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When: Dec 5th, 2017

Where: SAN Airport Conference room 1184-A

Time: 11:00 to 1:00

Why: Local Base Meeting

 

AFA Constitution and Bylaws require that local councils hold a membership meeting twice per calendar year.  Our first meeting was held in June to discuss the AFA Board of Directors Meeting Agenda.

This meeting is open to all Council 15 members in good standing. The purpose of the meeting will be to provide members the opportunity to meet your Officers. Please come ready to ask questions and participate in the discussions regarding merger negotiations, bidding and the latest issues impacting Council 15 members.

If you have an agenda item that you would like to discuss at the local meeting or any issues or concerns you would like us to discuss with management, please send them no later than Dec 4th, to LEC Secretary/Treasurer Stephen Couckuyt at Stephen.Couckuyt@afaalaska.org

We hope to see you there!

In solidarity,

Brice, Melanie, Stephen

Due to the recent growth within the inflight training department and the increase in other special projects assignments that are being offered by management, the MEC has elected to form an AFA Inflight Training Committee at the MEC level.  The purpose of the committee is to represent Flight Attendant interests related to initial, recurrent, and supplemental training and to represent the unique needs of the inflight instructors and those Flight Attendants on non-flying special projects assignments with management.

The committee will be comprised of one chairperson and two committee members.  Current inflight instructors and members of the special projects pool who are active and regularly assigned to inflight training/special projects duties are eligible to serve on the committee (this includes inflight instructors and ATS Flight Attendants at Virgin America). Flight Attendants who are currently on training or special project assignments who would like more information about how the committee positions including how to express interested may access the full position posting by clicking here.

For more information about the Inflight Training Committee, visit the committee page of the AFA Alaska website or refer to Article VII.I of the AFA Alaska Policy and Procedure Manual.  Additional questions may also be directed to your Local Council President.

In Solidarity,

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

[UPDATED 12/04/2017] Clarification was added to indicate that only members of the inflight training department or special projects pool assigned to inflight training-related projects are eligible for Inflight Training Committee membership.

Background

The Inflight Training Committee is an MEC-level committee responsible for working with management to advocate for Flight Attendant interests in all matters pertaining to Flight Attendant training programs and to represent the unique needs and interests of Flight Attendants who are involved in Flight Attendant Initial and/or Recurrent Training, the special projects pool, and other non-flying assignments.

The MEC is seeking to fill the committee with an MEC Committee Chairperson and two Committee Members.  Both pre-merger Alaska and pre-merger Virgin America Flight Attendants who meet the qualifications of the position are eligible to express interest.

Additional Information from the MEC Policy Manual

I. INFLIGHT TRAINING COMMITTEE

1.  SCOPE

a.  The MEC Inflight Training Committee will be responsible for representing the unique needs and interests of Flight Attendants who are involved in Flight Attendant Initial and/or Recurrent Training, the special projects pool, and other non-flying assignments (hereafter referred to as the “Inflight Training Department”).

b.  The Committee will advocate for Flight Attendant interests in all matters pertaining to Flight Attendant training programs, curriculum, materials, and activities.

2.  POLICY/REPSONSIBILITIES

a.  The MEC Inflight Training Committee shall consist of the MEC Inflight Training Committee Chairperson and two additional members-at-large selected by the MEC.

b.  The MEC Chairperson shall:

(i)  Be an active member in good standing who is currently and regularly assigned to Inflight Training Department responsibilities.

(ii)  Meet regularly, but no less than monthly, with the MEC Vice President to discuss the needs, interests, challenges, and other matters of interests to members assigned to Inflight Training Department responsibilities.

(iii)  Represent the Flight Attendant point of view to the Company in all matters pertaining to Flight Attendant Initial and Recurrent Training programs, curriculum, and other materials as well as supplemental required and optional training activities.

