Human Rights Committee Meeting Recap – 1st Quarter 2022

Human Rights Committee

• Our AFA Human Rights Committee Chairpersons met on Friday, March 4 to discuss their ongoing program of work to advance human rights within our workplace and community.
• The Committee also met with management to receive updates on what progress has been made on concerns that had been previously brought forward and address new concerns that have come to light. 
• If you have ideas, thoughts, or feedback for the committee, your Local Human Rights Committee Chairperson would love to hear from you!

On Friday, March 4, our AFA Local Human Rights Committee Chairpersons met to discuss their ongoing activism to build awareness and effect change within our workplace and community.  Representing you at the meeting were Matthew Cook (ANC), Yan Yan Teague (SEA), Sylvia Newbill (PDX), Sejal Patel (SFO), Louise Borras (LAX), and Erika Daniel (SAN).  Also present were MEC Human Rights Committee Chairperson Chip Hestle and MEC Vice President Brian Palmer.  The committee met with Managing Director of Inflight Operations Michaela Littman, Managing Director of Labor Relations Carmen Williams, California Regional Director of Inflight Operations Robbi Burton, and Seattle Director of Inflight Base Operations Jenny Bookert from management. 

Topics of Discussion

The committee reviewed a number of items both during internal AFA-only conversation and when meeting with management.  Some items discussed include:

• Ongoing concerns about low morale within our work group.
• Possibility of expanding current uniform and appearance standards to be more inclusive of varying cultural identities.
• Support for the people of Ukraine and what the company, the inflight division, and AFA are doing.
• Concerns about company suppliers/vendors whose values may be contradictory to those of Alaska Airlines.  Management is continuing to research this issue.
• Concerns about a perceived lack of cultural sensitivity surrounding how the company chooses to participate in certain public events and promotional activities.
• Ways for the committee to start building relationships with the company’s Business Resource Groups (BRGs) and expand existing relationships with the Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) department.
• Management’s proposal to conduct DEI listening sessions with Flight Attendants in each base; discussion about involvement of the AFA Human Rights Committee.
• Request to make DEI information easily accessible to Flight Attendants on the Inflight Mobile Device (IMD).
• Management’s progress on DEI initiatives and plans for upcoming work.
• Request that management provide more timely and visible DEI updates and information about upcoming events and opportunities.  Specifically, providing Flight Attendants with enough notice to bid time off for activities they’d like to participate in.
• Ensuring diversity and representation in company photo shoots and promotional materials that depict employees.

The committee is next scheduled to meet with management on Tuesday, May 31, 2022.  

What The Committee Is Working On

1. Working to Make Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) Information More Accessible.  Encouraging management to make information about DEI events, activities, and programs more accessible and visible to Flight Attendants through links on the IMD and more regular and relevant communication.  Requesting that management include links to the Human Rights Committee’s resource page on afaalaska.org.
2. Building Relationships with the Company’s Business Resources Groups (BRGs).  Continuing to work to establish relationships with leaders of the Company’s BRGs to find areas where we can join together to advance human rights within the scope of each group.
3. Exploring Ways to Engage with Flight Attendants About Human Rights.  Discussing possible opportunities to work with management to conduct and participate in DEI activities in each base.

We Want to Hear From You!

Do you have feedback for the committee, concerns you’d like to share, or items that you’d like brought up with management?  Please let us know!  Your Local Human Rights Committee is your voice to management.  You can find our contact information on the Human Rights Committee page of the AFA Alaska website.