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For release to pre-merger AS council only

AFA is as disappointed as you in our new Jeppesen Crew Access (JCA) system. Between San Diego’s Open Time not opening on time and system slowdowns throughout the day, once again the experience on Open Time day this month was subpar. AFA advocated that management provide a “do over” Open Time day to make up for all the trouble, but management declined due to concerns over operational liability.

AFA is continuing to pressure management on a daily basis to ensure the Company provides us with an operable real-time trip trading system. Although we are seeing improvements to JCA over time, those improvements are too little, too late. The following is a list of JCA-related contractual grievances filed to date with their respective status.

New Grievances

Grievance No.: 36-99-2-27-17-Violation of §12.C.2-3 Open Time Trip Drop. This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §12.C.2-3 [Exchange of Sequences: Trading Procedures], past practice and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when it denied Flight Attendants the ability to drop a sequence in Open Time at contractually designated times, e.g. SEA at 2:00pm PT.

Details: The Company agreed it violated this provision of our CBA. The Company is working with the IT Department and Jeppesen to resolve the issue. This is tentatively scheduled for implementation on May 31st.

Grievance No.: 36-99-2-28-17-Violation of §12.C.1 Real-Time Trading Procedures. This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §12.C.1 [Exchange of Sequences: Trading Procedures], past practice and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when it did not provide Flight Attendants a real-time electronic system for processing sequence trades, picks-ups, drops and give-aways because it requires frequent refreshing of one’s internet browser in order to view updated trading data and availability.

Details: The Company agreed it violated this provision of our CBA. The Company’s remedy is that until JCA is modified, there is a manual workaround requiring Flight Attendants to refresh their browser to view an updated screen. AFA very much disagrees with the Company’s remedy and will be disputing it.

Grievance No.: 36-99-2-29-17-Violation §12.C & §30.B.5 Trading and Requalification Training. This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §12.C [Exchange of Sequences: Trading Procedures] & §30.B.5 [Training: Recurrent Training], past practice and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when its crew tracking system (Jeppesen Crew Access) did not allow a Flight Attendant to electronically trade trips that were on his/her line in a bid month in which s/he is scheduled for requalification training.

Details: AFA is awaiting the Company’s response.

Grievance No.: 36-99-2-30-17-Violation §12.C.3 SAN Open Time. This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §12.C.3 [Exchange of Sequences: Trading Procedures], past practice and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when it did not begin access to Open Time trading in the San Diego Flight Attendant domicile (SAN) at 9:00am PT on May 15, 2017.

Details: AFA is awaiting the Company’s response. (The Company eventually opened SAN OT at 10:00am PT.)

Unresolved Grievances

Grievance No.: 36-99-2-2-17- Violation of §11.H.7. Denial of Reserve Automated Posting and Trading of Assignments. This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement Section 11.H.7. [Reserve/Reserve Exchange of Days, Pick-Ups and Trades], past practice and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when its new Jeppesen Crew Access trading system denied Reserve Flight Attendants automated posting and trading of reserve assignments.

Details: The Company denied violating this section of the CBA. This grievance is on the list to arbitrate unless fixed prior. (This is tentatively scheduled for implementation on May 31st—finally!)

Grievance No.: 36-99-2-4-17- Violation of §9.E. & §12.E. All Open Time Trips Withheld from Open Time and Premium Pay Removed. This grievance alleges the

the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement Section 9.E. [Junior Available//and Premium Open Time/Premium Open Time] & 12.E. [Exchange of Sequences/Open Time], past practice and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when on or about February 9, 2017, and on or about February 16, 2017, all Open Time trips across the entire system were withheld from Open Time and premium pay was removed. This is an ongoing violation, and this grievance intends to include all future violations.

Details: The Company agreed it violated this provision of our CBA. This grievance also includes any later violations. We are mediating this issue for a remedy on July 5, 2017.

