In this edition:

• End of year reminders
• AFA dues
• Scheduling and reserve FAQs
• Send a letter – Fund the NLRB

End of year reminders

December 15: Travel Open Enrollment closes

December 31: Annual compliance training – Q4 CBT due

December 31: Print or email unused Guest Passes 

AFA dues

Many Council 39 members are in arrears with their monthly AFA dues based on the most recent report from AFA’s Membership Services department. Any amount may cause a member to fall into “Bad Standing” if not paid within 90 days. Once in Bad Standing, members’ votes are not counted nor are they permitted to attend local Council meetings until they become current or make alternate payment arrangements.   

The Membership Services department has sent invoices directly to all members who are showing in arrears. Our local Membership Committee has also reached out to members who are behind in their dues. If you have questions regarding your balance, please reach out to AFA Membership Services.  

Scheduling and reserve FAQs

Am I contactable on a sit?

Yes. Lineholders and Reserve Flight Attendants must remain contactable during ground time per Section 8.Q [Contactability]. If Crew Scheduling follows all the required steps to contact you during ground time and you do not return the call as specified in Section 32.C.1 [No Show] and Section 32.C.15[Failure to Contact], you will likely be assessed attendance points.  

Can Crew Scheduling attempt contact during crew rest?

Yes. One time. If you are contacted more than once on a layover, please submit a support ticket at support.afaalaska.org  Flight Attendants are not required to be contactable on layovers but must return Crew Scheduling’s call at the start of the next duty period. Please see Section 8, Addendum 10. 

Must Crew Scheduling place uncovered flights in Open Time?

No. There is no contractual requirement to place uncovered flying in Open Time prior to being assigned to a Flight Attendant. Crew Scheduling may withhold trips for up to 15 minutes to determine an assignment. Please see Section 12.E.1.d [Open Time] for more information.

Please reach out to any Scheduling or Reserve Committee representative if you have any questions.

Send a letter – Fund the NLRB

From the AFL-CIO

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is in a funding crisis. We need a fully funded NLRB to investigate unfair labor practices and conduct union elections. Take two minutes to send a letter to your senators to demand funding for the NLRB.

All over the country, workers are organizing to win union elections and fight illegal corporate union-busting. The NLRB is supposed to back us up by enforcing labor law and worker protections. 

But the NLRB is severely underfunded and doesn’t have enough staff to do its job. 

The agency hasn’t had a budget increase since 2014, which is a 25% budget decrease when you factor in inflation. 

Without the NLRB, we can’t hold corporations accountable or build worker power through stronger unions. 

It’s that simple.

Take two minutes to write a letter and tell your senators: Fund the National Labor Relations Board. 

Local Council Meeting Reminder

Originally published October 4, 2022

November 4th, 2022

Time: 11am – 1pm 

PDX Airport, Village conference room 

Please join us for our bi-annual local Council meeting. Your LEC officers will be available to share up-to-date information pertaining to the Council and committees. We will also be joined, via conference call, by members of the Delta AFA organizing team.

Election Day is November 8th

Don’t forget to VOTE on November 8th. Next year will be critical for Flight Attendants. The FAA is up for reauthorization in 2023. We need members of Congress who will fight for our issues. We cannot sit this one out!

Voting is key to our credibility with Congress. Turning out in large numbers to vote is critically important to ensure our voice is heard. Voting — not how you vote but whether or not you exercise this constitutional right — is public record. When we’re able to say with credibility “Flight Attendants vote!” it increases our ability to move our issues.

Annual Benefits Enrollment

This year’s Annual Benefits Enrollment period is here, meaning now is the time to make changes to your 2023 benefit elections for you and your family. The deadline to enroll or make changes is November 16th, so be sure to act now before time runs out.

You can enroll at myalaskabenefits.com. REMEMBER: This is the only time you can make changes to your benefits without a qualifying life event (birth, marriage, etc.) so be sure to enroll before the November 16th deadline. 

AFA Monthly Membership Dues Obligations 

Coming out of the pandemic, and with the unprecedented number of leaves that were taken by Flight Attendants, we are seeing challenges and confusion around Union dues that are owed during that time, as well as how dues payments are owed during other leaves, such as maternity, personal injury, or long-term worker’s comp. 

If you are on a completely unpaid leave, you will still owe for the first three (3) months of that leave. Therefore, if you took a six-month COVID leave and you were not coordinating any vacation and/or sick leave to cover healthcare, life insurance, short term disability premiums, etc., then you would wind up owing $150 for those first three months. After that, you are not considered an “active” Flight Attendant and dues obligations are suspended until you return to active status.  

