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Representing the Flight Attendants of Alaska + Hawaiian

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[See also Negotiations: General [misc]]

Q:     Please explain who were the specific people at the negotiation table for both the union and company.  Did the Company have legal representation/counsel present to review and advise the Company during the negotiation process?  Did the Union have legal representation/counsel to review and advise the union during the negotiation process.  If the Union had legal counsel during negotiations to review and advise is that information made available to us as Flight attendants of who that counsel is?

A:     For the AFA JNC: MEC President Jeff Peterson, Jennifer Wise MacColl, Jamie Cogen, Lindsey Steele and AFA Senior Staff Negotiator Paula Mastrangelo. AFA Director of Collective Bargaining Joe Burns also joined the JNC for some of the key sessions in which the parties discussed comprehensive economic proposals.

AFA Director of Collective Bargaining Joe Burns is also an attorney. Keep in mind that Senior Staff Negotiator Paula Mastrangelo, although not an attorney, is a professional negotiator and has been bargaining for AFA since the 1990s. The full resources of the AFA Collective Bargaining, Research and Legal departments were made available to the JNC throughout the process, including AFA General Counsel Ed Gilmartin. 

For the Company: Vice President of Inflight & Call Center/Guest Services Jeff Butler, Vice President of Labor Relations Greg Mays, Managing Director of Labor Relations Elizabeth Ryan and Manager of Labor Emily Kimmel. They were joined at various points by subject matter experts such as Managing Director of Inflight Operations Valerie Jenkins, Financial Planning & Analysis Manager Brittany Schaub, Director of Retirement Services Chrystie Dickens, Retirement Benefits Analyst Jaime Smalley, Virgin America Supervisor of Crew Pay Peter Silberstein.

Management did not have any legal representation/counsel present during any bargaining sessions. To the best of our knowledge, management did not have any legal representation/council present in their caucus room when we were not in joint session. The JNC is aware that Alaska Airlines Legal reviewed the JCBA Supplemental Reduction in Force LOA and advised management via email.

Q:     I hear many L-AS FAs voicing skepticism about this merger TA primarily due to the extension of our current contract and the lack of resolution on our current open time agreement. What is the status of our new open time agreement? Perhaps some more information as to why the JNC and the Company agreed on a 2 year extension to the current agreement.

A:    The JNC believes it is understandable L-AS FAs are frustrated about the lack of resolution regarding Open Time. Be assured that the MEC and the Negotiating Committee are equally as frustrated about the situation, and they have not forgotten about it. Open Time is a ‘meaty’ enough topic in its own right that the MEC will prepare a standalone communication to address the issue shortly. The duration of the mid-term JCBA was addressed in the JNC blog post “Negotiations: Why a Midterm JCBA? [misc]” and also in “Merger Negotiations Background” under “Bargaining Rationale.”

For ANCFAs:

Q:     Do I have to give up my ANC SIDA badge to get the $75.00 parking stipend if I am a commuter from FAI and want it for use of the elevator, but I do not park in the employee lot?

A:     Yes! As of 2/27/2018 management now agrees that you may keep the ANC SIDA badge and still be eligible for the $75 parking stipend. if you decline Company-provided parking. You may be required to confirm that you will not utilize parking in ANC.

Q:     As a commuter from SEA, ANC supervisors told me I could not give up my ANC SIDA badge, which includes parking, so I have been unable to get SEA parking. Will I be eligible to get the $75 stipend/month since I do not park in ANC?

A:     Yes! As of 2/27/2018 management now agrees that you may keep the ANC SIDA badge and still be eligible for commuter parking in another domicile/co-terminal or for the $75 parking stipend if you decline Company-provided parking altogether. You may be required to confirm that you will not utilize parking in ANC.

Your Master Executive Council (MEC) is incensed that management has chosen to strand multiple crews on the East Coast tonight due to Winter Storm Riley. AFA has repeatedly reminded management over the past several extreme weather events that the Association is more than willing to enact CBA §8.S [Natural Disasters…] in order to turn Boeing crews out of affected stations. Instead, executive operations management (i.e. the Director of System Operations and System Operations Control) is consistently waiting to make decisions until too late in the day when all crew recovery options are essentially lost. This goes for Boeing and Airbus crews.

Crewmembers going into a layover are not going anywhere once they have been picked up by hotel transportation and/or the departing aircraft takes off. Note to management: Any beverage cart jockey can tell you that waiting until 5 PM PT / 8 PM ET to ‘call the ball’ won’t cut it—the vast majority of East Coast flights are long gone. When flights are subsequently cancelled for the next day(s), all stranded crew are along for the ride—for better or for worse.

