Local Executive Council 35 Committees

As of July 31, Council 35 ceased to be considered a transitional council and is now recognized as a Local Executive Council for San Francisco-based Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants.  This change provides a full complement of officers and specialized committees are established.  As we have already introduced your new officers in a previous communication, please welcome the following chairpersons into the newly created Council 35 SFO committees:

Benefits: Robert Fung

Robert started his career as a San Francisco based Flight Attendant with Virgin America in 2008. Additionally, he worked as a special assignment Flight Attendant assisting in uniform fittings, recruiting and various public events. Prior to entering the world of Inflight, he worked in the mental health insurance industry and higher education sector. True to his Bay Area roots, he has a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from San Francisco State University. In addition, he earned a Master’s Degree in Organizational Behavior with dual concentrations in Human Capital Analytics and Human Resource Management from New York University while flying full time.

With a passion for travel and photography, Robert has visited over 50 countries and can often be seen traveling with his camera on layovers.

Committee Chair Coordinator:  Aladrian Hillmon

Bio can be found here.

Communication:  Melissa Osborne

Bio can be found here.

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)/Professional Standards:  Zarah Shaw

Zarah started her Flight Attendant Career at Virgin America in 2011. Before joining the airline industry, Zarah studied Biopsychology at Mills College in Oakland, with an emphasis in Human Behavior.  During her career, she has been actively involved in many areas of interest to include the Hotel Committee and spent several months on Special Assignment working with catering and Service Standards. After being promoted to an Inflight Team Lead, Zarah went on to become an Air Transportation Supervisor. Since the merger with Alaska Airlines, Zarah has continued her involvement by becoming active in the Union. She started as a Grievance Representative, and progressed to become the pioneer member of our Employee Assistance Program (EAP). She has since trained in Peer Counseling (EAP), Professional Standards (PS), CIRP training, and completed the AFA Flight Attendant Drug and Alcohol Program (FADAP).

Grievance: Melissa Osborne

Bio can be found here.

Hotels: James Bozanich

James has always had a fascination with aviation and travel, and started his career with the airline in 2009. Since then, he has sought out opportunities within the company to grow in a variety of roles to include Inflight Instructor, Air Transportation Supervisor, and a participant in the Virgin America – Virgin Australia Exchange Program.  He now wants to focus on helping the well-being of our combined Alaska family and learn about AFA.  After almost a decade of regular layovers, and a desire to experience as much as possible at each destination, he feels he can best support our workgroup on the AFA Hotel Committee.  James feels hotels that are safe, convenient for exploring, and that offer the services crews want should be the absolute baseline.  He wants to advocate for, and support those crew members that are not delivered this standard.  He looks forward to serving our members in this capacity.

Membership: James Ikehara

Bio can be found here.

Reserve: Rachel Sebastian

Rachel has been a flight attendant for over a year, staring her flying career with Virgin America in SFO. Prior to being a flight attendant, Rachel worked in the television industry as a reporter. She continues to write stories on her layovers. Rachel wanted to get involved as Reserve Chair in SFO because she understands how hard reserve life can be, and wanted to be a resource for her fellow flight attendants who are on reserve. When she isn’t flying, Rachel is probably fixing up her 1928 bungalow or spending time with family in Portland. Rachel is looking forward to supporting her fellow flight attendants through her work at AFA.

Air, Safety, Health and Security (ASHSC): Brad Young

Brad Young has been a San Francisco-based Flight Attendant for 9 years, prior to the Alaska Airlines merger.  As the Air Safety, Health & Security Committee (ASHSC) Chairperson for Council 35 in San Francisco, Brad continues his strong involvement with the new Alaska SFO base and its members and works closely with management representing the Flight Attendants safety-related needs and concerns.  Brad has also been helping in numerous projects as the Airbus Subject Matter Expert; involved in Policy and Procedure changes and implementation of various safety-related projects for the Airbus Flight Attendants during the merger and integration. Brad also continues his role in the Aviation Safety Action Plan (ASAP) program representing AFA Alaska Flight Attendants. Brad currently resides in San Jose, California where he enjoys hiking, being a huge aviation enthusiast, and studying to get his Private Pilot’s License (PPL) for recreational pleasure.

Inflight Service (ISC): Raymond Ramirez

Raymond started out in the interior design field, but decided to pursue his passion for travel when he applied for Virgin America in 2009. He is also a native of the San Francisco Bay Area and is a big fan of mixology, comedy, and marathoning. In 2010 he upgraded to the position of Inflight Team Leader, and he also joined the Service Advisory Committee. Then in 2012 he was one of the first to join Air Transportation Supervisor program, where he taught inflight service procedures and performed IOEs for nearly 100 flight attendants. Raymond understands the importance of service consistency, delivering the brand expectations that passengers expect, and making sure crews are provisioned with the proper resources for every flight. He is very excited to support the AFA Inflight Service Committee, but also determined to make this next transition phase as easy as possible for everyone.