(iv)  Work with the Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC) to review all Flight Attendant training activities and materials

(v)  Work with other AFA Committees as needed to accomplish assigned tasks and responsibilities

(vi)  Participate in AFA presentations to Flight Attendant Initial Training (IT) classes

(vii)  Keep the membership informed of items of interest pertaining to members assigned to Inflight Training Department responsibilities.  He/she will compose informational and educational articles of interest to the membership and provide them to the MEC Communications Chairperson to be included in MEC communications and posted to the MEC website

Qualifications

  • Current member of the inflight training department and/or inflight special projects pool assigned to inflight training-related projects (includes Virgin America ATS Flight Attendants)
  • Working knowledge of inflight training department policies and procedures
  • Strong computer skills. Working knowledge of Google email and Microsoft Office.
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills. Ability to write membership communications, respond professionally to internal and external e-mail, prepare reports, and plan meeting agendas and take minutes.
  • Ability to meet deadlines, delegate responsibilities, and follow up on assigned tasks.

Duties

  • Review and provide input on Flight Attendant Initial and Recurrent Training programs, curriculum, and other materials
  • Review and provide input on supplemental training activities
  • Act in an advisory role to the MEC on inflight training-related matters
  • Review material, handle correspondence, and keep the members well informed of current inflight training developments. Provide information to the Communications Committee for inclusion in MEC communications.
  • Attend meetings with management and represent the AFA position on inflight training-related matters.
  • Correspond with the MEC regularly to provide status updates. Prepare and send a monthly committee report to the MEC.

Time Commitment and Flight Pay Loss Reimbursement

  • It is estimated that most of the work of these positions will be conducted in conjunction with performing regular inflight training or special projects responsibilities. Some additional remote work may be required.
  • These positions do not have an allocated budget for flight pay loss reimbursement.

Working Relationships

With Other MEC Committee Chairpersons

Regular interaction with other MEC Committee Chairpersons; particularly the Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC), Grievance Committee, and Reserve Committee Chairpersons.

With The Master Executive Council

This position reports to the Master Executive Council. The MEC executive sponsor for the committee is the MEC Vice President.

With Alaska Airlines Management

Constant interaction with inflight management, particularly the Managing Director of Inflight Strategy and Support (Carmen Williams), Manager of Inflight Training Delivery (Amanda Westendorf), Manager of Inflight Policy and Procedure (position currently vacant), and the Inflight Training Supervisors.

Expressing Interest and Interview Scheduling

  • The MEC will hold interviews during the January MEC meeting on Thursday, January 18 and Friday, January 19, 2018.
  • Interviews will be at the AFA Alaska MEC office in Seattle.
  • Submit an expression of interest and resume to MEC Secretary-Treasurer Linda Christou at linda.christou@afaalaska.org no later than 5 PM Pacific Time on Monday, January 8, 2018. In your expression of interest, please indicate the position you are interested in: Chairperson, Committee Member, or both.
  • Linda will be able to provide additional information regarding transportation and booking of flights if necessary.

 

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 Friday, November 24, is the constitutional deadline for challenges to either the competitive bidding date or date of birth that were included on your Seniority Verification Letter (SVL). There are instructions on the SVL informing you of how to send information if you believe either date is incorrect.

If you did not receive your SVL, you may request that a duplicate be sent to you by email.  To do so, send your request to the following email address: seniority@afacwa.org.  Your request must include your Name, Employee Number, Council/Base, and your Email Address.

During January 2018, the Seniority Merger Integration Committee (SMIC) will meet in Washington DC at the AFA International Office.   At this week-long meeting, the plan is to complete the research, resolve any incorrect dates, certify each seniority list, determine the training adjustment to apply to AS seniority dates, determine the same-day tie-breaker, and finally, merge the two seniority lists into a single seniority list. Additionally, the SMIC will draft a document for the entire membership to explain the details of the process and answer questions that have been received from various members.

In Solidarity,

Your Seniority Merger Integration Committee – Sandra Morrow (AS), Rolando Teran (VX), Lynne Voigtsberger (VX) and Marie Maxwell (AS)

The Seniority Merger Integration Committee has been contacted by some members who were confused about the recent Pilot Arbitration, and whether our seniority integration would involve arbitration.