AFA has made numerous attempts in the recent past to get management to be more proactive when assessing potential extreme weather events. We have tried conducting the appropriate conversations going through the proper channels. Obviously that approach isn’t working, so now we’re going to resort to public shaming. Believe us, it’s not what we prefer.

AFA sincerely hopes everything works out for our stranded crews on the East Coast. Please know we would have supported getting you out if we had been consulted in time to do something about it. Now that AFA has been asked about enacting §8.S on the Boeing side, we have approved the provision in anticipation of Winter Storm Riley. Unfortunately, it’s way too late to make any difference.

Just remember: This stranding has been brought to you courtesy of Alaska Airlines management.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Lisa Pinkston, Terry Taylor, Mario de’Medici, Melissa Osborne, Tim Green and Brice McGee; and MEC Scheduling Committee Chairperson Jake Jones

Have you heard of the “me too. campaign”?

You are not alone. Over 20 million people  have reported sexual assault since 2000.

AFA-CWA International has put together a short 3 minute survey on sexual harassement that may have been experienced in our workplace. Please take a moment to complete the survey.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FAmetoo

 

 

Council #19 February Base Update

Grievances

We have had a very busy start to 2018. We have had a flurry of activity due to the Oral and Written Warning Grievances filed for those who were unable to complete the CBT Compliance Training. There were multiple IT issues for those who had difficulty completing the training by the deadline.  The problems seem to be continuing with the Cornerstone Recurrent Training program. If you are or have had difficulties using the Cornerstone application for the Computer Based Training or the Recurrent Training version, and if you have records or screenshots of your attempts to solve the problems through supervisors, Spot On or IT, please forward them to grievance@afaalaska.org.  We are hopeful that the Desktop version will prove more reliable.

 

Benefits

On February 18th the Seattle Benefits Committee held a Maternity Roundtable for those Flight Attendants who are pregnant, or planning to become pregnant. The meeting was well attended. Seattle Benefits Chair, Kathy O’Malley, Benefits Maternity Chair Danni Peterson, Seattle Benefits Committee Member LeAnne Canton, MEC Grievance Chair Stephanie Adams and MEC Benefits Chair/Council 19 President Terry Taylor were present to discuss recent changes to Maternity Leaves and to answer questions. If you have maternity related questions, feel free to contact Danni Peterson at dannipeterson252@gmail.com.

 

Having a problem? Not sure who to contact? 

There is a complete list of Seattle Committee members available at afaalaska.org/sea/committees. You will also fined laminated cards in the Seattle Inflight Office that lists all of the Committee Chairpersons and Officer phone numbers. We will have some available at the TA Roadshows and PBS sits, as well.

You can also go to support.afaalaska.org and open a ticket. This is very helpful if you have a reserve, pay or scheduling issue. You can attach supporting documents so that we can resolve your issues as quickly as possible.

 

Are you finding the new PBS format confusing?

New NavTech PBS System – Base Sits – Get expert help!

March 5:  5am-6pm – Inflight Office (Mezzanine Level)

March 6:  10am-6pm – Inflight Office (Mezzanine Level) and 5am-4pm – C Concourse break room for Reserves.

March 7: 5am-6pm – Inflight Office (Mezzanine Level)

March 9: 5am-1pm – Inflight Office (Mezzanine Level) and 5am-4pm – C Concourse break room for Reserves.

April 5: 8am-5pm – SeaTac Office Tower, South Tower, LP Level, Earhart Room

April 9: 8am-5pm – SeaTac Office Tower, South Tower, LP Level, Earhart Room

Mary 4: 8am-11am – SeaTac Office Tower, South Tower, LP Level, Earhart Room

May 8: 8am-5pm – SeaTac Office Tower, South Tower, LP Level, Earhart Room

This is the building that 13 Coins is located in on International Blvd., across from the airport. Free parking is available in front or behind the building. If parking behind, tell the guard that you are attending an Alaska Airlines event.

 

Seattle TA Roadshows are Scheduled:

The roadshows are for current AS/VS Flight Attendants only. Please do not bring non Flight Attendant guests or spouses. You may bring infants/small children if child care is problematic.

March 8: 9am-12pm  and 1pm-4pm

March 10: 9am-12pm and 1pm-4pm

All roadshows will be held at the Four Points by Sheraton, Seattle Airport South. 22406 Pacific Highway South, Des Moines, WA 98198.

 

Council #19 Base Meeting

We will be holding our Council #19 Base Meeting on March 27th from 1pm-4pm. The first two hours of this meeting will be a joint meeting along with Horizon Council #16. The majority of the agenda items will be advanced Board of Director’s meeting agenda items, as this is required in the AFA Constitution and Bylaws, however, we will devote the last hour of the meeting to taking questions regarding the TA. There will be a Joint Negotiating Committee Member present at the meeting.

