Nominations are now being accepted for Council 19 Local Officers for the next term of office. SEA-based Flight Attendants can nominate or support only one candidate for each Officer position. Those interested in running for office may also self-nominate by submitting a Self-Nomination form and at least one endorsement of an Active Member in Good Standing in Council 19. It is highly recommended to submit nominations before the last day to allow for the Membership department to confirm eligibility of supporters/endorsers and nominees. Nominations will be accepted through April 16.

Check your standing and eligibility on the AFA Membership Hub

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Term of Office:

July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2029

Positions to be Elected:

• LEC President
• LEC Vice President
• LEC Secretary
• 2 Council Representatives

Election Schedule:

• April 28: Voting Notices mailed
• May 1: Polls open
• May 15: Polls close at 12:00pm PT

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Those who are considering running for office are encouraged to reach out to the current Officers to gain an understanding about each role and get valuable insights about what to expect. We are happy to answer your questions and offer support during your decision-making process. Contact information for Local Officers are found at afaalaska.org/sea/officers and on our Council 19 LinkTree.

The Local Officer Election process for the next term will begin on April 1, 2026. If you are interested in running for local office, or know of someone who you believe would be a great candidate, now is a perfect time to review Article III and Article VIII.C of the AFA-CWA Constitution and Bylaws. Your LEC Officers are happy to speak with anyone who has interest in gaining an understanding about what these positions entail and whether they are ready to serve. Our contact information can be found at afaalaska.org/sea/officers and on our Council 19 LinkTree. Please feel free to reach out. We hope to hear from you!

Term of Office: July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2029

Positions to be Elected

• LEC President
• LEC Vice President
• LEC Secretary
• 2 Council Representatives

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New Self-Nomination Process

During the 2024 AFA-CWA Annual Convention, the AFA Board of Directors voted to change the LEC nomination process allowing all members of a Local to self-nominate for any of the LEC Officer positions with at least one endorsement of an active member in good standing. The Self-Nomination Guide provides more information about the process on how to ensure that your name will appear on the election ballot. Self-nominations will be accepted from April 1, 2026 through April 16, 2026. 

Election Schedule

• April 28: Voting Notices mailed
• May 1: Polls open
• May 15: Polls close at 12:00pm PT

Ballots will be mailed with an activation code and voting instructions. To ensure that you receive your ballot, please confirm that your mailing address is up-to-date in PeopleSoft. While all active members will receive a ballot, you must be in good-standing in order to vote, which means you must not have a delinquent dues balance or you must have a payment plan with AFA Membership Services to pay your delinquent balance. Log into your AFA Membership Hub account to check your status and standing and other important dues information. For more information, visit afacwa-elections.org.

We are one week away from our joint membership meeting with Horizon Council 16. The AFA-CWA Constitution & Bylaws require that each year, one of our local membership meetings be held prior to the Board of Directors Convention. This is your opportunity to review the advance agenda items that are up for consideration and vote at the Board of Directors. We hope you can attend to provide feedback on the changes you would like to see in our Constitution and Bylaws. The joint meeting is open to all members in good-standing and you are invited to join in-person or virtually. Please use the registration links for either option below.

Date: March 2, 2026
Time: 14:00 – 17:00 PST
Location: Earhart Room, located in the South Tower of International Place, Lower Plaza Level (same building as 13 Coins) across from SEA Airport
Registration: 

Meeting Agenda

• Call to Order
• Welcome and Introductions
• AFA Board of Directors Meeting Agenda Items
• Q&A
• Adjournment

Your Voice Matters

Your participation and engagement is important to ensure a strong Union. Local Council Presidents (LECPs) are your representatives and vote on your behalf at the Board of Directors. Your feedback is not only crucial, but also welcomed for decisions in how we shape our Union.

SEA LECP Paula Isla-McGill is requesting input from as many Council 19 members as possible on the advance agenda items for the Board of Directors. Information for each of the 12 agenda items is found on the afacwa.org/convention site. These proposed changes to the AFA-CWA Constitution and Bylaws range from approval of the 2026-2027 budget, which includes a dues adjustment, to direct membership elections of MEC Officers and International Officers. Please review all agenda items and provide your feedback on the Google form. This is another way for you to make sure your voice is heard and your LECP can consider how best to represent the interests of Council 19.

Joint Pre-BOD Membership Meeting

We are holding our next membership meeting jointly with Horizon Council 16 to discuss the agenda items for the upcoming Board of Directors. All members in good-standing are welcome and highly encouraged to attend. The meeting will be available for both in-person and virtual attendance. If you plan on attending virtually, pre-registration is required. Please use the appropriate registration link below.

Date: March 2, 2026
Time: 14:00 – 17:00 PST
Location: Earhart Room, located in the South Tower of International Place, Lower Plaza Level (same building as 13 Coins) across from SEA Airport
Registration: In-Person | Virtual

Check your standing

The AFA Membership HUB is your portal to access all your account information, dues and payment history, make payments and more! This is also the place to verify that your personal email address on file is correct to ensure that you don’t miss important communication from AFA.

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53rd AFA-CWA Board of Directors Convention

This year, the AFA-CWA Board of Directors Convention will take place in Portland, OR! If you live in the Pacific Northwest or will be in town at that time and are interested in attending, this is a great opportunity to see our AFA leadership from all our AFA-represented carriers in action as we consider agenda items and proposed changes to our Constitution & Bylaws. More information will be available on the BOD website regarding the advance agenda items soon. Also on the docket will be the proposed budget for the next fiscal year as well as the election of our International Officers.

