Scheduling Committee
- Our AFA Scheduling Committee Chairpersons met on Tuesday, February 22 to discuss their ongoing program of work to represent Flight Attendants interests related to lineholder scheduling.
- The Committee also met with management to receive updates and discuss issues and problems that Flight Attendants are experiencing with scheduling, pairings, and bidding.
- Your Local Scheduling Committee is available to answer questions, provide clarification, or help to resolve any lineholder scheduling-related issues. Please don’t hesitate to reach out!
On Tuesday, February 22, our AFA Scheduling Committee Chairpersons met to discuss their ongoing work to represent our Flight Attendants and push for improvements in our workplace. Representing you at the meeting were Heather Reier (ANC), Martin Vance (SEA), Melodie Anderes (PDX), Virginia Fritz (SFO), Kelese Richardson (LAX), and Kitty Cohen (SAN). Also present were MEC Scheduling Committee Chairperson Jake Jones, MEC Scheduling Committee Vice Chairperson—Pairing Construction Karen Ferrell, MEC Scheduling Committee Vice Chairperson—PBS Adam Clarey, and MEC Reserve Committee Chairperson Julie Thornton. The committee met with Director of Inflight Crew Scheduling Denia Pisia, Manager of Crew Planning Mac Patterson, and other management representatives from Crew Scheduling and Crew Planning.
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:
- Upcoming layovers at Paine Field (PAE) and associated hotel/transportation
- PBS base sits.
- Bid protests.
- Severe Weather Ground Commuting LOA.
- New Crew Schedulers joining the department.
- Bid groups causing issues with bidding and raising the low line average higher.
- Charters in bid packets/PBS search.
What The Committee Is Working On
- PBS Base Sits. Conducting virtual meetings, trainings, and in-person meetings in preparation for the sunsetting of NAVBLUE ClassBid PBS.
- Reassignment Flow Chart. Developing an easy-to-follow flow chart to help explain how reassignments work, similar to the pre-cancellation flow chart.
- Scheduling Quality of Life Improvements. Reviewing ways to improve Trip Length Distribution (TLD) and other quality of life options. Working with management to develop a quality of life survey to determine Flight Attendant scheduling priorities.
- Review of user guides and links of Flight Attendant website. Ensuring information is still accurate in existing resource materials, links are still active and working, etc.
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 Scheduling Committee is your voice to management. You can open a support request on the AFA Alaska Online Support Center or contact us directly using the information on the Scheduling Committee page of the AFA Alaska website.
Brad Phillips says
Fascinating. Not a word about the impossibility of dropping or trading trips. So we’re just good with the way they keep screwing us? Morale is in the dirt and apathy is high. We just gonna say “okie doke” when they steamroll us in negotiations?
Brian Palmer (MEC Vice President) says
You’re absolutely correct that morale is low within our work group. MEC President Jeffrey Peterson actually addressed this head on with management and posted a message about it in early December. Concerns about flexibility continue to be an ongoing topic of conversation between the Scheduling Committee and management. When contractual violations occur and are identified or reported, they are addressed promptly by AFA representatives and if necessary are escalated to the Scheduling Review Board (SRB) or referred to the Grievance Committee for handling. If there are specific concerns that you have that you believe aren’t being addressed, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your Local PDX Scheduling Committee or LEC Officers to discuss them.