The meeting will be at SeaTac Towers (same building as 13 Coins), Lower Plaza Level in the Earhart Room.

 

New Classes

Class 18-1 graduated last week and will be starting on Reserve March 2nd. You will see some of them flying prior to them, so please wish them a warm welcome to our Alaska Family.

 

Are You Connected?

Make sure to follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/AFA-Council-19-Seattle-538630496190284/

You can receive the most important Council #19 updates via text! Register at: https://www.remind.com/join/sea19

 

In Solidarity,

Terry, Jake, Adam, Melinda and Megan

With the upcoming merger tentative agreement (TA) vote, it’s important to exercise your right to cast your ballot.  Please review the information below to ensure that you will be able to receive your ballot in a timely manner and will be eligible to vote.

Voting Timeline

03/13/2018 Ballots mailed to address on file with AFA International
03/16/2018 Polls open/voting begins
04/03/2018 Polls close/voting ends

What Is a Member?

A Flight Attendant must be a member to cast a vote.  If you are a non-member, you can make yourself active by completing a membership application and returning it to AFA Membership Services.  Please contact AFA Membership Services for assistance at (800) 424-2401, option 7.

Pre-merger Alaska Airlines (pmAS) Flight Attendants must also ensure that all membership dues are current and up-to-date.  If you have received an invoice from AFA Membership Service for missed payments, please contact AFA Membership Services to make payment arrangements. Dues payments can also be made online.

How Can I Check To See If I’m a Member?

If you are unsure of your membership status, please contact AFA Membership Services for assistance at (800) 424-2401, option 7.

New Hire Flight Attendants

Pre-merger Alaska Airlines (pmAS) Flight Attendants who have not been employed for 4 full calendar months as of 04/03/2018 are not eligible to vote and cannot make themselves eligible to vote, nor will they receive the voting instructions.  However, if a new hire Flight Attendant has completed 4 full calendar months of employment on or before 04/03/2018 they are eligible to vote during the entire voting period.

Pre-merger Virgin America (pmVX) Flight Attendants do not have a first contract in place and need only complete a membership application to be eligible to vote regardless of date of hire.

Make Sure You Get Your Ballot—Update Your Address

If you’ve recently moved or have a new address, please submit an address update to AFA International using the change of address form at www.afacwa.org/coa.  Please note that updating your address with the company does not automatically update your address with AFA; a separate change of address must be submitted using the link above.

AFA Membership Services will be uploading the roster into the ballot system on or about March 7.  Until then, you may submit an address update via the AFA Membership Services change of address form.  Ballots will be mailed on March 13 and will be sent to the address that was on file with AFA at the time the membership roster was uploaded.

More Information

You can find additional information on the merger TA voting page of the AFA Alaska website.  If you have questions about membership status or voting eligibility, please contact AFA Membership Services at (800) 424-2401, option 7.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Lisa Pinkston, Terry Taylor, Mario de’Medici, Melissa Osborne, Tim Green and Brice McGee

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants

Your AFA Alaska Master Executive Council (MEC) has been very hard at work ensuring disciplinary due process and contractual compliance on your behalf.  Section 20.N.2 of the Flight Attendant collective bargaining agreement (CBA) allows for 10 arbitration dates per year to argue discipline/termination cases and contractual issues.  AFA typically prioritizes termination cases in order to return a Flight Attendant back to work as soon as possible, however we seek a balance between discipline and contractual cases.  AFA and management mutually decide which cases to arbitrate next based on many factors. The following is a list of open contractual grievances and grievances that have been recently resolved.

Recent and Upcoming Arbitration/Mediation

Arbitration October 11, 2017 Flight Attendant disciplinary case
Arbitration November 21, 2017 Flight Attendant disciplinary case
Mediation January 22, 2018 Contractual issue
Arbitration January 31, 2018 Contractual issue
Arbitration February 21, 2018 Flight Attendant disciplinary case
Arbitration March 8, 2018 Flight Attendant disciplinary case

Recently Settled Grievances/Mediations

Arbitration Scheduled for September 13, 2017— Grievance No.:  36-99-2-50-17-Violation of §10.X.9 Meals While Deadheading on Alaska Air Group Flights.  This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §10.X.9 [Scheduling: Deadhead], past practice and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when it failed to provide a deadheading Flight Attendant with one (1) complimentary meal on board any flight when there is a food option available for purchase on Alaska Air Group flights operated by Horizon Air, (QX), SkyWest Airlines (OO) and Virgin America (VX).  Addendum: The provisions of this Agreement will be extended to pre-merger Virgin America Flight Attendants, and reimbursement will occur using the appropriate pre-merger Virgin America pay request process above until such pay process has been migrated to Alaska Airlines.

