Representing the Flight Attendants of Alaska + Hawaiian
Please go to Alaskasworld.com, and look for the article titled “COVID-19: Help today! Click here to support fair allocation of federal funding”, pictured above. This is very time sensitive. We need as many employees as possible to sign this letter.
Your Council 19 Officers would like to pass along this information from AFA International.
As we now face the unfortunate reality that many of our members will be sheltering in place, accepting voluntary leaves and experiencing reduced schedules, this is an often-overlooked opportunity.
Our partnership with CWA entitles AFA members to take advantage of a complimentary online learning opportunity. CWA/NETT provides access to hundreds of training courses via LinkedIn Learning. This might be the perfect time to brush up on existing skills or learn new ones.
Examples of Learning Titles include:
Zoom Meetings
Microsoft Collaboration
Microsoft Excel
SharePoint
You can get started by completing this form. This free resource can also be shared with member’s family members. To sign up you will need our CWA local number, 27019.
March 31, 2020
The grants in the relief package provide paychecks for workers, not bailouts for airlines. These grants do one thing and one thing only: fund paychecks and benefits for two million hourly workers like flight attendants, pilots, gate agents, mechanics, the people who clean planes, cook the food, and help people through the airport.
Secretary Mnuchin is threatening to take equity on the grants — leveraging the very people who make aviation fly and who right now are on the frontlines of this pandemic. Congress did not intend for this to work this way. The payroll grants are intended to keep us out of the unemployment line. The return to taxpayers is no involuntary furloughs or layoffs, keeping our vital industry intact for essential service during this national emergency, and our ability to continue to pay taxes, be consumers, and take care of ourselves and our families during this crisis. Warrants make sense on the loans, they do not make sense on the grants that are designated for our paychecks.
You can’t leverage people. We’re the ones the CARES Act is supposed to protect. This is our money, but the Secretary is planning to make conditions so onerous that the airlines can’t take it. That will mean hundreds of thousands of jobs lost and bankruptcies all over again. Not this time! This isn’t right. We are asking President Trump to make sure the Treasury Secretary doesn’t dismantle the bipartisan agreement to keep us in our jobs, connected to our paychecks and healthcare.
AFA International COVID-19 Resource Page: afacwa.org/coronavirus
AFA-CWA Council 19 Base Meeting
When: Friday, November 22nd, 2019
Where: Earhart Room Lower Plaza STOC
Time: 1pm-4pm
Agenda
I. Call meeting to order-meeting called to order at 1:02pm by Terry Taylor
A. Call for late agenda items
B. Late agenda items
C. Announcements
II. Meeting
President Report- Four day MEC meeting all MEC Committee Chair positions will be interviewed, send in your application and letter of interest no later than November 25. To get to the expression of interest form please follow this link to the latest MEC Update, https://afaalaska.org/mec.
Unusual amount of lost IMD’s in Seattle, automatic oral warning (lowest level of discipline).
Benefits handbooks have all been updated on the inflight page.
We are getting a new payroll system, Rainmaker. A release date has not yet been published.
Vice President Report- See JCTE/Crew Access Agenda Item
Secretary Report- We are operating under budget. Push from the MEC to get all outstanding dues paid. International Membership is resending all bad standing letters. If you are in bad standing contact International Membership and pay off your dues in full or start a payment plan by signing a promissory note. AFA International Membership Office 1-800-424-2401, ext. 707 (M-F 9:00-5:30 EST). You can pay your dues online at http://www.afacwa.org/payment or mail your payment to AFA-CWA Membership Department, 501 Third Street NW, 7th Floor, Washington DC 20001.
Scheduling Committee- OT Issues, our base does not have the same experience as the smaller bases. Over 160 tickets have been filed with AFA, and a grievance has been filed. Will need to schedule base sits regarding how back to book works. A transaction history will be another report available soon in JCTE.
PBS- Steve Poynter AFA MEC PBS Committee Chair- Program update coming on Monday November 25th. This update will require Flight Attendants to clear your cache. Instructions for clearing cache are available on the PBS Info Page a quick google search will also provide you information on how to clear your cache. Update has increased the speed of the login synchronization process. New aircraft code when bidding opens 32B, code is for 321 NEO. If you are avoiding Airbus you will need to add this new Airbus code for January bidding, when bidding opens on December 5th.
EAP/Professional Standards-FAAS Program (Flight Attendant Alcohol Support) has been put on hold to do a safety risk management assessment. EAP believes there’s is a huge need for this program. In the meantime, EAP will still utilize their current substance abuse resources to support Flight Attendants that reach out to EAP. In January Horizon will start building the same program. EAP Chairs will tour Recovery Ways facility in Salt Lake City. New EAP Rep joining us in December Frank Isles, brings our total to 9 reps. Transition to new EAP emails soon, more information will be provided at that time.