If you are on a leave of any kind and you coordinate sick leave and/or vacation in any given months, you are responsible for your dues for those months (“dues obligated”) because you are on payroll and considered an active Flight Attendant. Even if you don’t receive any net pay, due to insurance premiums and other voluntary deductions coming out of your gross pay, you are still dues obligated for those months. Basically, if you are benefiting from an AFA contract financially, you owe dues.

We are also seeing an increase in Flight Attendants who are not working enough TFP in each month to cover all deductions and dues. Many Flight Attendants are dropping to minimal flying and not having enough net pay (after taxes and insurance premiums, etc.) to cover their dues obligation for the month. In these cases, dues must be paid directly to International.   

How does this impact you?

We have a significant number of Flight Attendants who are currently in arrears and in bad standing. Members in bad standing will not have their votes counted in any elections, including voting on a new contract (tentative agreement.) You must be in good standing to have your vote counted. 

Please see Section 26 of the JCBA for more information regarding dues and membership standing. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to any LEC officer or the AFA International membership services department at Contact Membership Services – Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (afacwa.org)

To make an online payment to AFA, click AFA-CWA Online Dues Payment 

Stronger Together, Better Together: Join the Delta AFA Campaign 

What happens at Delta matters for all of us. Delta Air Lines has undercut our careers by billions of dollars, spoken in place of Flight Attendants on Capitol Hill and, as globalization speeds up, no contract for Flight Attendants at Delta also jeopardizes job security for all of us. Delta CEO Ed Bastian wouldn’t do his job without a contract to protect him and his interests, yet the airline he runs spends tens of millions of dollars to deny Flight Attendants the same rights.

Undercutting our worth and standing at Delta ultimately means Delta is stealing from all of us. But we can change that by supporting Delta Flight Attendants in their efforts to gain AFA representation and the means to negotiate a contract. The only way to push our careers forward is through strength in numbers and continuing to set the highest standards at every airline. 

You can do a lot to help our flying partners at Delta. Sign up to be a supporter, connect us with a Delta Flight Attendant you know, learn more about their campaign, and get tools to help organize.

Council 39 is joining the campaign. Show your support and help Delta Flight Attendants secure their Union! Sign up now >

Save the Date – Local Council Meeting

• November 4th from 11am – 1pm. Village meeting room TBA.

Please join us at the PDX Village for an opportunity to meet with local Council 39 committee chairs and officers. 

Benefits and Leaves Update

Local Chairperson Ann LaRue

Open enrollment is coming up, starting on October 26th and ending November 16th. There are a few changes.

The company will be offering medical benefits for registered domestic partners. If you have a domestic partner and have not already enrolled as domestic partners, now is the time to get that done if you would like your partner to be covered on your medical benefits as you will have to provide proof that you are registered domestic partners.

Premiums for medical benefits and all optional benefits are remaining the same. There are no changes to optional benefits currently offered.

There will be no changes to dental or vision. Delta Dental and VSP remain our providers and coverage remain the same. There will be a mental health resources page on http://myalaskabenefits.com  available for you to see all the different options to receive mental health care for yourself and family members. Additional benefits just for children will be an option available after January 1st through Brightline Behavioral Health program. 

For those of you on the high deductible CC-PPO plan, there are new IRS maximums for your personal contributions to your HSA. HSA IRS maximum contributions increase to $3,850 employee only / $7,750 family. The company contribution to your HSA will not change.

The HSA company contribution will be deposited into your HSA twice a year on the first paycheck after January 1st and July 1st.

For all of you who have been frustrated with Matrix (the company’s medical leave and FMLA administrator) you’ll be thrilled to know that the company is changing vendors. Starting January 1st, all claims will be handled by The Hartford. For anyone on a medical leave or FMLA claim, your claim will be transferred from Matrix to The Hartford after January 1st, and you will be contacted by your new claims examiner.

An open enrollment mailer will be sent to your address on file on October 14th and the first follow up emails will be sent with links to the drop-in sessions on October 26th.

During open enrollment, drop-in sessions will also be posted on AlaskasWorld for any questions you might have. Ann LaRue is available to help answer any questions at 503-701-2722. We will update with times and dates if base sits are scheduled. 

Supplemental benefits program for AFA Alaska members – Onsite enrollment at SEA and PDX in October. PDX onsite visits:

• We will have a benefit counselor onsite October 17—19
• We will enroll interested members and provide customer service to those already in the plans

Inflight Service Committee Update

Local Chairperson Todd Horn

• First class service, and stacking plates, dishes, and cutlery is necessary at the end of each meal service. Be sure to scrape all dishes and utilize either an empty drawer, or oven tin on an oven rack, in the used meal cart. This is a requirement for space availability and trash management. (see Service Standards, Ch. 4 – Meal Service – To Clear a Tray Table.) Many of our mid-con flights are double-catered and the downline crew may need the space emptied for trash stowage as well. Be sure to pull out garbage and recycling bags from the carts at the downline stations for collection by fleet service before you leave the aircraft.
• Do Not turn off the Airbus music player entirely (power off button) for the flight. Instead, pause the music. In the event of a cabin pressure loss, the player will activate and advise guests to don their oxygen mask with a automatic, pre-recorded message. If the unit is powered off, the announcement will not play. 
• The 3^rd cart has been temporarily postponed. If you continue to run out of supplies, and/or run out of room for trash, please report it via the catering feedback form on the Block2Block app on your IMD. 