Details:  Effective January 1, 2018, Flight Attendants who deadhead on QX and/or OO, will receive $5.00 in lieu of a complimentary meal, if food was available for purchase on such flight.  Flight Attendants must submit an activity claim form showing the date of the flight, the flight number and the city pairs.

Flight Attendants who deadhead on VX (Airbus aircraft) will receive one complimentary food item if one is available for purchase, just like when deadheading on AS (Boeing aircraft) flights. 

Arbitration Scheduled for January 31, 2018—Grievance No.:  36-99-2-40-16-Violation of §15.E.2 & §15.M Parental Leave of Absence.  This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §15.E.2 & §15.M [Parental Leaves of Absence], past practice and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when it failed to allow a Flight Attendant to utilize sick leave or vacation while on a parental leave of absence.

Details:  Management agrees that section 15.M of the CBA allows Flight Attendants to choose to coordinate sick/vacation pay with both a maternity and parental leave.  At one point in time, management interpreted the coordination of the leave provision to require a Flight Attendant to use sick pay and/or vacation pay and short-term disability (STD) benefits at the same time.  In that case, a non-birth parent would not be able to coordinate benefits because he or she would not have STD benefits.  However, after reviewing negotiation notes and discussing the issue with management, the coordination language as written does not require simultaneous use of both benefits.

Mediation Scheduled for January 22, 2018—Payroll Issues.  AFA and the Company mediated seven outstanding payroll issues and agreed upon the following resolutions:

  1. An AFA payroll representative position will be established. This person will shadow payroll for a short period of time and will be responsible for reviewing Flight Attendant activity claim forms and other pay claims and working with payroll to ensure they are processed accurately.  The position will phase out after the Company implements new payroll software with a least six months’ transition after implementation of the new system (and at that time only by mutual agreement of AFA and the Company).  The Company will fund all flight pay loss to cover the position.  The positon will be filled by a candidate selected by the MEC, but feedback provided by the Manager of Crew Pay will be considered in the selection process.
  2. Lineholders picking reserve days will always be paid the greater of the assignment or 5 TFP per day for the reserve day, evaluated on a day-for-day basis. This also applies to any days a Reserve picks up on day off that put her/him above original line value.  Also, lineholders will be paid 1 TFP above guarantee if a reserve day is converted to ER and they are subsequently not used.
  3. JCTE is not paying the greater of actual or scheduled for trips scheduled to release after midnight but that subsequently release prior to midnight. This seems to happen mostly when the original trip contains minimum pay rules (MPRs). AFA is requesting that JCTE be programmed so that the value of the trip does not drop below the original value.
  4. The Company will request that Jeppesen allow crew members to see rosters going back three months from current month, as well as the current and upcoming months. This is a core change to JCTE programming that will take time to implement.  The Company will post an alert on inflight website notifying Flight Attendants that a roster is scheduled to drop off so that they may print or download the roster.  For the first six months, notification will also be sent to all Flight Attendants by company email.
  5. JCTE is incorrectly applying and/or removing minimum pay rules (MPRs) on trips that have been split at a SIP point. The Company will investigate whether this issue has been fixed by the latest release of the program.
  6. Multiple JCTE programming errors have resulted in scheduling errors and other payroll issues. AFA believes appropriate resolution of these errors is addressed in section 10.W of the CBA.  Many errors are due to discrepancies in value of the trip between the bid packet and values listed in the JCTE system.  If a Flight Attendant submits an activity claim form to recover a difference in trip value due to a scheduling error, payroll will pay Flight Attendants the value requested on Activity Claim Form.  Activity Claim Forms will not be disputed by management if Flight Attendants provide a screen shot showing the TFP value being requested.  If a screen shot is not provided, the Company reserves the right to research the underlying error and recover any overpayment form the Flight Attendant.  This research must be completed, and a decision reached, within 90 days of the pay date in dispute.
  7. The Company will report back to AFA within four weeks on their position on disputed pyramiding pay issues.

Grievance No.:  36-99-2-6-15- Incorrect Assessment of a No Show.  This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Section 32 and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when it incorrectly assessed a No Show to a Flight Attendant on November 30, 2014.

Details:  The company removed the No Show for the affected Flight Attendant, and put out a bulletin on December 27, 2017, reminding Flight Attendants that if they are on a turn or the last day of a multiday sequence and if they believe the last flight of their sequence is cancelled or will be cancelled, then they must have their release confirmed by Crew Scheduling.   