Grievance No.: 36-99-2-6-17- Violation of §11.E. Low Time First Available (LTFA) Out of Order Assignments January 31 to February 2, 2017. This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement Section 11.E. [Reserve/Order of Assignment], past practice and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when on or about January 31, 2017, at 8:00pm PST to February 2, 2017, at 11:00am PST, Crew Scheduling assigned Reserve Flight Attendants out of order because of the inability for Crew Scheduling to accurately verify order of assignments due to the cutover to the new crew tracking and scheduling system, Jeppesen Crew Access (JCA).

Details: The Company agreed it violated this provision of our CBA. We are mediating this issue for a remedy on July 5, 2017.

Grievance No.: 36-99-2-7-17- Violation of §11.E. Low Time First Available (LTFA) Out of Order Assignments Post Jeppesen Crew Access (JCA) Cutover. This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement Section 11.E. [Reserve/Order of Assignment], past practice and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when starting on or about February 2, 2017 at 11:00am PST, and including all subsequent violations, Crew Scheduling assigned Reserve Flight Attendants out of order because of the inability for Crew Scheduling to accurately verify order of assignments due to the cutover to the new crew tracking and scheduling system, Jeppesen Crew Access (JCA).

Details: The Company agreed it violated this provision of our CBA. We are mediating this issue for a remedy on July 5, 2017.

 

Grievance No.: 36-99-2-10-17- Violation of §11.F.15, §11.H.7 & §11.H.8 Failure to Provide Automated Ability for Reserve Flight Attendants to Self-Assign and Trade APSB. This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §11.F.15 [Reserve: Airport Standby], §11.H.7 & §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 provide automated ability for Reserve Flight Attendants to self-assign and trade airport standby (APSB) assignments due to the cutover to the new crew tracking and scheduling system, Jeppesen Crew Access (JCA).

Details: The Company agreed it violated this provision of our CBA, and a fix was implemented to correct Reserve self-assignment and direct trading of APSB. The ability to advertise and trade APSB is tentatively scheduled for implementation on May 31st.

Grievance No.: 36-99-2-18-17-Violation of §12.G.3 & §10.Y.7 SIP’d Sequences in Open Time. This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §12.G.3 [Exchanges of Sequences: Sequence Interruption Point (SIP) Sequences] & §10.Y.7 [Scheduling: Sequence Construction], past practice and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when it failed to identify SIP sequences placed into Open Time by the Company for pick-up/trade by Flight Attendants or assigned to (or self-assigned by) Reserve Flight Attendants; and thereby failed to pay all eligible Minimum Pay Rules on such sequences pursuant to §21.D [Compensation: Minimum Pay Rules].

Details: The Company denied violating this section of the CBA. The Company is looking into a manual workaround until it is fixed. This grievance is on the list to arbitrate/mediate unless fixed prior.

Resolved Grievances

Grievance No.: 36-99-2-12-17- Violation of §12.C.2-3 Allowing Out of

Domicile Trades, Pick-Ups, Drops and Give-Aways on Incorrect Dates. This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §12.C.2-3 [Exchange of Sequences: Trading Procedures], past practice and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when it allowed out of domicile trades, pick-ups, drops and give-aways on the fifteenth (15th) and sixteenth (16th) of the month rather than the required seventeenth (17th) of the month.

Details: The Company agreed it violated this provision of our CBA, and a fix was implemented to correct the problem.

Grievance No.: 36-99-2-13-17- Violation of §11.H.7-8 Denial of Automated Trading of Reserve Flight Attendant Assignments. This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §11.H.7-8 [Reserve: Reserve Exchange of Days, Pick-Ups and Trades], past practice and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when it denied Reserve Flight Attendants the ability to trade assigned trips, automated and processed in real time, due to the Jeppesen Crew Access trading system cutover.

Details: The Company agreed it violated this provision of our CBA, and a fix was implemented to correct the problem.

Grievance No.: 36-99-2-14-17- Violation of §11.J.3 Reserve Repositioning Prior to Open Time Trading Day. This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §11.J.3 [Reserve: Reserve Repositioning], past practice and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when it allowed Reserve Flight Attendants to reposition their reserve days on a day prior to open time trading day.

Details: The Company agreed it violated this provision of our CBA, and a fix was implemented to correct the problem.

