worked TFP and (credited) Vacation/PTO in current bid month	.25 TFP accrued for every 15.0 TFP of Worked TFP and (credited)Vacation/PTO in current bid month
Worked TFP during rolling 12 month bid look-back ≤ 240 TFP [less than or equal to 240]	No accrual in current bid month	No accrual in current bid month

 

Important Concepts to Understand:

 

Worked TFP = ALL credited TFP (including premiums, training etc), but excluding Sick Leave and Vacation.

 

12-Month Look-Back = The last 12 months of full employment. Any month in which a Flight Attendant coordinates sick leave with short/long term disability or worker’s compensation pay will not count toward the threshold calculation. A full twelve (12) bid month look back will extend into additional months until twelve (12) full bid months are included in the determination of the threshold. This way, FAs are not penalized for months in which they are on a leave and coordinating with sick leave. This “rolling calendar” will move with each bid month and sick leave for each bid month will accrue based on the calculation within that rolling calendar.

 

1.333 Daily Credit for Leaves Not Using Sick Leave = FAs will receive an unpaid credit of 1.333 TFP for each day on which they are on an unpaid personal, military, extended, medical, maternity, FMLA, worker’s compensation or parental leaves of absence or on a furlough (including voluntary furlough) when they are not coordinating w/ sick leave. This credit will count towards the “240/480” thresholds.

 

Increased total bank(s) accrual: From 1443 to 1700 TFP.

 

Accrual rate: Still 1:10 in total between the two banks.

 

Two Sick Leave Banks: Sick leave bank maximum accrual was increased from 1443 to a total of 1700 between the two banks. In the Primary Sick Leave Bank (PSLB) you may accrue up to 1000 TFP. In the Secondary Sick Leave Bank (SSLB) you may accrue up to 700 TFP. The rate of accrual is still 1 TFP for 10 TFP flown or credited broken into two separate banks for which the PSLB will receive 1 TFP for 15 flown or credited and the SSLB 1 for 30 (0.5 for 15).

 

Usage of the SSLB will be for approved leaves of absence (LOAs) of fourteen (14) days or greater including Medical LOA, Maternity LOA, Worker’s Comp and FMLA. A Flight Attendant who is on an approved intermittent FMLA may access the Secondary bank after their Primary bank is exhausted. Both the Primary and Secondary banks may be coordinated with Short Term Disability and Workers’ Compensation.

 

We negotiated the ability to supplement pay during illness/injury by using sick leave from between 70 – 90 TFP per month to 70 – 120 TFP per month at the Flight Attendant’s discretion.

 

Using Sick Leave to Bridge to Long Term Disability: An important concern for Flight Attendants is the ability to “bridge” to Long Term Disability (LTD) while supplementing with sick leave. Flight Attendants do this in order to maintain health insurance for two years at the active rate while on LTD. Currently Flight Attendants must draw 11.3 TFP sick leave per month in order to remain active for benefits purposes during the 180 day waiting period for LTD. That means a Flight Attendant must have 67.8 TFP in her/his bank today in order to qualify for this benefit.

 

Under the TA a Flight Attendant will be required to draw less: 0.3 TFP per day (9 TFP in a 30-day bid month or 9.3 TFP in a 31-day bid month). We also secured a commitment from management that Flight Attendants will be able to “stretch” sick leave through the 180 day period in order to secure medical insurance coverage while on LTD—even if the Flight Attendant has less than 54 TFP (180 days x 0.3 TFP per day = 54 TFP) in her bank(s).

 

“Grandfather Clause” for Purchase of Retiree Healthcare Using Sick Leave Ages 62-65: Many Flight Attendants expressed their concern over deleting a provision that allowed the continuation of medical health insurance upon separation for Flight Attendants aged 62-65 using sick leave at 20 TFP per month. The Negotiating Committee secured a letter of agreement extending the provision (a temporary “grandfather clause”). This provision will expire either on the effective date of any new agreement or the end of the current agreement’s amendable period, whichever is earlier.

 

Sick Leave Cash-Out upon Retirement: The Negotiating Committee addressed the issue of large sick leave balances upon retirement.

 

Qualifications: 1) Flight Attendant must retire directly from Alaska Airlines; 2) Minimum age of 55 years; 3) Total of 10 years vesting in 401(k) or at least 20 years total Company seniority.

 

Cash-Out: Lump sum payout of 25% of total TFP in both sick leave accounts, paid at wage rate effective at retirement. For example if you accrued 1700 hundred hours of sick leave, 25% of that total amount is equal to 425 TFP, paid at $46.48 (top rate today) would be equal to a cash amount of $19,754.00.