For both Flight Attendants and Pilots, the seniority integration process is determined by the Constitution and Bylaws (C&B) of each Union. Each C&B has a unique set of rules that governs the process for the benefit of the respective memberships.

At the Airline Pilots Association (ALPA), their C&B does involve arbitration as part of their process. This addresses the needs of the members at ALPA.

At AFA-CWA, our C&B focuses on our “competitive (bidding) seniority.” We do not rely upon an outside arbitrator making decisions based upon the merged airlines. In essence, we keep our bidding seniority, and take that with us into the merger. The only permitted change is to address different training policies. In our case, since one group has competitive (bidding) seniority from the beginning of training and the other group has it from the end of training, a training adjustment may be determined.

In simplest terms, the VX Flight Attendants will see no change to their current competitive (bidding) seniority dates. The competitive (bidding) seniority dates of AS F/A’s can only be adjusted to accommodate the difference in training policies, but otherwise everyone on that list will remain in the same relative order. The work of determining a training adjustment and merging the lists will be accomplished by the Seniority Merger Integration Committee during January 2018.

Reminder: If you did not receive your Seniority Verification Letter (SVL), you may request that a duplicate be sent to you by email.  To do so, send your request to the following email address: seniority@afacwa.org.  Your request must include your Name, Employee Number, Council/Base, and your Email Address.

Note that November 24 is the deadline to notify us of any inaccuracies. Instructions are on your SVL.

In Solidarity,

Your Seniority Merger Integration Committee – Sandra Morrow (AS), Rolando Teran (VX), Lynne Voigtsberger (VX) and Marie Maxwell (AS)

The AFA Alaska-Virgin America Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) just wrapped up this week’s session of merger negotiations, our sixth so far. We met with management from Tuesday, November 7th through Thursday, November 9th in Seattle, WA. Representing management: Vice President of Labor Relations Greg Mays, Vice President of Alaska Airlines and Virgin America Inflight & Call Center/Guest Services Jeff Butler, Managing Director of Labor Relations-Air Elizabeth Ryan and Virgin America Manager of Labor Emily Kimmel.

This was a mixed session that saw us reaching agreement on three provisions relating to the transition, and we presented management with our proposed improvements to the Alaska Agreement. Earlier in the week, we reached agreement on the transition uniform program for VX and transitioning the VX Flight Attendants to the Alaska Sick Leave policy.

Using your survey responses, the JNC crafted a targeted list of priorities. AFA presented a strong case for why the changes were appropriate and needed. Initially, management’s team asked a lot of questions and for clarification. However, upon returning to the table after their discussions with upper management, their informal response did not leave us overly optimistic about getting a quick deal.

Management requested more time to cost out our proposals and committed to responding with a counterproposal at our next session in December. In the interim, AFA’s finance analyst and the Company’s financial planner will be in communication to ensure that we have vetted management’s costing model and agree on the numbers.

Keep in mind that merger negotiations are a different process than regular negotiations. Discussions are focusing on a limited list of Flight Attendant priorities. All the provisions in the AFA Alaska contract (scheduled pay raises, etc.) will continue in force for pre-merger Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants; all the provisions in the Virgin America work rules will remain in effect for pre-merger Virgin America Flight Attendants unless modified and/or superseded by the AFA Virgin America letters of agreement.

Our next merger negotiations session is scheduled for December 12th-14th.

In Solidarity,

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

ANNUAL BENEFITS ENROLLMENT

Annual benefits enrollment has been extended until November 16, 2017!

Enroll now at: www.alaskasworld.com under your benefits/pay tab> benefits>healthcare & total rewards.

If you have any questions or need help, contact our Benefits Center at (844) 231-3476, Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 7 p.m. PT. To further assist you, our AFA benefits chair, Sonia Quackenbush will be available tomorrow, November 9th, downstairs in the Inflight crew room from 10 a.m. until 2:00 p.m.