Grievance No.: 36-99-2-15-17- Violation of §11.E.1.a Incorrect Reserve Self Assignment Start Time. This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §11.E.1.a [Reserve: Order of Assignment/Reserve Self-Assignment], past practice and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when it started reserve self-assignment at 10:01am PT rather than 10:00am.

Details: The Company agreed it violated this provision of our CBA, and a fix was implemented to correct the problem.

Grievance No.: 36-99-2-16-17-Violation of §11.E.1.a Incorrect Reserve Self Assignment Start Time in ANC. This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §11.E.1.a [Reserve: Order of Assignment/Reserve Self-Assignment], past practice and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when it started reserve self-assignment at 11:01am PT (10:01 AKT) rather than 10:00am PT (9:00am AKT).

Details: The Company agreed it violated this provision of our CBA, and a fix was implemented to correct the problem.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Melissa Osborne, Tim Green and Brice McGee

MEC Grievance Committee Chairperson Stephanie Adams, MEC Grievance Committee Representative Christina Frees and MEC Scheduling Chairperson Zac Weeks

Agenda for Meeting with Management on June 2

AFA is scheduled to conduct another round of discussions with management later this week regarding further work rule improvements.  This meeting is specifically focused on achieving a modified grievance procedure for the protection of Virgin America Flight Attendants.  Normally the grievance process is a benefit of a collective bargaining agreement and the procedures are outlined within it.  Management has agreed to discuss formulating a special grievance process outside of a contract.

Retro Lump Sum Payment and the IRS

The first pay period to include the recently negotiated pay increase is coming up this week! Both the retro lump sum payment and the new wage rate will be included in the 5/31 paycheck. As a reminder, the retro lump sum is considered regular income and will be taxed as normal wages.  Keep in mind that like the times when you might work more than your average credit hours in the month, the total earnings are higher in that month.  This can potentially trigger a change in the payroll tax percentage applied for that paycheck.  Remember however, that when you file your taxes at the end of the year, your actual tax rate will depend on your total annual earnings, rather than the amount issued per paycheck. So, if the retro pay causes your payroll tax to increase on the May 31st payroll, any over payment of tax would be refunded when taxes are filed.

Clarification on the New Red-Eye Language

Prior to the Work Rule Improvements Letter of Agreement (LOA) that was recently negotiated by AFA, there were no tangible protections regarding red-eye tagging.  Assignments were completely at the discretion of CSS and were limited only by an email promise from management regarding OGG tagging and FAR restrictions.  The new LOA is more comprehensive and contains language that prohibits anyone from being tagged after completing any red-eye (not just OGG), prohibits anyone from being assigned a red-eye after working more than 2 legs prior, and requires that all available reserves be assigned prior to tagging anyone arriving from a trans-con flight.

Additional to this enforceable protection, Flight Attendants can utilize the improved Walk or Waive Policy which can be exercised once a duty day is projected to exceed 16 hours. And lastly, if anyone feels that they are unsafe to fly, the Fatigue Policy is in place and should be used without fear of repercussion.

Your Local Council Officers are available to assist you in determining the options that exist and advocating for you with management.  If you become aware of any red-eye related assignments that violates the new LOA, please report the details to your Local Council Officers so that we can hold CSS accountable.  The language in the LOA took steps in the right direction and we will absolutely continue to work towards improvements in our duty day and scheduling language as we begin the process of negotiating a merged agreement.  You can help this process by supporting our Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) as they advocate for the entire combined work group.

Update on the New PED Policy

The PED policy is referenced in the IFM, which means that a change to the policy must go through the proper approval process with the FAA prior to being implemented.  Additional complications include the fact that we are in the process of merging manuals, and subject to revision cycles (scheduled revisions to tackle large amounts of changes).  AFA has clearly stated to management that the intent of the LOA was to make the policy effective immediately, however management is not able to do so without first receiving FAA approval.  AFA has requested that management attempt to get the approval as quickly as possible and they have agreed to expedite the change request with the FAA.  Stay tuned for further updates.

Have You Filled Out and Submitted Your Paper AFA Membership Application?

Have you filled out the AFA membership application yet?  This form cannot be completed online, and must be submitted directly to an AFA representative or mailed to the AFA International Office in D.C. You can download and print one by clicking here. Completing an application ensures that you have the right to vote in officer elections and on tentative agreements.