Grievances Filed and Awaiting a Response from Management

None

Grievances Recently Granted by Management

Grievance Nos.:  36-18/19/30/39-1-66-17-71-17 & 73-17-136-17 & 138-17-150-17 and 152-17- Confirmation of Oral Warnings, Written Warnings and 1 Day Suspensions issued to 84 Flight Attendants for Failing to Complete CBT by or on August 30, 2017.  These grievances allege the Company’s Violation of issuing without just cause confirmation of oral warnings, written warning and suspensions for failing to complete CBT.

Details:  The company rendered these grievances moot by the fact that it is impossible to comply with section 19.A.3 of the CBA, and therefore the discipline will be removed from the individual Flight Attendant’s file.     

Grievance No.:  36-99-2-204-17 Violation of §28.F.6 Failing to Evenly Distribute Sequences in ONT.  This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §28.F.6 [Domiciles:  Co-Terminals], past practice and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when its December 2017 Flight Attendant bid packet for co-terminal Ontario (ONT) did not provided sequences on December 1st-11th, but only on 12th-31st, thereby not evenly distributing flying through the month.

Details:  The planners added a checkpoint for the optimizer runs to see if a similar issue occurs preventing the even distribution.  If they see the similar issue, they will override the optimizer and force the layover and/or longer trips to get the even distribution.  At this time, there are not any options to automate.

Grievance No.:  36-99-2-208-17-Violation of §11.G.4 Compensation for Picked Up Reserve Days.  This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §11.G.4 [Reserve:  Reserve Compensation/Picking Up Reserve Day(s)], past practice and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when it failed to properly compensate Flight Attendants who picked up reserve days by the contractual day-by-day basis, regardless if the days picked up were consecutive or separate.

Details:  This was resolved in the payroll mediation session conducted on January 22, 2018.

Grievances Previously Filed, Denied by Management and Currently Awaiting Arbitration Dates

Grievance No.:  36-99-2-22-14-Violation of Required Maternity Leave.  This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Section 15.D. and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when it failed to require Flight Attendants to begin Maternity Leave after the 28th week of pregnancy.

Grievance No.:  36-99-2-15-15- Limiting Access to the SAN Domicile.  This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Section 28.I [Company Provided Computers and Printers at Domiciles], when it limited access to the SAN Domicile including contractually required resources to only those Flight Attendants based in SAN.

Grievance No.:  36-99-2-29-15-Commuter Boarding Priority. This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Section 28.G.6. and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when it allowed Company employees (and their dependents) on pleasure travel to be given higher boarding priority than commuting Flight Attendants.

Grievance No.:  36-99-2-32-15- Concourse Uniform Shoe Standards.  This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Section 25.B. and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and past practice when it issued Revised Emergency Interim Bulletin 15-23 (Inflight Bulletin 2015-0179) requiring Flight Attendants to wear concourse shoes:  With a defined heel between a half inch and three inches in height; with added restrictions, i.e., solid black in color, single functional strap with a plain silver or gold buckle, button, or snap smaller than a quarter, and no textured leather, suede, cloth fabric, color threading, or separate colored trim styles; and during boarding up until the aircraft door closes.  These restrictions essentially limit Flight Attendants to wear a pump type shoe only, and unlike past practice eliminates many ‘healthy shoe styles’, e.g., Danskos, Naot, and makes them non-compliant.

Grievance No.:  36-99-2-33-15- In-Flight Uniform Shoe Standards.  This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Section 25.B. and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and past practice when it issued Revised Emergency Interim Bulletin 15-23 (Inflight Bulletin 2015-0179) requiring Flight Attendants to wear in-flight shoes with all concourse shoe requirements except the defined heel (with at least half inch height) requirement until the aircraft door closes.  Unlike past practice these restrictions eliminate many ‘healthy shoe styles’, e.g., Danskos and Naot, and makes them non-compliant.

Grievance No.:  36-99-2-34-15- Uniform Luggage Standards.  This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of past practice and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and the Railway Labor Act when it issued Emergency Interim Bulletin 15-23 (Inflight Bulletin 2015-0179) which says:  Designated “Crew” luggage tag and/or Company-approved recognition luggage strap is the only permitted accessory/adornment that may be attached on luggage items; recreational equipment must fit into company issued luggage; and individual or union lanyards with personal pins may not be worn.

Grievance No.:  36-99-2-41-15- Section 34.C.3. Alternative Hotel Selection/Site Visit.  This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Section 34.C.3. and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when it failed to include the hotel committee in the selection of alternate hotels; and when it failed to provide site visits on alternate hotels.