Date: March 9-11, 2026
Time: Call to Order – 09:00 PST
Location: Benson Portland, 309 SW Broadway, Portland, OR 97205
Registration: Please use this form to register.

Learn about AFA

If you have not yet bookmarked our Council 19 LinkTree, we encourage you check it out and share with your crew members. Not only are there useful links for contacting your local reps and contract resources, but there is a section that includes links to learn about AFA and our Union structure, including:

• How our Union Works: AFA 101
• Video: How Our Leaders are Elected
• What is the AFA Board of Directors

We can’t spell Union without “you”. A strong Union depends on an informed and engaged membership. If you’ve ever wondered why things are the way they are and want to learn more about what you can do to help shape our Union and build a stronger future together, start with these resources.

In this edition…

• State Sick Verification Period: November 25 – December 4
• Attendance Points Report
• Sick Banks and Rainmaker Balances
• End-of-Year Record Improvement
• Make your State Sick Leave Bank elections by December 31.

Verification Period

As published in a required bulletin on TeamAAG on November 9, the next State Sick Verification Period is from November 25 to December 4. Per §32.I of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, those who call out and utilize State Sick leave for 4 or more consecutive workdays during the verification period will be required to submit documentation for their call out. When such documentation is requested, Flight Attendants have 10 business days from the first day of absence to submit, per Inflight Performance instructions. Any out-of-pocket costs incurred to obtain these mandatory and necessary documentation will be reimbursed by the company after the Flight Attendant uses their own health insurance. For a quick review of sick leave changes from TA2, please review the TA2 Sick Leave & Attendance video.

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Attendance Points Report

With the end of year around the corner, now is a great time to review your attendance points and make sure that everything is accurate. Flight Attendants may generate their attendance reports by going to Crew Access > Reports > Attendance Points. When checking your points, look for any points that may have been assessed incorrectly, or sick callouts that may have been coded to the wrong sick bank.

Why aren’t my points dropping off after 18 months?

Per §32.G.2 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, points are deleted from a Flight Attendant’s accumulated total 18 months after the points were charged. Some Flight Attendants have noticed that their 18-month adjustments have not actually reduced their point total. The answer to why this is happening can be found in §32.G.6 which states:

When a Flight Attendant’s accumulated point total becomes zero (0), all of their prior points and record improvement point deletions will have no further effect on their accumulated point total and may be used only to resolve a dispute about the time the point total reached zero (0).

Therefore, if your point total has ever reached zero (0) through various mitigations like having a perfect quarter or bank points, then any points that were incurred prior to that will no longer reduce your points at 18 months, as those points have essentially already been wiped clean from your record. 

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Sick Banks and Rainmaker Balances

To check your sick bank balances, log into Rainmaker and go to Crew Pay Manager > Bank Balances. Be sure to note when TFP is actually available in your banks to use. 

Bank balance reports will have two types of transactions: Accrual and CreditBased. Accrual transactions are deposits into your bank based on how much TFP is worked or credited in a month, while CreditBased transactions are withdrawals from your bank when you call out sick. While CreditBased transactions are instantly processed, Accrual transactions are not processed until after the bid month is complete. It is important to understand that Accrual transactions may not actually be available for use yet. Flight Attendants must look at the “earned date” of each transaction to know whether that TFP is available for use. 

We have heard from Flight Attendants who have found themselves in point jeopardy because they called out believing they had enough TFP in their State Sick bank, only to have the outstanding balance of their call out be covered by their CBA sick bank. When this happens, each day that a Flight Attendant does not have sufficient sick leave in their bank will be assessed points. These points may be mitigated by a Point Reduction Form, pursuant to §32. When calling out State Sick, it’s good practice to:

1. Confirm your sick leave bank balances and ensure there is sufficient TFP to cover the absence.
2. Check your attendance points to ensure your call out has been coded correctly.
3. If the CBA bank has to be used to cover the call out and a point reduction form (PRF) is available to use, be sure to submit it prior to the last day of your first sequence back.
4. If you need to switch banks, submit a Rainmaker query prior to the last day of your first sequence back.

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End-of-Year Record Improvement

Section 32.G of the contract provides multiple provisions that allow a Flight Attendant to reduce their attendance points. One such provision occurs at the end of every calendar year when any Flight Attendant who has 4.0 or fewer attendance points will have their record reduced to zero (0) points at the end of the year. In order to qualify for this, a Flight Attendant must:

• Achieve 480 TFP in the calendar year
  • Includes vacation and Longevity PTO (2025)
  • Excludes sick leave and Boarding Pay
  • No more than 80.0 unpaid TFP credit will be applied to the 480 threshold
• Not accumulate any points since November 1st of that year

For more information and requirements, please refer to §32.G.4. The record improvement often takes a few weeks into January to be reflected on your attendance report.

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State Sick Leave Bank Election Form

As a reminder, up to 40 TFP of a Flight Attendant’s State sick leave bank carries over into the new year. For TFP accrued in excess of 40 TFP in the State sick leave bank, Flight Attendants may opt to have it paid out at their pay rate as of 12/31 of the current year or transferred into their CBA sick leave bank. Any cash out will be paid on the February 5th paycheck. 

Flight Attendants must make their elections for their excess State sick leave balance by December 31st. If no election is made, the excess of 40 TFP will be paid according to §16.A.4.a of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. You can find the State Sick Leave Bank Election Form on the Inflight website under Administration > Pay & Benefits.