Don’t Forget to Wear Your AFA Pin

The AFA pin is an approved uniform piece and should be worn on the left collar.  If wearing both your AFA pin and anniversary pin, the anniversary pin should be placed closest to the tip of the collar.

Your AFA pin represents our combined strength and unity as we work toward achieving improvements for all of us and should always be worn with your uniform.  If you don’t already have an AFA pin, you can pick one up from an AFA representative during an upcoming Village Visit.  Visit the Council 35 Facebook page for recent “pin pics.”

Have your own pin pics to share?  Send them to us (along with the name of everyone in the picture) at vx@afaalaska.org.

FAQs

Will the passport reimbursement benefit cover expedite fees or just the renewal?

Currently policy requires VX F/As to expedite their passport renewals, which results in an additional fee.  Management has agreed to reimburse F/As for the renewal and expedite fees for all those teammates who were required by the company to expedite their passport reimbursement. Management is evaluating the need for expedited renewals and will adjust the requirement and reimbursement policy if expedited passport renewal is no longer required.  Stay tuned for an update from management on this policy.

Are disability and Workers Comp claims eligible for the retro pay and rate increase?

UNUM (VX leave vendor) has all the info on the new rates, and they are in the process of calculating any retro pay that may be applicable for impacted teammates.  If there are additional earnings due, that will be paid either via check or direct deposit (whichever the teammate has signed up for).   Teammates can reach out to the VX leave team directly if they have specific questions about retro pay on their disability payments.  For Workers Comp, we are still awaiting updates on how these retro payments are to be handled with Gallagher Basset (VX WC Vendor).

I have questions for Melissa and James, how can I reach them?

Please refrain from sending messages to VX email accounts and/or via Facebook messenger.  Your questions will be answered faster if you send them to the Council 35 email vx@afaalaska.org.  Being available to you is important to your AFA leadership team and by following the prescribed methods of communication, your leaders can better assist with your questions, suggestions and concerns.  Thank you for understanding!

I am not getting any emails from AFA Alaska Council 35. What can I do?

Please be sure to subscribe to Council 35 emails using a non-Virgin America email account.  You can subscribe online at http://afanewsletters.org/subscribe/.  If you encounter any problems with the online subscription page, please email us at vx@afaalaska.org.

Please let us know if you have any questions or thoughts!  You can reach us at vx@afaalaska.org.

In Solidarity,

Your Council 35 Officers – Melissa & James

 

Wednesday, June 21st

10:00am to 1 pm

​

San Diego Airport Terminal 1

Old Crew Room

(the door before current crew room)

​

Anticipated Agenda

​

The first part of the meeting we will review the AFA International Budget and attend to local union business. The upcoming AFA Board of Directors meeting is June 24, 2017, in Phoenix, and the members of the AFA International Board of Directors will vote on the upcoming 2017-2018 budget.

The last part of the meeting we will have Local Committee updates from Service, Hotel/Transportation, Uniform, Safety and Scheduling.

If you have an agenda item that you would like to discuss at the local meeting please send your agenda item, no later than June 19th, to LEC Secretary/Treasurer Stephen Couckuyt at Stephen.Couckuyt@afaalaska.org

​

*RSVP not required, but appreciated.  Please RSVP by 6/19 SAN@afaalaska.org​

For release to pre-merger AS councils only

Trip trading using the new Jeppesen Crew Exchange system continues to be extremely frustrating for everyone—especially on Open Time day. AFA has filed several more grievances related to Jeppesen Crew Access (JCA) since our last communication on the subject. AFA will highlight the status of JCA-related grievances in a separate communication shortly.

AFA and management have agreed to adjust the trip trading dates so that Flight Attendant-to-Flight Attendant trades will no longer occur on the same day as Open Time. This is effective in June for July trading. Because Flight Attendants did not have an opportunity to bid for the new trading dates in June, the parties have agreed to keep Open Time trading on the 15th and instead move FA-to-FA trading up a day to the 14th. Starting in July for August trading and beyond, FA-to-FA trades will go back to the contractual trading date of the 15th and Open Time trading will occur a day later on the 16th.