Grievance No.:  36-99-2-2-16- Violation of ASAP and Discipline LOA.  This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Letter of Agreement:  ASAP and Discipline July 2006 and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when it failed to allow the ASAP process to complete prior to disciplining and terminating a Flight Attendant.  The Letter of Agreement specifically states, “Flight Attendants participating in the ASAP program, whether reporting or non-reporting as defined in the ASAP Memorandum of Understanding, will not be subject to discipline.  Neither the written ASAP report nor the content of the written ASAP report will be used to initiate or support any company disciplinary action.”

Grievance No.:  36-99-2-5-16- Non-Negotiated Compensation.  This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement Section 21 [Compensation] and Section 32 [Attendance Policy], past practice and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and the Railway Labor Act when it awarded, without prior consistent notice, policy and application, $5 gift cards to all Anchorage based Flight Attendants for meeting the daily attendance goal.

Grievance No.:  36-99-2-31-16- Benefit Re-enrollment-Failure to Provide Insurance.  This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement Section 23 [Insurance Benefits], past practice and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when it:  Intended to deny insurance to Flight Attendants who fail to reenroll following any duration leave of absence; and failed to provide sufficient notice regarding insurance reenrollment following any leave of absence.

Grievance No.:  36-99-2-32-16- Automation of Stranded and Delay Pay.  This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement Section 21 [Compensation], past practice and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when it continues to automate its payroll system yet failed to include automated stranded pay for the entire crew.

Grievance No.:  36-99-2-43-16- Violation of §11.H.8. Failing to Allow Trades.  This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement Section 11.H.8. [Reserve/Reserve Exchange of Days, Pick-Ups and Trades], past practice and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when it failed to allow Reserve Flight Attendants, [Flight Attendant Names], to trade on December 18, 2016, and December 30, 2016, under its provisions; it failed to allow other Flight Attendants to do trades on other various dates as well.

Grievance No.:  36-99-2-1-17- Violation of §32.C.5. Assessing Short Sick Call Points to Flight Attendant on FMLA.  This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §32.C.5 [Attendance Policy:  Short Sick Call], past practice, all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and Federal Law when it assessed short sick call points (2 ½) to Flight Attendants on qualified Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) status when they called in sick within two hours of scheduled check-in.

Grievance No.:  36-99-2-3-17- Violation §30.A.3.c. Failure to Pay for Lodging for Recurrent Training. This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement Section 30.A.3.c. [Reserve/Reserve Exchange of Days, Pick-Ups and Trades], past practice and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when it failed to pay for a Flight Attendant’s lodging when she came to Seattle to attend required Recurrent Training.

Grievance No.:  36-99-2-52-17- Violation of §§11.H.3.b & 11.H.4 JCTE Denying Unlimited Trading of Reserve Days Due to Classification as a Reserve Block Split.  This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §§11.H.3.b & 11.H.4 [Reserve:  Reserve Exchange of Days, Pick-Ups and Trades/Reserve Day/Blocks], past practice and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when its Jeppesen Crew Access (JCA) trading system denied unlimited trading of reserve days pursuant to §11.H.4 due to JCA incorrectly classifying such trade as a reserve block split pursuant to §11.H.3.b.

Grievance No.:  36-99-2-54-17-Violation of §23.A.1 Flight Attendants Incurring a 3% Fee for Online Payments to COBRA Management Services.  This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §23.A.1 [Insurance Benefits:  Flight Attendant Insurance Plans], past practice and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when for the convenience of the Company it used a third-party vendor to administer collection of healthcare premiums for Flight Attendants on leaves of absence; and the Company allowed their third-party vendor to charge the Flight Attendants a 3% fee for online payments to COBRA Management Services (CMS).

Grievance No.:  36-99-2-55-17-Violation of §21.V Winds Aloft Adjustment of Sit Pay in JCTE.  This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §21.V [Compensation:  “Scheduled” or “Actual” For Minimum Pay Rules (MPRs) and/or Sit Pay], past practice and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when its Jeppesen Crew Access (JCA) trading system displayed each posted trip as a static ‘snapshot’ taken at the time of posting rather than a ‘live’ view, thus denying the Flight Attendant the ability to determine whether a trip is eligible for 1.0 TFP of Sit Pay due to an automated scheduling adjustment (e.g. by the Winds Aloft program).

Grievance No.:  36-99-2-56-17-Violation of §15.C.4 Medical Leave of Absence.  This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §15.C.4 [Leaves of Absence:  Medical Leave of Absence], past practice and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when in December 2016 it denied [a Flight Attendant’s] medical leave of absence (MLOA) because she did not also qualify for FMLA and because the MLOA was less than 10 days in duration.

