Your Master Executive Council (MEC) conducted interviews last week for three Special Negotiating Committee (SNC) Member positions related to negotiation of a possible San Francisco co-terminal agreement. The MEC thanks the candidates for demonstrating their willingness to represent our Flight Attendants.
After thorough deliberation, the voting members of your MEC, consisting of the six directly-elected LEC presidents, have appointed Virginia Fritz, Justin Wetherell and Ashley Toles to the positions.
About the SNC Members
Virginia Fritz
Virginia became a Flight Attendant with Virgin America in 2015, and she has been the Local Scheduling Committee Chairperson for AFA Council 35 in San Francisco since August 2018. She has supported Legacy Virgin America Flight Attendants during the transition to the JCBA by training Flight Attendants on NAVBLUE and Crew Access. Virginia is a former resident of the Bay Area and currently commutes to SFO.
Justin Wetherell
Justin Wetherell currently serves as Local Scheduling Committee Chairperson for AFA Council 30 in Anchorage, a role he began in January 2017. He has also been an inflight instructor since April 2017. Previously, Justin served as Local Communications Committee Chairperson in Anchorage and a member of the Inflight Service Committee. Justin has been Anchorage-based since he was hired in July 2015. Prior to being hired at Alaska, he was an Anchorage-based Flight Attendant for Horizon Air. In his spare time, Justin volunteers at local schools to share his joy for aviation.
Ashley Toles
Ashley became a Flight Attendant with Virgin America in 2015 and has been at the SFO base ever since then. Ashley completed her undergraduate education at University of California, Santa Barbara and earned a bachelor’s degree in English with a concentration in Early Modern British Literature. She went on to earn her Juris Doctor degree from University of California, Hastings College of the Law. Ashley is a licensed attorney and enjoys doing pro bono work for those who would not otherwise be able to afford legal representation.
About the SNC Chief Negotiator
AFA Senior Staff Attorney Kimberley Chaput
Kimberley Chaput has been an AFA attorney and negotiator since 2000. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois-Urbana and her law degree from the University of Oregon. Kimberley has negotiated contracts at several carriers including Horizon, Mesa, American Eagle (now Envoy) and Alaska, along with sideletters at several other airlines. She lives on the Oregon coast with her daughter, Josie.
About the SNC Chairperson
MEC President Jeffrey Peterson
Jeffrey Peterson grew up in Anchorage, AK, and graduated from A.J. Dimond High in south Anchorage. Jeff achieved a Presidential Scholar Award in 1991 and went on to attain a BA in Psychology from the University of California, San Diego. Prior to becoming a Flight Attendant, he spent several years in hotel management working in San Diego and San Francisco for Marriott International and a Marriott hotels franchise company. He started out his Flight Attendant career in 1999 in the Los Angeles domicile. Jeff has also been based in Seattle and now San Diego. He has served as AFA-CWA Alaska MEC President since July 1, 2011. Jeff currently splits his time between his family’s condo in Puerto Vallarta and the AFA office in Seattle.
About the SNC
The Special Negotiating Committee will be responsible for entering into discussions with Alaska Airlines management to negotiate a possible co-terminal agreement for the SFO domicile. Currently, a co-terminal agreement is in place for the LAX domicile, where Flight Attendants can, in addition to LAX, start and end trips at Burbank (BUR), Ontario (ONT), Orange County (SNA) and theoretically Long Beach (LGB) if Alaska Airlines ever resumes service to that airport. Section 28.F.7 of the collective bargaining agreement requires that the parties will negotiate provisions similar to those in 28.F (to cover the new co-terminals) if the Company were to open co-terminals at any other domicile.
In Solidarity,
Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Lisa Pinkston, Terry Taylor, Mario de’Medici, Melissa Osborne, Tim Green and Brice McGee