Click here for the “Adjusted Trading Dates” Letter of Agreement (5/25/2017) >

June 2017 (for July trading)

Posting of Trips FA to FA Open Time & Recurrent Trip Drop Coupons
All bases 13th 20:00 SEA 14th 14:00 SEA 15th 14:00 Due 13th 06:00
    ANC 14th 10:00 ANC 15th 10:00 Results 13th 08:00
    PDX 14th 10:00 PDX 15th 10:00    
    LAX 14th 12:00 LAX 15th 12:00    
    SAN 14th 09:00 SAN 15th 09:00    

 

Out of domicile FA to FA & OT Pickups 17th 09:00 PT

 

July 2017 (for August trading)

Posting of Trips FA to FA Open Time & Recurrent Trip Drop Coupons
All bases 14th 20:00 SEA 15th 14:00 SEA 16th 14:00 Due 14th 06:00
    ANC 15th 10:00 ANC 16th 10:00 Results 14th 08:00
    PDX 15th 10:00 PDX 16th 10:00    
    LAX 15th 12:00 LAX 16th 12:00    
    SAN 15th 09:00 SAN 16th 09:00    

 

Out of domicile FA to FA & OT Pickups 17th 09:00 PT

The AFA Alaska Contract page has been updated with this latest letter of agreement. AFA will continue to advocate to management that improvements to JCA are not occurring fast enough and that management needs to make things right with the Flight Attendants.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Melissa Osborne, Tim Green and Brice McGee

Your Master Executive Council (MEC) conducted interviews last week for one Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) Member position and two merger representative positions that will represent pre-merger Virgin America Flight Attendants. The MEC would like to thank the candidates who demonstrated willingness to represent our Flight Attendants. After thorough deliberation, the MEC has appointed Jamie Cogen to the JNC position and Lynne Voigtsberger and Rolando Teran to the merger representative positions.

Joint Negotiating Committee

About Jamie Cogen

Jamie started his career with Virgin America in 2009 as a Customer Service Agent. In January 2011 he joined the Inflight department and was initially based in New York (JFK). Jamie later transferred to San Francisco (SFO) where he upgraded into the role of Inflight Team Leader. In April 2013 he transferred to the newly opened Los Angeles (LAX) base where he remains today.

In July 2013 Jamie joined a few other advocates in approaching Transport Workers Union to help organize and unionize the Flight Attendants. Twelve months later, with the assistance of TWU, the organizing committee, and a lot of determination the Virgin America Flight Attendants were certified by the National Mediation Board.

Jamie graduated from the University of Phoenix with an AA degree in Hospitality, Travel and Tourism. Prior to becoming a Flight Attendant he worked for a large accounting software company helping clients with training, customization, and implementation.

When not flying, Jamie resides in Long Beach, California where he likes to ride his bike, cook, read, and travel.

About the JNC

The Joint Negotiating Committee works to obtain interim safeguards including a fence agreement with management (which maintains separate Inflight operations for a specified period of time) and merge the collective bargaining agreement(s) and/or respective work rules into a collective bargaining agreement for the combined airline. Additional information about the JNC can be found at http://afaalaska.org/merger/jnc.

Your full JNC is MEC President Jeffrey Peterson, Jennifer Wise MacColl, Lindsey Steele, Jamie Cogen and AFA Senior Staff Negotiator Paula Mastrangelo

Merger Representatives

About Lynne Voigtsberger

Lynne has been with Virgin America for 10 years. She worked in the role of ITM and is currently an ITL based at LAX.  She was an original member of the Work Rule Committee for 3 years and has also served as a Peer Review Panelist for 4 years.

Lynne has worked as a Flight Attendant for 31 years, and her past history includes TWA and American Airlines during the merger in 2001.  During the merger, when the TWA Flight Attendants were stapled to the bottom of the American Airlines seniority list, Lynne became part of a team that fought and ultimately helped to enact the McCaskill-Bond Act of 2007 assuring that all future flight attendant seniority would be handled fair and equitable in the event of a merger or acquisition.