Grievance No.:  36-99-63-17 Violation of §11.C.3.c & §12.E.1.c-d Withholding Sequences From Open Time.  This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §11.C.3.c [Reserve:  Classifications of Reserves/number of Extended Days (ER) and Conversion to ER/ER Conversion Contactability] & §12.E.1.c-d [Exchange of Sequences:  Open Time], past practice and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when it removed pairings from Open Time and placed them on Reserve Flight Attendants’ lines for more than 15 minutes, outside of the time period 2pm-6pm, and hid the pairings from view on the Reserves’ schedules until the Reserves became available for contact or Extended Reserve (ER) conversion.

Grievance No.:  36-99-2-64-17 Violation of §27.P.1.f-h Company Business Flight Pay Loss.  This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §27.P.1.f-h [General-Association:  Company Business Flight Pay Loss (CB)/Company Meetings], past practice and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when it requested Flight Attendants attend an Inflight Announcement Focus Group on or about August 7, 2017, without compensating for company meeting pay nor the five percent (5%) override and “A” pay, and without regard to contractual duty day applications; alternatively it provided non-negotiated compensation.

Grievance No.:  36-99-2-137-17-Violation of §19.A.1.a Failure to Conduct a Full Investigation with Union Representation and Contractual Pay Provisions.  This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §19.A.1.a [Grievance Procedures:  Dismissal or Disciplinary Procedures], Grievance Settlement 36-99-2-10-16 [Mandatory Attendance Counseling Violation Section 32], principles of just cause and due process, past practice and all related section of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when on or about September 1, 2017, it issued approximately 80 Confirmation of Oral Warnings and/or Written Warnings via certified mail without performance supervisors first conducting an investigation, issuing an actual oral warning and/or providing Union Representation or contractual pay provisions.  See Grievances Recently Granted by Management for information on related disciplinary grievances.

Grievance No.:  36-99-2-159-17-Violation of §12.A & §12.E Withholding Trips from Open Time and Suspended all Trading due JCTE Issues.  This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §12.A & E [Exchange of Sequences:  Unlimited Trading/Open Time], past practice and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when on or about September 30, 2017, to October 1, 2017, for approximately 8 hours, it either withheld all trips in open time or suspended all trading due to an issue with its Jeppesen Crew Tracking system.

Grievance No.:  36-99-2-205-17 Violation of §19.A.1.a Failure to Conduct a Full Investigation with Union Representation and Contractual Pay Provisions.  This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §19.A.1.a [Grievance Procedures:  Dismissal or Disciplinary Procedures], principles of just cause and due process, past practice and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when on or about November 7, 2017, and November 8, 2017, it issued approximately 41 Confirmation of Oral Warnings via certified mail without performance supervisors first conducting a full investigation, issuing an actual oral warning and/or providing Union Representation or contractual pay provisions.

Grievance No.:  36-99-2-104-18 Violation of §19.A.1. Imprecise Charges and Failure to Conduct a Full Investigation with Union Representation and Contractual Pay Provisions.  This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §19.A.1. [Grievance Procedures:  Dismissal or Disciplinary Procedures], principles of just cause and due process, past practice and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when on or about January 3-5, 2018, it issued approximately 103 confirmations of oral warning (I-6s) with inaccurate information and imprecise charges via certified mail without performance supervisors first conducting a full investigation, issuing an actual oral warning and/or providing Union Representation or contractual pay provisions.

Questions or More Information

If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact a member of your Local Grievance Committee.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Lisa Pinkston, Terry Taylor, Mario de’Medici, Melissa Osborne, Tim Green, Brice McGee; MEC Grievance Committee Chairperson Stephanie Adams and MEC Grievance Committee Representative Christina Frees

[See “Full Implementation” Guarantees / Penalties [VX] and “Full Implementation” Guarantees / Penalties 2 [VX] for more info.]

Q:     When will our L-VX family fall under the full L-AS contractual rules–with or without this TA passing?

A:     If the TA passes, the L-VX Flight Attendants will be under the full L-AS (JCBA) work rules at Full Implementation, which is currently targeted for March 2019.  If Full Implementation is delayed past March, management must build all of the L-VX pairings using the JCBA work rules. The specifics of implementation for all JCBA contract provisions can be found in the L-VX JCBA Implementation Timetable LOA TA.

If the TA does not pass, L-VX FAs will remain on the current Work Rules v.5 and pay rates as modified by the various AFA VX Letters of Agreement.

 

Q:     What is the reasoning the L-VX FAs not integrating with AS immediately upon a ratification of the TA?  If the answer is the Crew Access system (i.e. JCTE), explain how and why anyone in their heart believes that Crew Access can ever combine two groups together in the JCTE system given the track record of all the limitations and software issues that are involved with JCTE?

