This message is for both pre-merger Alaska and Hawaiian Flight Attendants
- Our JNC met with management this week on July 21 to July 23 in Seattle; our next negotiation session is scheduled for August 24 to August 26
- Our JNC presented our response to the company’s initial proposal on Section 23 (Insurance Benefits), aiming to secure Flight Attendant specific provisions
Negotiations Update
Our AFA Alaska + Hawaiian Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) met this week for three days of collective bargaining with management. The JNC met with management from July 21 to July 23 in Seattle, WA. At the negotiating table for this session were:
| Representing AFA and our Flight Attendants | Representing Management |
| Tim Green, Joint Negotiating Committee Chairperson | Allen Thieman, Vice President of Inflight, Alaska |
| Martin Gusman, Joint Negotiating Committee Member | Ryan St. John, Vice President, Finance, Planning and Investor Relations, Alaska |
| Jeffrey Fuke, Joint Negotiating Committee Member | Joe Wonderly, Vice President, Labor Relations, Alaska |
| Virginia Fritz, Joint Negotiating Committee Member | Carmen Williams, Managing Director, Labor Relations, Alaska |
| Heather Reier, Joint Negotiating Committee Member | Kalani Sloat, Senior Director, Labor Relations, Hawaiian |
| Paula Mastrangelo, AFA Senior Staff Negotiator | Mike Link, Labor Relations Program Manager, Alaska |
| Karen Themelis, Senior Labor Relations Business Partner, Alaska |
This week the JNC started off by meeting with our pre-merger Alaska MEC Reserve Chairperson, Julie Thornton, to continue to review Alaska Reserve concerns. Julie also weighed in on formulating the Reserve survey to ensure all relevant pre-merger Alaska questions were addressed. The JNC will be meeting with the pre-merger Hawaiian MEC Reserve Chairperson, Kela Chong, prior to the next negotiating session.
The JNC passed our initial proposal on Section 23 (Insurance Benefits) this week, incorporating many of the protections found in the Hawaiian agreement and cementing those already in the Alaska agreement. One of our goals is to secure Flight Attendant specific insurance plan provisions in our JCBA, examples being Flexible Spending Accounts, coverage of dependent children up to age 26 and company provided life insurance.
We continued to discuss the remaining outstanding issues in Section 30 (Training) and have made much progress in this section. We have already secured Buddy Bidding for Recurrent Training and are working to secure other improvements in this section. This proposal is currently in the company’s court and we are hopeful to receive a response from management at the next session.
Section by Section Progress
The Alaska CBA is being used as the basis of the joint contract for language purposes. Each section and provision from both contracts will be reviewed individually to incorporate and amend the strongest elements from each agreement.
Sections discussed in this session:
- Insurance Benefits (AS CBA Section 23 and HA CBA Section 32)
- Training (AS CBA Section 30 and HA CBA Section 26)
Sections in ongoing discussion:
- Vacations (AS CBA Section 14 and HA CBA Section 18)
- Sick Leave (AS CBA Section 16 and HA CBA Section 19)
- Leaves of Absence (AS CBA Section 15 and HA CBA Section 17)
- General and Miscellaneous (AS CBA Section 24 and HA CBA Section 27)
- Domiciles (AS CBA Section 28 and HA CBA Section 5, 14, and 27)
- Commuter Policy (AS CBA Section 36 and HA CBA Section 34-28)
Sections listed below are on hold until discussions regarding future sections, which affect specific provisions, take place.
- Seniority (AS CBA Section 6 and HA CBA Section 9)
- Grievance Procedures (AS CBA Section 19 and HA CBA Section 23)
- Charters (AS CBA Section 33 and HA CBA Section 12)
JCBA Negotiations
As a reminder, here’s how JCBA bargaining differs from regular negotiations:
- Not Section 6 Negotiations: Because our contracts are not amendable, we fall outside the regular Section 6 process.
- Creating One Contract from Two: Instead of improving a single contract, JCBA talks are about building an entirely new agreement from two existing contracts.
- Different Survey Process: The Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) will send targeted “subject matter” surveys on specific contract sections.
For more information about the process please see Understanding JCBA Negotiations
What’s Upcoming
Our next session with management is scheduled for August 24 to August 26.