Reserve Update

Local Chairperson Anthony Eskander

A Personal Drop (PD) can be awarded at any point, including after your reserve availability (contactability) period begins. Because it could be unfair to grant a PD to a Reserve Flight Attendant who’s already sat several hours of reserve (no credit for the entire shift), through AFA’s alternative dispute resolution (ADR) process, it is agreed that it is a requirement for crew scheduling to make positive contact with the Reserve to accept a PD for a shift that has already begun. This requirement is met by calling the Reserve to offer the PD.

A Reserve can choose to decline the PD and finish the reserve availability period or accept the PD and be released for the day. In either case, a Reserve is responsible to answer the call from crew scheduling if it occurs during their reserve availability period. If a Reserve doesn’t return the call, applicable attendance points for the No Show/Unavailable for Contact can be assessed. 

We are beginning to see PDs granted at a higher rate for Reserves, often after their contactability period begins. If you do not want a PD potentially awarded after your contactability period begins, you can have the PD request cancelled by calling crew scheduling at any time to remove it. Take note that once you accept a PD, it cannot be reversed.

Scheduling Update

Local Chairperson Melodie Anderes

• Modification of Section 10.S – Pre-Cancellation 

AFA and management have recently come to an agreement to provide better clarity as to how pre-cancellations and reassignments are confirmed in advance of the first day of a sequence.  The agreement expands existing pre-cancellation language and provides protections to Flight Attendants in how Crew Scheduling handles several additional situations.  The new language goes into effect at midnight on Saturday, October 1, 2022.  If you have any questions, please contact your Local Scheduling Committee for more information

Modification of Section 10.S – Pre-Cancellations

• 2023 Vacation 

First round of Vacation Bidding is posted. Second round opens on October 3rd and closes on October 18th. Second round vacation awards will be posted October 25th. 

Vacation trading will begin for PDX on October 27th at 10am PT. 

 • Charter Flight Numbers

Occasionally we have Charter Flights in our PDX Bid Packet. The Charter Flights operate with flight numbers 9600-9699.

• Crew Access Known Issues

Please familiarize yourself with the Crew Access Known Issues. They can be found on the Scheduling & Bidding section under Crew Access Help. 

• Holiday Flying

There is a reduction of flying on Thanksgiving Day. This will affect layovers and holiday pay. We will see more pairings with minimum pay rules over the holiday. 

• 4 Position Pairings 

AFA is asking crew planning for 4 position pairings. This is under review. 

• PBS

The info page on the bidding site has great resources and tips. There are step-by-step videos. If you have questions, please reach out to our PBS Committee pbs.qa@alaskaair.com. 

Disaster Relief Fund: Hurricane Ian Relief

From AFA International

President Biden has issued a disaster declaration for counties in Florida as the state recovers from the devastating impact of Hurricane Ian. The storm continues to make its way up the East Coast and more counties may be added as the destruction is assessed.

If you’ve been impacted by Ian, and your primary residence is in Florida, you are eligible for AFA Disaster Relief Funds. The application can be found at afacwa.org/DRF.

If you would like to help your flying partners with recovery, consider donating to the AFA Disaster Relief Fund. 100% of the fund’s contributions will go directly to impacted Flight Attendants in the form of cash assistance.

Support Delta Flight Attendants fighting for a Union!

From Team AFL-CIO

Thousands of Flight Attendants at Delta Air Lines are organizing for fair wages and better benefits. Management is spending millions of dollars trying to stop them. Will you support the Flight Attendants as they fight for a Union?

In recent years, Delta had nearly double the profits of any other airline in the industry. All thanks to the people behind those profits—Delta Flight Attendants.

Delta Flight Attendants are organizing with the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA) for a real voice on the job, for work rules management can’t just change on a whim, and for industry-leading compensation and work rules that match Flight Attendants’ contribution to the industry’s leading, most profitable airline.

So in 2019, Flight Attendants at Delta launched their organizing drive and have been fighting for a Union ever since. Even in the face of management’s union-busting.

If you’d like to support Delta Flight Attendants in their fight to form a Union, click here Join the Movement! | Delta AFA