Council 19 Members,

Your LEC Officers would like to notify you that the Local Officer Election process for the next term of office begins January of 2017.

If you are interested in running for a local council office you can find information located in the AFA Constitution and Bylaws under Article III and Article VIII.C,  http://www.afacwa.org/constitution_bylaws.

You can also reach out to any of your LEC Officers or Council Representatives for more information:

LEC President Laura Masserant

LEC Vice President Jake Jones

LEC Secretary Linda Christou

Council Representative Stephanie Adams

Council Representative Adam Clarey

Also, if you are interested in shadowing any of the positions your LEC Officers are happy to schedule this time with you.The chart below explains the election process for Council 19~ ALA 19.

In accordance with Article VIII of the Constitution & Bylaws, all Local Councils in Election Category II must nominate and elect officers for the term beginning July 1, 2017 and ending June 31, 2020 (three year term).  Article IX of the Constitution & Bylaws and Union Voting Procedures (Section IX of the Policy Manual) shall govern nominations and elections.

Attached you will find the nomination and election schedule for Category II.  For all domestic Councils the process will commence in January and finish by late April.

All active Flight Attendants, regardless of dues standing will be mailed the voting instructions and activation code. In addition, apprentice members completing their first 4 full months of active membership on or before the count date will receive a ballot packet.   

New activation codes are issued for each nomination, election, and contract ratification ballot.

Step-by-step instructions, for both the nomination and election process, can be found on the AFA-CWA Election website www.afacwa-elections.org along with the Category II Election schedule. The AFA-CWA Election Handbook and the Commitment to Serve form can also be found on the AFA Election website.

Council 19 is extremely excited to introduce our newest committee members. We spent the summer building up our committees in Seattle to adjust for the growth of our base. Volunteering on a committee takes a lot of time and dedication and we sincerely thank all or our newest members for the hard work and their commitment to our flight attendant group. Benefits: Terry Taylor – Flying since 1973 (also currently the MEC Chairperson) LeAnne Canton – Flying since 2013 Celia Romero – Flying since 2006 (LEC Chairperson Kathy O’Malley) If you have questions regarding maternity leave please contact Benefits Committee members Celia Romero or Laura Masserant. ISC: Chris King – Flying since 1998 Ross Dejong – Flying since 1991 (LEC Chairperson Linda Christou) Hotel: Olivia Borrows – Flying since 2011 (LEC Chairperson Jodi Snow ) ASHSC: Marikay Paulson – Flying since 2014 Janice Sidwell – Flying since 1983 (LEC Chairpersons Susan Lee & Steven Vincent) Scheduling: Melinda Jorge – Flying Since 2000 (LEC Chairpersons Martin Vance & Rita Tillou) For a complete list of your Council 19 AFA committee members: http://afaalaska.org/sea/committees If you are interested in joining a committee we still have open position on our Government Affairs Committee.  For information on what an AFA Committee member does or a description on our various committee please visit: http://afaalaska.org/committees

Make Sure You’re Ready to Vote

Are you registered to vote? Are you sure?

National Voter Registration Day is Today, Tuesday, Sept. 27, and it’s a great time to make sure you’re all set to go to the polls.

Members of your AFA Alaska Government Affairs Committee were out canvasing the Sea-Tac airport today!

If you aren’t sure you’re registered to vote at your current address, click here to check.

If you are not registered to vote, click here to register now.

We know that many of you will be working away from home and your polling location on Election Day. To ensure your voice is heard, please plan to vote early or by absentee ballot. For more information on Flight Attendant friendly voting options visit afacwa.org/vote.

LEC President Update: May 2016 – June 2016

Dear Seattle Flight Attendants,

In an effort to communicate the work done on behalf of the Seattle Officers, we are introducing a new quarterly update. This update is designed to inform and educate the members of the work done by their elected AFA Officers. We hope you find this update to be helpful and informative.

For this first report we will begin with the month of May. The Seattle Officer group was very busy with the day-to-day work of the union in addition to multiple meetings and conferences.

The LEC President does not bid a line and spends most days in the AFA office running the council’s day-to-day* business. The Vice President, Jake Jones, is also the MEC Scheduling Chair and does not bid a line. He spends the majority of his time at the Flight Ops building between the AFA office and his desk in the scheduling department. Secretary/Treasurer, Linda Christou, bids a line and attends to AFA work during and between trips. Council Representatives, Adam Clarey and Stephanie Adams also bid lines and attend to work during and between trips. When the LEC President is in Greece the Vice President and Secretary attend meetings, if necessary, on behalf of the LEC President. Most of the work done on behalf of the LEC Officers is via emails, phone calls, and text messages.

            *Please note that each Officer, on a daily basis, can receive up to 20 emails, multiple phone calls, text messages, and visits in the AFA office from Flight Attendants with questions, comments, and concerns in addition to the meetings we attend. The LEC President can receive more than 30 emails per day from various sources.

The first week of May, Seattle grievance reps attended three meetings with members, participated in an AFA International conference call to review the upcoming BOD agenda items, and answered multiple emails/phone calls from members. Most common questions are scheduling/trading questions and medical/ worker’s compensation leave questions.

May 11-12: New Hire Graduation and Seattle base orientation. SEA Officers and SEA Reserve Chair, Carole Babcock, attend graduation and new hire orientation. One meeting attended to by a grievance rep.

May 17: AFA LEC Base Meeting.