Communications- Text alert program isn’t functioning anymore. Looking at a replacement text alert program through AFA International.
Reserve- Only one class of 83 is planned for next year to come online May 1st. Planned classes for the next year are subject to change.
Hotel-New Program Aces has been delayed until at least March. Recent site visits to MSP, FLL, SAT, and currently doing OKC. Upcoming site visits for LGB for recurrent training and DEN. Complaints regarding ORD hotel on Facebook, but very few official complaints filed through Crew Care. For hotels issues please file a complaint with Crew Care. Everyone will be moved to Crystal City in DCA until January because of construction.
Uniform-Looking at an alternate for the new winter parka for fall 2020, reason for the alternate is complaints regarding the warmth of the current one. The current winter parka will still be uniform complaint. Reminder that only uniform approved coats are allowed. Ongoing grievance regarding using our allotment for Luly Yang accessories. Swapping out crew bags for the Legacy VX FA’s to the travel pro. CBT Quarter 1 2020 will include uniform compliance standards.
Inflight Service-Asking catering to put their top 10 wish list together, once received, wish list will be communicated to the Flight Attendants. Gogo App will no longer be needed to stream movies, planned rollout is April 2020. Push for FA’s to write up inop outlets, this is a maintenance issue not an inflight serve issue. Planned launch in April, FA’s will be able to directly communicate with the boarding agents in B2B. New menu tasting on December 16th.
Safety-New hardstand operation, called cargo 7, near existing Alaska hanger. Port is planning on putting placards to scan for safety concerns out at hardstand locations. Concerns regarding using the thumbs up on Airbus for potential injury if the CSA opens up the door before FA pulls their arm back from viewing port.
Human Rights-Introduction of our new chair Yan Yan Teague, Human Rights is a new committee set up at the AFA/CWA convention in 2018. Still navigating how the Human Rights Committee will function. Working towards more partnership with CWA, increasing election turnout. Working on a gender-neutral option for our Flight Attendant uniform.
Government Affairs- Unite Here Local 8 union includes our caterers in Seattle, attended a meeting to support their negotiations, Tuesday November 26 a picket scheduled at SeaTac. Planning on a government affairs/human rights joint meeting this next year during the upcoming election to begin a voter registration push as well as a push to sign up for Flight Pac.
Karen presented a slideshow of how pairing construction works, and how pairing solutions are selected.
Results from the survey in Seattle indicate that 4 day trips are not desirable, during the pairing solution runs the amount of 4 day trips is considered and attempts are made to limit the amount of 4 days in Seattle.
Discussion and Q&A for Karen and the Scheduling Committee regarding soft locks, hard locks, and why pairings are built differently each month.
III. Adjournment- Meeting Adjourned by Terry Taylor and seconded by Adam Clarey at 3:57pm
Attendance at local Council 19 meeting 11/22/19
Members
Kriste McKeown
Carole Babcock
Leisa Russell
Sean Cox
Justin Wetherell
Eric Thorsen
Jerry Sinclair
Denise Brooks
Teresa Murphy
Jennifer Christensen
Jake Jones
Steve Poynter
Martin Vance
Lisa Haugen
Julie Pinson
Tyler Vail
Ross DeJong
David Lake
Yan Yan Teague
Jarod McNeil
Rita Tillou
Olivia Borrows
Melinda Jorge
Adam Clarey
Terry Taylor
Guests
Karen Ferrell-ANCFA MEC Pairing Analyst
As a Flight Attendant, we depend on many people to provide us the tools we need to complete our jobs. One of the most important (from a service point of view) are our friends at the catering kitchens. Have you ever stepped back and thought about their work conditions and what they have to live with every day? In many of the cities we serve, they work in extremely hot or cold conditions, with no heat or air-conditioning in their trucks. Many work for poverty level wages and only have about 40% of their healthcare premiums covered with no out of pocket maximums. The majority are forced to work more than one job, just to cover the necessities like food and electricity.
While Alaska, Delta, United, American and other airlines pull in BILLIONS of dollars in profits, Airline Catering workers, who work hard for us every day, have to live with poverty level wages and benefits. NOBODY should ever have to choose between putting food on the table, paying their bills or getting medical treatment.
AFA Council #19 stands with and supports our brothers and sisters at UNITE HERE Local #8.
Please join other AFA Members on Tuesday, November 26th as we show our support and stand shoulder to shoulder with our teammates.
We will be meeting at the UNITE HERE union office at 19415 International Blvd (across from Angle Lake) at 5:30pm on November 26th (Tuesday). Busses will transport us to SeaTac Airport for this National Day of Protest.
For those who cannot attend the meeting, there are other ways to show your support:
ONE JOB should always be enough. Lets stand together!!