A:     In an airline merger, the groups are never combined right after the transaction.  It often takes several years to combine the groups because it is a very complex process. For some background info, United-Continental and American-US Airways are still not combined on the Flight Attendant side. One of the main reasons integration will take some time is because cross-training on the other aircraft type (Boeing <-> Airbus) must occur first. Cross training is currently estimated to take place summer through late fall 2018.

AFA advocated for L-AS work rules to be implemented at L-VX immediately following ratification, but management is insistent that the L-VX partition currently does not have the staffing to make that happen. L-VX is staffing up in order to accomplish aircraft cross training, but management is adamant that is all the Company can handle until cross training is complete. Additionally, JCTE system is not currently programmed to function for both Boeing and Airbus, and once again management says that the various L-VX systems cannot realistically be programmed with the L-AS contractual provisions in the desired timeframe.

The JNC feels your pain about JCTE. We pushed for securing monetary incentives to ensure management meets the implementation time frames, but management would not agree to such incentives. The JNC has insisted on receiving programing status reports on JCTE fixes and developments and all other software systems that will touch the integration. The JNC has also secured a place on the team to address the JCTE fixes. Improving the situation is not going to be easy or fast; however, we must partner with management in order to have influence in making the best of a terrible situation and to continue representing our members’ interests.

The pilots will be integrated in JCTE before FAs because the pilots are a smaller group.  Their Full Implementation target date is October 2018. AFA will strongly advocate for moving up our integration timeline to as soon as possible. As stated above, if Full Implementation is delayed past March 2019, management must build all of the L-VX pairings using the JCBA work rules.

Q1:     I’ve been reading through the TA and something I’m curious about is the creation of the AS sick bank for L-VX FAs. It’s my understanding that they will go back and look at our full sick call history. I do not have access to this information anymore and don’t trust the company to calculate it accurately. Is there a place where we can find this Information so we can see before we vote where we would sit? I’ve also exhausted my CAT (catastrophic) sick when I was on workers comp. Also, if we do end up being at a negative number, how will this affect us should we need to call out sick?

Q2:     Is there a limit to how many years there will be a look back when calculating sick time? L-VX had an honor system in the very beginning and it was a “free for all” with no repercussions. Will those first few years be held against us now?

Q3:     As a VX FA I feel the sick bank look back is really problematic.   Why will we be judged over our entire career according to a policy we never had?  Is it possible after the calculations are done to have a negative number?  Will there be situations where you are “in debt” or will your bank just be at zero?  How will we ensure the accuracy of sick call records going back 10yrs?  Why not base our bank on this year? Or have a qualification year going forward from ratification?

A:     Creating a sick bank for the L-VX Flight Attendants was a challenge for the JNC because the two systems (L-VX vs L-AS) are so different.  On the L-VX side, there is no SL accrual in the traditional sense. A L-VX FA calls in sick and is paid for the first 6 days and then transitions to California State Disability with the option of using annual accrued and banked “catastrophic days” for longer medical absences. L-AS Flight Attendants accrue sick leave into their sick bank based on 10% of paid TFP (except sick leave and Stranded Pay) monthly.

We analyzed different look-back periods and determined that a career lookback is most advantageous for the greatest number of L-VX FAs. Regardless of sick leave usage, no L-VX FAs will end up with a negative sick leave balance because it is ‘capped’ at zero if the FA’s career lookback results in a negative number.

Because of the L-VX 70 hour monthly minimum (50 hours if traded to another L-VX FA), L-VX FAs should accrue a sufficient amount of sick leave by the time they are fully transitioned to the Alaska sick leave system pursuant to the L-VX FA Transition Agreement and L-VX FA JCBA Implementation Timetable.

All of the L-VX records are maintained in Crewtrack. During negotiations, the JNC ran trials with the Crewtrack records and the results were accurate. The calculations will be done in advance and monitored by AFA. L-VX FAs will also have a sufficient opportunity to review their records and dispute if appropriate. AFA is currently working with management to finalize the specific details of the review, but management and AFA agree that such a review process should occur. The JNC believes this method for creating a sick leave bank provides for a fair and equitable transition and no L-VX FA will end up with a negative sick leave balance at the time of transition.

Q:     Former JFK L-VX FAs were covered under a city law for 40 hours of paid sick a year. How will this, if at all, affect their future sick bank accrual?

A:     The New York City’s Earned Sick Time Act (Paid Sick Leave Law) will have no effect on the creation of a sick leave bank for L-VX Flight Attendants.

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