Annual Benefits Enrollment

AFA Base Sits

Annual Benefits Enrollment is here ~ October 31 to November 16th. This is the time to double check your plan details, make changes, and choose a plan that is right for you and your family. You can also make HSA & FSA contributions and sign up for Optional Short Term Disability coverage. Go to myalaskabenefits.com for more information on your plan and upcoming premiums for 2017.

Council 19 Membership Committee Update

The Seattle base now has over 2055 flight attendants…can you believe that??

Please remember that all AFA dues are deducted from the 20^th paycheck and those dues are for the current month, not the previous month (like your flying).  If you didn’t fly enough or if you are on a leave and not coordinating sick leave/vacation, or you are coordinating but do not have enough TFP to cover everything that is deducted, you will owe dues.

If you have moved it is important to update your information with AFA. When you update this information with Alaska the change it not automatic with AFA. Also, if you have changed your email you need to update this information. You can update with AFA International by going to http://www.afacwa.org/change_of_address

Did you know that not one penny of your dues is used towards any political agenda.  Donating to Flight Pac is what helps causes that better our working environment for our profession.

Over the past 3 years 97% of the Seattle members have paid their dues and our Council has been recognized for this achievement and we thank you for fulfilling your obligation to pay your union dues! The majority of the monthly budget covers pay for local work done on behalf of your local council AFA committee members and hotels for committee trainings.

If you ever have any questions about your dues please feel free to call or email me at 206-409-0354 or at linda.christou@afaalaska.org

http://afaalaska.org/sea

http://afaalaska.org/membership

Council 19 Retirement Committee Update

The method of paying the Administrative Charges for the 401(k) plan have changed, as was noted in the last Retirement Board meeting minutes last spring.  All plan participants have been notified, and a legal notice is available on the Vanguard website.  For some, although the fees were not transparent earlier, the fees will actually decrease.  The original method was a ‘sliding scale’ which was based on account balance.  The new plan is a flat $12/per participant each quarter.

Have you logged on to your Vanguard account? It’s easy to do and everyone should know how to monitor their allocations, make changes, and track their retirement accounts.

Council 19 LEC Committee Chairperson: Tim Roddy

http://afaalaska.org/sea

http://afaalaska.org/retirement

MEC Officer Interviews

MEC Officer Interviews will be held during the MEC Meeting October 24th-26th. MEC Officers serve a three year term.  We will be interviewing candidates who expressed interest in holding one of the MEC officer positions for the upcoming term of January 1, 2017 – December 31, 2019.

The five Councils will be represented at the MEC Meeting and will each cast one vote for each position.

LEC President Laura Masserant will represent Council 19 at the October MEC Meeting.

Please email  Laura.Masserant@afaalaska.org with any comments.

National Child Indentificaiton Test Kits

The Association of Flight Attendants has joined the American Football Coaches Association to help protect our children. All items are completed and stored at home. If ever needed, you can provide this information to authorities to help reunite a missing child with your family.

Get your kit in the Seattle Inflight Service Center/Crew Room and in the Seattle Flight Ops Recurrent Training Room

Over 800,000 children are missing every year- that’s one every 40 seconds! 

Why should we fingerprint our children?

• 450,000 children run away each year
• 300,000 children are abducted each year by family members
• More than 58,000 children are abducted every year by non-family members

That’s more than 800,000 children in America missing each year – one child every 40 seconds. Yet, when the National Child Identification Program began; less than two percent of parents had a copy of their child’s fingerprints to use in case of an emergency.

The National Child Identification Program is a community service initiative dedicated to changing these statistics by providing parents and guardians with a tool they can use to help protect their children. The ID Kit allows parents to collect specific information by easily recording the physical characteristics and fingerprints of their children on identification cards that are then kept at home by the parent or guardian. If ever needed, this ID Kit will give authorities vital information to assist their efforts to locate a missing child.

For more information on this program visit www.childidprogram.com

Help protect your family ~ A gift of safety, from our AFA family to yours.

In solidarity,

Council 19 LEC Officers