Lynne lives in Redondo Beach with her husband and has a daughter living in Santa Barbara.  She loves all things beach related and spending time with friends. She does house, dog & cat sitting whenever possible, loves a fine wine, gardening, entertaining, and traveling.

About Rolando Teran

Rolando has been a San Francisco-based Flight Attendant with Virgin America for 10 years.  In addition to his flying duties, he has served as an Inflight Team Leader and Air Transportation Supervisor.  Prior to start up, Rolando also held a few other roles in assisting with other departments working at headquarters and a brief special assignment position in Guest Care after launch.

Prior to Virgin America, Rolando worked the Flight Attendant position with Northwest Airlines for 17 years based in Detroit, New York and San Francisco.   While at Northwest, Rolando was an active Union member working with the base representative while under the Teamsters, PFAA and AFA-CWA prior to leaving Northwest.  Rolando was an active founding organizing member of the union involvement with TWU in 2010 along with other Virgin America inflight team members.

Rolando resides in San Bruno with his partner of 21 years and their two Staffordshire Bull Terriers, Izzy and Lily.  He enjoys spending non-flying time with friends, beach and sand vacations, wine tastings, gardening or sometimes packing up the car with Izzy and Lily and taking hikes and long walks at any of the Golden Gate National Parks trails.

About the Merger Representative Positions

In their roles as merger representatives, Lynne and Rolando will be responsible for compiling the necessary information to merge the Flight Attendant seniority lists in the upcoming Alaska Airlines/Virgin America merger. They will work closely with the pre-merger Alaska merger representatives, the MEC, and the AFA International Office.  Additional information about the seniority integration can be found at http://afaalaska.org/merger/seniority.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Melissa Osborne, Tim Green and Brice McGee

Become A Member, Have Your Voice Heard!

If you haven’t already had the chance to complete an AFA membership application, you can download and print one by clicking here.  The AFA membership application is not a form that can be completed online; it must be filled out, signed in ink, and returned to an AFA representative or mailed to AFA.  Signing up to receive AFA email communications is not the same as completing a membership application.  Completing an application ensures that you have the right to vote in officer elections and on tentative agreements.

Equal Rest for Flight Attendants

AFA International has actively been lobbying lawmakers to change FAR rest minimums for Flight Attendants.  In 2014, FAR 117 was enacted to protect pilots from extensive duty days and provided minimum rest requirements. AFA believes Flight Attendants should enjoy the same protections.  For more information on how you can get involved and help make this change for all of us, please visit AFA Interactive.  There you will find instructions on how to petition our political leaders for change.

Village Visits

For several days each week, Local Council President Melissa Osborne, Local Council Secretary James Ikehara, and several other AFA Alaska leaders have visited the Villages in JFK, LAX and SFO to share information about AFA, answer questions, and provide AFA membership applications.  Thanks to everyone who stopped by!  Additional Village Visits will be held over the next few weeks. You can also find the most up-to-date information on Village Visits on the Council 35 Facebook page.

Don’t Forget to Wear Your AFA Pin

The AFA pin is an approved uniform piece and should be worn on the left collar.  If wearing both your AFA pin and anniversary pin, the anniversary pin should be placed closest to the tip of the collar.

Your AFA pin represents our combined strength and unity as we work toward achieving improvements for all of us and should always be worn with your uniform.  If you don’t already have an AFA pin, you can pick one up from an AFA representative during an upcoming Village Visit.  Visit the Council 35 Facebook page for recent “pin pics.”

Have your own pin pics to share?  Send them to us (along with the name of everyone in the picture) at vx@afaalaska.org.

Seniority Integration

Seniority will be integrated based on competitive (bidding) seniority date in accordance with the AFA Constitution & Bylaws. Competitive seniority date is often referred to as “date of hire” although the actual application is more complicated than that. A previous communication on the AFA seniority integration policy can be found here.

Joint Negotiating Committee and Merger Representative Positions

Thanks to everyone who applied for the JNC and Merger Representative positions.  Interviews for both positions were conducted at the MEC Meeting in Seattle earlier this week.  An announcement of the appointees will be sent out within the next several days by AFA email and will also be posted on the Council 35 page of the AFA Alaska website.