Per the AFA Constitution and Bylaws, each council is responsible for holding two meetings per year~ with one meeting to held prior the annual AFA Board of Director’s meeting. The purpose of this meeting is to review the agenda items and seek direction from the members on how the President should place her vote on the agenda items. Please click the following link for the notes from this meeting:

http://afaalaska.org/sea/council-19-meeting-minutes-and-committee-reports

May 18: LEC President attended the Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) meeting and the MEC Scheduling Meeting.

ADR is a meeting established to review concerns with management on a variety of issues that affect Flight Attendants. The desire is to resolve the issues and alleviate filing grievances.

MEC Scheduling meeting: MEC Scheduling Chair, Jake Jones, and LEC Scheduling Chairs, Martin Vance and Rita Tillou, meet with management to discuss current concerns and address issues.

May 19: Grievance reps attended two meetings with members. LEC President attended to work in the AFA office.

May 20-26: Attended the AFA Board of Director’s Meeting in Atlanta, GA. May MEC Meeting held Saturday in Atlanta. LEC Secretary Linda Christou presented to the Board on behalf of Council 19 for her work on membership. Council Rep Adam Clarey also attended the conference.

May 30/31: LEC President attended ADR meeting and Officers followed up with members on multiple issues from ADR.

June 1: Critical Incident Response Program (CIRP). LEC Officer Linda Christou and Council Rep Adam Clarey attended the annual training with members of EAP, ASHSC, and management.

June 2: LEC President attends monthly “tie in” meeting with Director of Seattle Base Operations, Carmen Williams.

June 6: LEC President attended to work in AFA office.

June 7: SEA Scheduling Committee meeting, Grievance rep attended one meeting, and Labor Leaders* Meeting.

Members of Seattle’s scheduling committee met to discuss current issues. Ron Calvin attended part of the meeting and the committee voiced concerns over pairings, quality of life, and summer staffing.

*Labor Leaders is a quarterly meeting attended by all labor leaders at Alaska and management at Alaska.

June 8: LEC President attended to work in AFA office.

June 11-15: LEC President attends CWA President’s meeting and Legislative affairs conference in Washington DC.

June 16: LEC President attended to work in AFA office. LEC Reserve Chair attended Quarterly Reserve meeting. MEC and LEC Reserve Chair(s) meet with Kieran Whitney and his staff to discuss/address current issues.

June 17: LEC President attended Benefits meeting with Employee medical relations, leave analysts, members from Matrix Absence management, MEC Benefits Chair and MEC Grievance Committee to discuss concerns surrounding current FA leave processes.

June 20: LEC President attended to work in AFA office and grievance rep attended one meeting. Seattle Base Safety Meeting attended by LEC Secretary, Linda Christou.

June 21: LEC President attended several scheduled calls with LEC Chairs and performance supervisors concerning grievance issues.

June 22-25: LEC President out flying the line.

June 26: LEC Officers had the privilege of participating in the Seattle Pride Parade.

June 27: Grievance reps attended two meetings. LEC President (elected to the AFA International Leadership Development committee) participated in conference call for upcoming training and attended to work in AFA office.

June 29: Base Orientation attended by Council Representative Adam Clarey and SEA Reserve Chair Carole Babcock.

June 28-30: MEC Meeting. Interviewed candidates for Joint Negotiating Committee.

What is an MEC meeting?

The Master Executive Council (MEC) is comprised of the 3 appointed MEC Officers, MEC President, MEC Vice President, and MEC Secretary and the 5 elected Local Executive Council Presidents (LEC). Each month the MEC meets to address concerns, discuss current topics affecting each base and the AFA committees, and review latest updates/issues from management.

The work of the MEC is captured in the newsletters we distribute to members. You can read the latest news from the MEC at:

http://afaalaska.org

You can find Seattle’s latest news at: http://afaalaska.org/sea

Seattle Council 19 is currently looking for people to join several of the local committees. Below is a list of the available opportunities:

Reserve Committee

The Reserve Committee shall be responsible for monitoring all problems specific to flight attendants on reserve status.

Committee Chair: Carole Babcock

Government Affairs

Experience in government affairs work and/or political background is helpful, but not required. Committee members should be registered to vote. The committee will monitor and pursue legislative activities that relate to the AFA-CWA political agenda and to build positive relationships with your elected officials.

Committee Chairperson: Christel Hall

Hotel

Good organizational skills are required. Attend meetings and possible travel to review hotel sites. The purpose of this committee is to investigate flight attendants’ complaints about hotel facilities, and also to periodically check these facilities for any decline in quality.

Committee Chairperson: Jodi Snow

ISSC

This committee shall meet with management to discuss any change in service, procedures to be followed, and other pertinent matters prior to the implementation of such service. Qualifications include working knowledge of cabin service procedures and ability to attend joint union-inflight briefings.

Committee Chairperson: Linda Christou

Air Safety, Health and Security Committee 

This committee shall work with managment on matters pertaining to cabin and flight attendant safety and health. The safety chair shall be the primary contact with managmenet, the FAA and the Air Safety, Health and Security Department at the AFA-CWA International office. This committee should be composed of members with an interest in improving the health and safety of the flight attendant membership and the aircraft and passengers of the airline as well.

Committee Chairperson/Vice Chairperson:  Susan Lee & Steve Vincent

Benefits

The Benefits Committee works to educate and provide assistance to Flight Attendants in all matters involving benefits (including insurance, maternity, worker’s compensation, and leave of absence programs).

Committee Chairperson: Kathy O’Malley

If you are a member in good standing and are interested in applying for one of the above positions, please send your resume and/or letter of interest to Council 19 LEC President Laura Masserant at laura.masserant@afaalaska.org