 

Your Negotiating Committee spent countless hours reviewing, discussing and enhancing the provisions of Section 16. We were successful in achieving:

• A 1:10 accrual, split between two banks,
• An additional 25% cash out option for accrued sick leave at retirement,
• A full twelve (12) month look back for the 480 Worked TFP accruals,
• An increase from 1443 TFP to 1700 TFP maximum sick leave between banks, and
• A letter of agreement continuing the ability to purchase “retiree healthcare” for the employee and her/his dependents, if appropriate, using 20 TFP sick leave per month from ages 62-65 for the duration of the Agreement.

Once we present a TA to the membership for ratification, Flight Attendants should read over Section 16 Sick Leave/On the Job Injury and understand the complete depth of the accruals, changes, and improvements in the context of the overall agreement.

In solidarity,

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

“Five Bases, One Voice”

alaskamec.org

Dear Flight Attendants,

 

 

There has been an incredible amount of chatter about Section 14 Vacations and changes to the annual 480 TFP minimum. As a result, your Negotiating Committee feels compelled to address the chatter. Under an agreement we had with management – through the mediator – detailed information like this was not supposed to be communicated until we had a full tentative agreement (TA). At that point you would have been able to consider all provisions, including improved pay, etc., together in one package. Unfortunately, details were spelled out in the latest edition of management’s Grab & Go that left many of you wondering…”What the heck is this?!”

 

Since then, we have informed management and the mediator that AFA will no longer abide by the “communication blackout.” This cannot be a one-sided effort and it seems to us that after every session, this policy has caused big issues for us. So, NO MORE!

 

OK, on to explaining Vacation Section Changes:

 

There were several changes to the S14 Vacations. Please read through the entire communication as the new system is fairly complicated. Why is it so complex? Management is on a serious mission to reduce benefits to those who do not work “sufficiently” in their eyes to earn those benefits. The Negotiating Committee, in turn, had to protect the accruals of those who were not able to earn the benefit due to a leave of absence or other situation beyond their control. Thus the intricate provisions that had to be created.

 

While we are not in complete agreement with management’s philosophy because of the impact to our group’s scheduling flexibility, we did walk a little way down that road in an effort to beef up the economic package. The economics, of course, continue to be a work in progress. In the end, YOU will decide if the entire TA package is sufficient for ratification.

 

Now, we will to take this opportunity to share with you the tentatively agreed graduated accruals and seven (7) days of Longevity Paid Time Off (PTO) concept:

 

 

BASE VACATION ACCRUALS (no change except addition of longevity PTO):

Years of service	Days of Vacation
< 1 year	1.167 days per month employed
1 – 4	14 days
5 – 9	21 days
10 – 17	28 days
18 – 24	35 days
(new) 25+ years with 960 Worked TFP, excluding vacation and sick leave.	35 days plus additional 7 days Longevity PTO

 

Important Concepts to Understand:

 

Worked TFP = ALL credited TFP (including premiums, training, etc.), but excluding Sick Leave and Vacation.

 

Twelve (12) Month Look-Back = The last twelve (12) bid months of full paid activity. Any bid month in which a Flight Attendant coordinates sick leave with short/long term disability or worker’s compensation pay will not count toward the 480 TFP (or 240 TFP) threshold calculation. A full twelve (12) month look back will extend into additional months until twelve (12) full months are included in the determination of the threshold. That is, any bid month in which a Flight Attendant is an a leave of absence (LOA) and is coordinating sick leave will be skipped for the purposes of the 480 TFP. This way, FAs are not penalized for months in which they are on a medical or on the job injury (OJI) leave and coordinating with sick leave.

 

1.333 TFP Daily Credit on LOAs Not Using Sick Leave = FAs will receive an unpaid credit of 1.333 TFP for each day on which they are on an unpaid personal, military, extended, medical, maternity, FMLA, worker’s compensation or parental leaves of absence or on a furlough (including voluntary furlough) when they are not coordinating w/ sick leave. This credit will count towards the “480.” (This is the same application in the current contract for unpaid LOAs.)

 

Vacation Accrual Reduction 1/12 for Full Unpaid Bid Month: A Flight Attendant who does not have Worked TFP, vacation pay, or sick leave during a bid month will have her/his vacation entitlement reduced by 1/12. (Same application as today.)

 

Annual Worked TFP Impact:

Graduated Accrual for Worked TFP
0 – 239 TFP	No accrual/no pay of vacation days for subsequent year.
240 – 479 TFP	Accrue half of the vacation days above and vacation days are unpaid.
480+ TFP	Full accrual and pay for vacation days.