FAQs

Are new-hire ITMs able to apply for AFA membership?

Yes!  New hires achieve active member status with AFA after four full calendar months of employment but are considered “apprentice” members from their first day. For example, if you were hired on January 3, you would attain active member status on June 1 (first of the month after completing four full calendar months of employment). “Membership” is a relationship between the F/A and the Union; this is separate from the “probationary period”, which is a relationship between the F/A and the company.  As an apprentice member, you enjoy the benefits of the Union however you will not be able to participate in any voting activities nor hold an officer and/or committee position.

Is it true that that Skywest has the same boarding priority as VX on Alaska metal?

Skywest, though not owned by AAG, operates flights on behalf of Alaska Airlines through a capacity purchase agreement (CPA).  For nonrev purposes on AS metal, Skywest is grouped into the E7 boarding priority code, which is then further subdivided (E7A, E7B, etc.). In addition to Skywest employees, pass riders of several other airlines are also slotted into the E7 boarding priority code. All Virgin America teammates should be boarded after Alaska and Horizon employees and dependents but before other airlines when they use ZED 0 on Alaska flights, including those operated by Horizon or Skywest.  Management is working to integrate the two travel programs and expects this to occur sometime in early 2018.  In the meantime, two different systems prevent them from generating an integrated priority list.

Can we implement a commuter code like AS F/As have in order to get priority boarding status?

Boarding priority for commuters is part of the current AS contract and will not likely become a benefit for VX until we’re on a merged agreement.

Can we adopt the AS summer attendance program?

AS Flight Attendants do not have a perfect summer attendance program per se, but rather a quarterly productivity premium (QPP).  The premium provides an incentive for AS F/As to pick up flying over their awarded schedules. The incentive is $500 per quarter except for the third quarter (July, August, and September) when it is $1000.  This provision is not a company-wide policy, however, it is outlined in section 21.R of the AS contract.  Therefore, VX F/As would not be eligible to participate in the program until we are on a merged agreement.

Will the pay increase be applied to initial training pay?

Training pay is a flat rate for the entire training period and therefore would not be eligible for a rate increase.  Immediately following training, the pay rate is brought up to the pay scale for the 1st year, so on that date the pay increase will be applicable. Anyone who worked at least 1 day after graduation (between Jan 1 and Apr 30, 2017) would be eligible for the retro pay increases.

Alaska’s maternity policy is much more parent friendly.  Can we adopt the same policy at VX?

Some of the maternity leave provisions are contractual, and other parts of it are AS company policy.  As for the contractual side of it, we won’t see any changes for VX until we have a merged agreement.

I commute from SAN, when will I be given the opportunity to change bases?

Base transfers between pre-merger VX and AS bases will not occur until after we are on a merged agreement and have an integrated seniority list.  The earliest this could possibly happen would be approximately Q2 2019, but could take longer.

I would like to leave Virgin America to apply for a position at Alaska.  Can I retain my VX seniority?

Any VX teammate interested in applying to be a Flight Attendant at AS will need to resign from VX and begin as a new-hire employee.  To be eligible for hire at AS, VX teammates would be required to remove their name from the integration list and give up all their seniority rights.  If this is something you have been considering, AFA would like to caution you to consider how this course of action will impact your position and seniority.  If you have any further questions, please reach out to the Council 35 leadership team at vx@afaalaska.org.

I have questions for Melissa and James, how can I reach them?

Please refrain from sending messages to VX email accounts and/or via Facebook messenger.  Your questions will be answered faster if you send them to the Council 35 email vx@afaalaska.org.  Being available to you is important to your AFA leadership team and by following the prescribed methods of communication, your leaders can better assist with your questions, suggestions and concerns.  Thank you for understanding!

I am not getting any emails from AFA Alaska Council 35. What can I do?

Please be sure to subscribe to Council 35 emails using a non-Virgin America email account.  You can subscribe online at http://afanewsletters.org/subscribe/.  If you encounter any problems with the online subscription page, please email us at vx@afaalaska.org.

Please let us know if you have any questions or thoughts!  You can reach us at vx@afaalaska.org.

