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Effective next bid month (March 2017), both Open Time and Flight Attendant-to-Flight Attendant trading begins on the 15th of the month. All bases will open on the same day (the 15th) with the times staggered by base (all indicated in Pacific Time):

SAN – 9AM PT

PDX – 10AM PT

ANC – 11AM PT (10AM AKT)

LAX – 12 PM PT

SEA – 2PM PT

Again, this will occur in March for April trading. Current timelines are in effect in February for March trading.

This returns the trading timeline to the schedule established in the contract, §12.C.3 [Exchange of Sequences…: Trading Procedures]. You may recall that Alaska Airlines management and the Master Executive Council (MEC) agreed to ‘temporarily” alter the trading timeline when it became clear that eMaestro could not handle trades opening at the same time. The MEC has been assured that Jeppesen Crew Access (JCA) has more than enough capacity to handle the contractually mandated trading timeline, so we are defaulting back to the contractual application.

The MEC is currently preparing a separate communication to address all the frustrations with JCA.

In Solidarity,

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

Hello Seattle Flight Attendants,

This weekend Base Management, LEC Officers and Scheduling Chairs, partnered to secure more Crew Access Base Sits and Training Sessions.

Starting Tuesday, February 7th,Seattle Scheduling Chairs will be hosting a base sit in the Seattle Resource Center (Crew Room) on the Mezzanine Level beginning at 05:00 am through 6:00pm.

Once we are able to secure the training room schedule for next week, we will be sending out the “Sign Up Genius” link and a list of training sessions. Only 10 Flight Attendants are allowed per each training session, but we will also host additional base sits.

Thank you for your continued patience as your AFA representatives work through this transition period.

Seattle Flight Attendants,

There is another change to the parking situation for Recurrent Training. Please note that you no longer have to park at MVP parking. You can now park at the overflow lot located near the main parking lot at Flight Ops.

Monday – Friday:

·         Parking at the FTC is available in the Overflow parking lot (see map, below)

·         Permit is not required

·         Show your employee ID to the guard, who will then open the gate (a guard will be staffed from 7:15am to 8am)

·         If you are on leave and do not have an employee ID, you will need to show your IMD to the guard to identify you as an Alaska Airlines employee

Saturday:

·         You may continue to park in the main parking lot, with the Saturday permit (attached and available on the Inflight Website – Training)

Map for parking Monday-Friday:

When the switch is flipped to make Jeppesen Crew Access (JCA) trading go live, Reserve self-assignment and automated Reserve repositioning will finally be implemented. In fact, we are expecting JCA to go live at 11am Pacific Time (PT) despite the fact that in the opinion of the Master Executive Council there has not been adequate notice. There was an alert posted on the Inflight webpage this morning around 7am PT along with an alert to the Inflight Mobile Device (IMD); however, the text alert and email notification that was just sent out was done so at the request of AFA. It is extremely disappointing that something of this magnitude was not communicated using all of the channels available to Inflight management with the full four-hour notice as promised.

Reserve self-assignment

Reserve self-assignment will be available between 10am and 2pm Pacific Time, and the contractual rules associated with the assignments are found in CBA §11.E.1 [Reserve: Order of Assignment].

Automated reserve repositioning and the Cabin Service Report

Automated reserve repositioning is outlined in CBA §11.J [Reserve Repositioning]. The ‘Reserve repositioning calendar’ is found in the report “Cabin Reserve Coverage Report.”

The Cabin reserve coverage report is the equivalent to a reserve-repositioning calendar, showing you what days are open or closed. To access this report, login to Crew Access, click on the hamburger menu (the icon in the upper left corner that has three parallel horizontal lines stacked like a meat patty between two buns) -> Reports -> Reports on Demand -> Cabin Reserve Coverage report. Choose a range of dates (we suggest the entire month so you can see all days that are open at once) and choose your base. This report can be confusing at first glance, so below is a brief overview on how to read it.

When looking at the report, start in the left column. It will show “FAM” and “FPM” (AM or PM reserve). Just below that it will say if the day is open or closed. The next two columns show the threshold that Crew Scheduling (CSKD) follows when opening and closing the days. The “Actual” column shows how many FAs are currently on the LTFA list for that day and the “Available” column shows how many spots are actually available.  The “Available” column will change based on how many trips are currently in Open Time for that particular day.