Scheduling: Virginia Fritz

Virginia was determined to be a flight attendant since she was a child. In her first opportunity to join the skies she was a Flight Attendant for an airship. After that she was a CSA at Virgin America and then made her way back to the air as a Flight Attendant at Virgin America and now Alaska Airlines. Virginia has a passion for details related to aviation and looks forward to applying that passion and research to any scheduling issues that may arise for Council 35 and  members based in SFO.

More Opportunities to Serve

If you are interested in participating in a committee or getting involved, please visit the volunteer page of the AFA website for more information about each committee and their responsibilities or reach out to the chairperson of the committee you are interested in to answer your questions. To see a list of committees and chair contact information, please visit the SFO Committee List.

Dues Check Off Forms Still Needed!

The first dues payment for Legacy Virgin America (L-VX) Flight Attendants occurred in the July 15 paycheck.  Approximately 60% of SFO-based flight attendants have submitted their forms, which leaves approximately 400 forms outstanding. Flight Attendants that missed the deadline for payroll deduction will receive an invoice for months that were unpaid.  Falling into arrears for failing to pay dues could result in separation from the company, as payment of dues is a condition of employment (which can be referenced in §26 of the JCBA).

You can sign up for automatic payroll deduction of dues by completing a Dues Check Off form.  This form can be downloaded from the AFA Alaska website or you can pick up a copy in the file room in the SFO Village.  Once you’ve completed the form, mail it to AFA International Membership Services (the address is on the bottom of the form) or place it in the AFA lock box (located in SFO file room) and we’ll mail it in on your behalf.  For more information about dues please see our April 30 communication AFA Dues for Legacy Virgin America.

Commuter Policy Separate from the Reliability Program

The VX Commuter Policy, which was implemented in January of this year, provides guidelines for commuters that encounter difficulties getting to work on time.  In the event you encounter commuting challenges, and you are unable to provide the required documents, the consequences will result in a performance issue, which is not connected to the Reliability Program.  Use of the commuter policy should not affect an F/As reliability, nor should any points be assessed for failing to meet all of the criteria.  When calling CSS to report your difficulty, please specify that you are using the Commuter Policy provision to ensure the correct code is applied to your line.  Your Council 35 officers recommend that every effort be made to use the Commuter Policy and avoid using sick leave to alleviate commuting challenges. Consequences of failing to meet all of the criteria for the Commuter Policy can be referenced in § E Interplay with the Reliability Policy and Corrective Action.

Reliability Program Follow Up

Council 35 Officers will be offering support and guidance to all members with Reliability Policy discipline. If you receive an email from management regarding a recent reliability activity that triggered a step of discipline, please feel free to reach out to your Council 35 Officers for assistance and guidance.  Please look for Attendance Support follow up emails from AFA starting September 1.

Stuff Happens Pass (SHP)

As of January 31, 2018, when the VX Commuter Policy was officially implemented, the SHP program began its sunset.  All F/As ceased accruing passes used after January 30, 2017.   As a result, AFA has seen an increase in denied SHP from inflight management.   When calling in SHP to CSS, 4 points and a No Show (NSH) code will automatically be put on the F/As line.  If the SHP is not approved by the F/A’s supervisor (sometimes days later), the NSH and corresponding points remain.  Many F/As have called CSS to use the SHP only to discover later that they did not have an SHP in their bank.  If you believe you have an SHP available for use, your Council 35 officers recommend that you get verification of your SHP eligibility in writing from your supervisor prior to calling CSS to use it.  As a reminder, the SHP program will fully sunset on January 31, 2019.  For more details on the SHP, please review § H Stuff Happens Pass Sunset Clause of the VX Commuter Policy.

Are You an AFA Member?

 As of today, only a small percentage of L-VX F/As have not signed up to become members.  As a reminder, the Membership Application cannot be completed online.  The hard copy paper form must be submitted directly to an AFA representative or mailed to the AFA International Office in Washington D.C. You can download and print an application, or pick one up from the bag/file rooms the next time you pass through the SFO Village.   Only AFA members may attend Membership Meetings, vote for officers, hold a position as an AFA officer or committee member or vote on Tentative Agreements (TAs).  It’s important to note that at Alaska Airlines, you are obligated to pay AFA dues regardless of your membership status and becoming a member is a condition of employment, referenced in §26 of the JCBA.

New Email Address for Council 35

As of July 31, 2018, Council 35 will be representing SFO-based Flight Attendants only. All L-VX F/As based in LAX are now represented by Council 18.  Therefore the previous email address vx@afaalaska.org will be retired.  To contact Council 35 officers in SFO, please email us at sfo@afaalaska.org.  To contact Council 18 officers in LAX, please email lax@afaalaska.org.

FAQs 

How do I contact Council 35 officers?

The best way to contact Council 35 officers is via email.  Emails are easier to forward for follow up and to have a record of information. Using your personal email account, please know that  concerns received by Council 35 are held in confidence, and will not be shared for follow up without the permission of the original sender.  Avoid using your alaskaair email to share concerns as those accounts are not private and subject to audits. To get the fastest and most thorough response, please email sfo@afalaska.org. All officers can respond to emails sent to that address which facilitates a more efficient use of resources.  Please allow at least 24 business hours for a response to any method of contact.

In Solidarity,

Your Council 35 Officers – Melissa, Aladrian & James