As a reminder you should not enroll in the optional short-term disability (CA has their own state disability) and it’s a good time to review all of your beneficiary information and make any necessary changes.

Council #19 November Base Update

November 2017

 

Council #19 LEC Meeting was held on 11/1/2017. We were pleased to see a great turnout. Lots of great questions and suggestions from the attendees. Minutes are posted on the website and have been emailed to the base mailing list.

We’d like to welcome Danni Burk Peterson back to the SEA Benefits Committee. She will bring her knowledge and familiarity with maternity leaves to the Committee, joining LEC Benefits Chairperson Kathy O’Malley and committee member Leanne Canton.

Council Rep. Melinda Jorge and Government Affairs Committee member Jay Styger attended Government Affairs training in LAX in October. ASHSC members David Lake and Timothy Christian-Brookshire attended advanced training as well.

Committee members from all bases participated in a Benefits Training in late October in Seattle. Remember, Annual Enrollment for Benefits has been extended until 11/16/2017 for changes to be effective 1/1/2018. There were some initial glitches with the website but they appear to have been resolved. If you are having difficulty or have questions, Benefits Committee members will be available in the Ready room on the following dates:

  • November 8th, 3pm-8pm
  • November 9th, 6am-11am
  • November 11th, 7am-12pm
  • November 12th, 9am-5pm
  • November 13th, 7am-12pm

 

We are well aware that there are continuing problems with JCTE (Crew Access) and with payroll errors. Please go to support.afaalaska.org to report payroll issues, scheduling problems and reserve concerns. Not only does this provide an opportunity for AFA to track trends in order to resolve problems, but it allows us to research each individual situation and respond.

We are finding that many Flight Attendants do not know how to track their hours and pay. Our payroll system is very complex with all the different rates, depending on each situation. The following guidelines may be helpful:

Flight Crew Pay Sheets live forever, unlike Rosters which currently vaporize after 60 days. To see a print out of what you were paid for, look at the Paysheet for the month at issue. You will also find your running sick leave usage and vacation totals in the upper right-hand corner of each sheet.

Save your original line award. Keep a screenshot of every change you make to your awarded line, and in particularly any trips that operate irregularly. Do the same with reserve assignments. This is the material you’ll need to determine whether or not you were paid properly for your flying or reserve duty, and to determine leave eligibility continuing health care benefits and vacation accrual during a leave.

With the start of winter, and the attendance issues, please copy and print or bookmark the following information to assist you in determining your legalities and pay:  http://afanewsletters.org/docs/2/Irregular%20Operations.pdf.

We know that this feels like extra work and agree that it shouldn’t be necessary. It will be necessary information in order to file a ticket at support.afaalaska.org, so that we can resolve your issues as quickly as possible. Without supporting documentation, which can be easily attached to a ticket, it is much more difficult and time consuming to resolve individual issues and to track larger problems. Please know that we are working diligently to ensure that each problem is addressed and rectified as quickly as possible.

We’re growing! Our TSN number is increasing from 11 to 12 based on our increased base size. 53 new Flight Attendants from the most recent class are based in Seattle, and 58 from the next class will be in Seattle as well. Welcome to our latest additions to the Seattle base!

Inflight has just promised no Junior Assigning from 12/16-31, thanks to the increased Reserve coverage. They have also asked that you provide as much notice as possible (at least 30 days for a non emergency situation) when applying for a leave of absence.

This is the start of a hectic holiday season, and we wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving!

 

In Solidarity,

Terry, Jake, Adam, Melinda and Megan

 

Council #19 LEC Meeting

November 01, 2017, 1-4 pm

1:02pm Call Meeting to Order

Meeting called to order by Terry Taylor (LEC President)

Report from Terry Taylor

•  Gave grievance report

•  OS Ticketing System working well, if you have an issue file a ticket.

•  AFA Office has moved to 11th Floor of Seatac Towers South

Report from Jake Jones – Vice President

•  Working on clearing OS tickets

•  Scheduling Review Board has been established to remove scheduling issues from ADR.