In Solidarity,

Your Council 35 Officers – Melissa & James

For release to pre-merger AS councils only

Alaska Air Group has announced the intent to operate Alaska Airlines mainline flights out of Paine Field (PAE) in Everett, WA sometime in late 2018. Management has informally expressed interest to AFA in discussing a co-terminal agreement out of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA). Driving distance between SEA and PAE is approximately 40 miles. Paine Field may not be made into a SEA co-terminal pursuant to §28.F.7 [Domiciles: Co-terminals] without mutual agreement between the parties.

It is far too early to speculate on how operations out of Paine Field might affect Inflight operations. Be assured that AFA will keep you updated once formal discussions regarding PAE begin with management.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Melissa Osborne, Tim Green and Brice McGee

Crew Scheduling management has advised AFA that the issues reported by Flight Attendants earlier today with Jeppesen Crew Access (JCA) appear to have been resolved.  If you encounter any issues with JCA going forward, please report them to your Local Scheduling Committee.

AFA realizes that JCA continues to create frustration for our Flight Attendants despite our ongoing efforts to resolve the numerous issues that have been previously identified and continue to develop.  We will keep holding management accountable for resolving these issues as expeditiously as possible through ongoing advocacy and by filing contractual grievances as warranted.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Melissa Osborne, Tim Green, Brice McGee and MEC Scheduling Committee Chairperson Zac Weeks

 

Crew Scheduling management has notified AFA that Jeppesen Crew Access (JCA) is currently experiencing various issues involving trading and other related functions.  Alaska Airlines IT has been advised of the issue and is working to correct the problem.  There is currently no ETA as to when normal system performance will be restored.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Melissa Osborne, Tim Green, Brice McGee and MEC Scheduling Committee Chairperson Zac Weeks

I was made aware of the issue with open time not allowing drops at 9:00am today.

Zac Weeks, AFA MEC Scheduling Chair is in touch with management and they are working on the issue.

We have a new start time for 10:00am to make it as fair as possible, instead of randomly opening it.

Apologize for the inconvenience and I will communicate more later today.

Please do not contact scheduling they will not be able to assist you.

 

In Solidarity.

Human Rights & Equity Committee Meeting Recap – 3rd Quarter 2025

On Tuesday, September 16, our AFA Human Rights & Equity Committee Chairpersons met to discuss their ongoing activism to raise awareness and create positive change within our workplace and community. Your representatives attending the meeting included Nyachan Chuar (ANC), LaLa Davis (LAX-pmAS), Bruni Agosto-Pinal (LAX-pmHA), Aaron Miller (PDX), Erika Daniel (SAN), and Trista Vanta (SFO). […]

AFA News in Review – September 19, 2025

In This Edition Celebrating Hispanic-Latinx Heritage Month Originally posted September 15, 2025 Join us in celebrating Hispanic-Latinx Heritage Month from September 15 to October 15, a time dedicated to honoring the vibrant cultures and significant contributions of Hispanic-Latinx Americans. Discover the history, participate in special events, and grab your commemorative Hispanic-Latinx Heritage Month AFA Pin […]

Pre-Merger Alaska MEC Committee Election Results

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants During this week’s MEC Meeting, our MEC held interviews for the first group of pre-merger Alaska MEC Committee positions to be elected for the upcoming MEC Officer term. We want to thank everyone who expressed interest in the available positions and their willingness to serve. After careful […]

Merged MEC Committee Chairperson Election Results

This message is for both pre-merger Alaska and Hawaiian Flight Attendants During this week’s MEC Meeting, our MEC held interviews for the next group of merged MEC Committee Chairpersons. We want to thank everyone who expressed interest in the available positions and their willingness to serve. After careful consideration and deliberation, the following candidates have […]

Election Notice: Alaska + Hawaiian MEC Officer Elections

The term of office for our current Alaska + Hawaiian Master Executive Council (MEC) Officers will conclude on December 31, 2025. The voting members of the MEC (LEC Presidents) will elect new MEC Officers at the November Regular MEC meeting. This communication serves as notice of the election in accordance with the MEC Policy and Procedure Manual. […]

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