 

 

New Provision for those with 960+ TFP and at least 25 years seniority:

 

Longevity PTO: In addition to vacation accruals a Flight Attendant employed twenty five (25) years or longer who at her/his option has greater than or equal to 960 Worked TFP will qualify for an additional seven (7) days of longevity PTO. Although similar, PTO is not to be confused with vacation time. PTO is personal time off rewarded for productivity and working high time. 960 TFP equates to (not including vacation or sick leave credit) an average of 79.5 TFP monthly in addition to the six (6) TFP annual credit for recurrent training. Other required training TFP credit such as Flight Path or computer based training would apply to the formula.

 

Vacation and Longevity PTO shall be paid at four (4) TFP per day. The Longevity PTO will be bid with your vacation and awarded as split six (6). The maximum number of vacation/PTO periods in any month is increased from three (3) to four (4). Flight Attendants may continue to request early vacation/Longevity PTO pay.

 

Some Flight Attendants have asked why the vacation credit was not increased above four (4) TFP per day. This is particularly true in light of the Reserve guarantee based on five (5) TFP per day. (“Why should I get paid less on my vacation than a Reserve?”)

 

Here’s a little background. Our vacations are bid based on a full week (or seven days). True, one can split vacation blocks to less than seven days in “Vacation Open Time” but that is after the fact. Looking at vacation on the basis of a full week, a Flight Attendant is credited 28 TFP for seven days of vacation. In contrast, the Reserve guarantee based on a five day work week (due to 48/7 contractual legalities) is 25 TFP.

 

We also looked at other carriers and 4 TFP per day vacation credit (or 3.54 block-hours per day when comparing to all other carriers except Southwest) is a very competitive benefit. That is, 4 TFP per day is right there with the highest credit in the industry. The fact is our vacation accruals are also very competitive. Taking all this information under consideration, the Negotiating Committee made the determination to focus more of our bargaining in other areas related to compensation such as rigs, pay rates, 401(k) match, holidays, and other premiums.

 

Your Negotiating Committee spent countless hours reviewing, discussing and enhancing the provisions of Section 14. In summary, we were successful in negotiating:

• A longevity PTO provision of seven (7) days, and
• A full twelve (12) bid month look-back for the purpose of calculating the 240/480 Worked TFP thresholds so those on LOAs and coordinating sick leave are not “dinged” for doing so.

Some have asked the Negotiating Committee to “reopen” negotiations related to changes in the 480 TFP threshold (i.e. “Hard time” vs “soft time”). This is not likely to happen because the related sections have been TA’d. We can understand the confusion because several provisions have been changed after being TA’d so far. The difference is that the parties mutually agreed to reopen the TA’d sections.

Considering that making changes to minimum flying benefits was one of management’s primary objectives in these negotiations, we do not believe management will be inclined to do so this time. Your Negotiating Committee has done our best to minimize changes to the 480 TFP minimum. Just know that after months of negotiations and heavy consideration, we only agreed to the changes with the expectation that management “make up for it” in the compensation package. Consequently, Flight Attendants will need to consider the changes in Section 14 Vacations in the context of the entire TA once presented.

Thank you for your continued support! It really makes all the difference knowing that you are behind us at the table!

 

 

In solidarity,

 

 

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

“Five Bases, One Voice”

negotiations@alaskamec.org

Dear Flight Attendants,

 

It has come to our attention that Alaska Airlines Vice President of Inflight Services Andy Schneider and other members of management have been calling some Flight Attendants who have emailed regarding AFA contract negotiations. You cannot be retaliated against for putting forth your opinion and the calls to date have not implied that.

 

First of all please know that if you feel uncomfortable discussing negotiations, you have the absolute right to refuse to discuss that subject—even if you are speaking directly with Andy.

Secondly, if you do choose to discuss negotiations feel free to pass along that you expect management to do the right thing on the overall compensation and benefits package. You can tell them that your Negotiating Committee speaks for you. Do not engage in any conversation in which you are asked (and please do not volunteer!) to rank different contract provisions, e.g. “Which are more important? $X in compensation or rigs?” etc.

 

If management engages you in conversation via phone or email regarding specific negotiations objectives, it is imperative that you email negotiations@alaskamec.org with the details so that AFA can investigate.

 

Thanks for your support of the Negotiating Committee. Together we will fight for the contract we all deserve. If you have not already contacted management via email, we suggest that you add a disclaimer stating that you do not want feedback.

 

Remember: in all discussions with management, maintain a respectful tone and “My Negotiating Committee speaks for me!”

 

In solidarity,

 

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

 

“Five Bases, One Voice”

negotiations@alaskamec.org