•  TSN Count Starting in December will now be 12

Report from Adam Clarey – Secretary

•  Currently under budget for the year

•  Membership is up to date, and our base is continuing to grow. Dues Delinquency is down.

•  Increase in subscribers to AFA newsletter since Seniority Integration List was mailed.

1:15pm Merger, Integration and Negotiations

•  MEC President Jeff Peterson joined us for discussion related to our integration process with VX, Joint Collective Bargaining Negotiations, and Opentime Negotiations.  Completed latest Merger Negotiations last week, have another one coming up in November.  At this time will not be publishing survey results, but there were no surprises about the Alaska Flight Attendant priorities.

•  Will we vote on a Joint Agreement?  Yes, once an agreement is reached and the MEC approves it being sent to membership all AS and VX Flight Attendants will vote on the tentative agreement.

•  Do we vote on the Seniority List? No separate process outside of negotiations done by the Seniority Merger Integration Committee.

•  We can’t integrate our workgroup until management has the joint seniority list, and they won’t receive it until after we have a joint agreement.

•  Could a Virgin and Alaska Flight Attendant be working on the same plane under different pay scales prior to a joint agreement? No

 

2:45pm – Scheduling and Crew Access Updates

Jake Jones, Council 19 Vice President and MEC Scheduling Chair discussed Crew Access problems, issues, and scheduling concerns.  Currently 400 issues on the Flight Attendant side in Crew Access.  Management has contracted 400 hours each month from Jeppesen to fix issues, 400 hours are shared by all departments to fix issues.  Each month we select 5 issues between the Flight Attendants and Pilots for Jeppesen to fix.  2 issues are specifically Flight Attendant issues and 1 issue is a common issue.  Many pay problems associated with Crew Access.  Please file a ticket, support@afaalaska.org.  Activity Claims have increased from approximately 400 each month to over 1500.  A new payroll system is scheduled to be rolled out by Alaska on April 1st.

 

3:55pm Committee Reports

Inflight Service Committee Chair (ISC)- Ross DeJong gave a brief overview of the service testings happening currently.

Reports given electronically and will be posted

 

4:00pm Late Agenda Items

None

 

4:05pm Announcements

Welcome Dani Burk Peterson to Benefits Committee specializing in Maternity starting today 11/1/17

 

4:07pm Call for Adjournment of Meeting

 

When: Dec 5th, 2017

Where: SAN Airport Conference room

Time: 10:00 to 1:00

Why: Local Base Meeting

AFA Constitution and Bylaws require that local councils hold a membership meeting twice per calendar year.  Our first meeting was held in June to discuss the AFA Board of Directors Meeting Agenda.

This meeting will be open to all Council 15 members in good standing. The purpose of the meeting will be to provide members the opportunity to meet your Officers and Committee Chairs. Please come ready to ask questions and participate in the discussions regarding merger negotiations, bidding and the latest issues impacting Council 15 members.

If you have an agenda item that you would like to discuss at the local meeting please send your agenda item, no later than Nov 30th, to LEC Secretary/Treasurer Stephen Couckuyt at Stephen.Couckuyt@afaalaska.org

We hope to see you there!

In solidarity,

Joint Contract Negotiations Session 15 – June 2026

The JNC has been actively negotiating key sections of the contract, focusing on vacation, sick leave, and temporary duty assignments. A tentative agreement was reached on Section 37 (Temporary Duty Assignments), ensuring financial protections and fair treatment for Flight Attendants during temporary assignments. These ongoing discussions demonstrate a commitment to integrating the best benefits from both Alaska and Hawaiian CBAs for all members.

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Scheduling Committee Meeting Recap – May 2026

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants On Tuesday, May 26, our pre-merger Alaska AFA Scheduling Committee Chairpersons and Representatives met virtually to discuss their ongoing work to represent our Flight Attendants and push for improvements in our workplace. Representing you at the meeting were Rebekah Olds (ANC), Rita Tillou (SEA), Melodie Anderes (PDX), […]

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