In order to reposition into a day, the “Available” number needs to be less than the “Maximum” number. In order to move out of a day, the “Available” number needs to be more than the “Minimum” number.

AFA has requested that this be an actual calendar since day one, but our request was not accepted. We have already suggested that this be moved to an easy to read calendar, and we will keep you posted on any movement in this area.

Reserve Trading

Unfortunately, the ability to post and trade reserve days/blocks has not been implemented. Management has advised AFA that a delay of one month is expected. Be assured that AFA will be filing a grievance today.

For now, Reserves will need to send an Outlook email for trade requests to CrewSked.ReserveDesk@alaskaair.com. Include the following information in your email:

  • Both Flight Attendant’s names and Peoplesoft numbers
  • Is it a Trade of Giveaway
  • Base
  • Month in which you want to trade
  • Reserve day(s)
  • Reserve classification
  • Are you waiving duty or rest limitations to approved the trade?

If you would like to “advertise” (post) reserve blocks reserve, send an Outlook email to: CrewSked.ReserveDesk@alaskaair.com.   In order to view the Reserve trading bulletin board, you can either utilize the classic or web version of FirstClass system.

Reserve trades will be processed manually in the order they are received, by Crew Scheduling.

[Update (2/3/2017): The “Reserve Trade Board” in First Class cannot be viewed in the web version–only in the discontinued “classic” version that many do not have. AFA and management are aware of the issue. Management is actively working on a fix as soon as possible. AFA has already filed a grievance on this issue and will continue to push management to restore the ability to post reserve blocks/days. ^jtp]

How do I access the Trade Bulletin Board to advertise a reserve trade?

  • Click on the World of Inflight icon.
  • Click on FA Trading.
  • Pick the folder for your base.
  • Here you can post your days for trade on the bulletin board so other can view.
  • You can also post a request for reserve days you may want to pick up.
  • When sending in a request you must use the following email: CrewSked.ReserveDesk@alaskaair.com.

Fasten your seat belts!

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Tim Green, Brice McGee; MEC Reserve Committee Chairperson Jarod McNeill, MEC Scheduling Committee Chairperson Jake Jones and MEC Grievance Chairperson Stephanie Adams

Jeppesen Crew Exchange (JCE) is almost certainly going live for trading later today. What exactly does that mean and what should you expect?

First, the Master Executive Council (MEC) recognizes all of the hard work of so many: Your AFA MEC Scheduling Chairperson Jake Jones and the Scheduling Committee, MEC Reserve Committee Chairperson Jarod McNeill and the Reserve Committee, Flight Attendant JCE Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), the Crew Schedulers, Jeppesen programmers and more, all of whom have spent many sleepless hours preparing for the official cutover. Secondly, the MEC thanks all of you in advance for your patience, which is definitely going to be tested over the coming months. Why?

Jeppesen Crew Exchange (JCE) looks, feels and functions with little to no resemblance to eMaestro. We somewhat expected that, but who knew we would be missing eMaestro so soon? The new colors and icons are nice (except what’s the deal with a palm tree for vacation and sick leave?), but in looking at the system in totality we are very, very concerned about minimal functionality. The MEC is hoping that JCE is appropriately programmed to not violate any of our contractual rules, but we are not entirely confident that will be the case. We’ll know for certain very soon. If you believe JCE is not correctly programmed, contact one of your local Scheduling Committee members so that AFA can track the concern and file a contractual grievance if necessary. If you are having any technical difficulties with JCE whatsoever, it is absolutely critical that you generate a ticket with the IT Help Desk: either call 877-238-1077 or email help.desk@alaskaair.com.

JCE Video Tutorials

AFA has done our very best to advocate for additional testing throughout the process, but management has made a decision to proceed despite our objections. At this point in time, the MEC highly encourages you to watch the JCE video tutorials and to take the 3-question quiz so that you are paid 1 TFP for the voluntary training. We also suggest that you brush up on your scheduling-related contractual rules because you can take nothing for granted in JCE until it has been proven.

Otherwise, there is one extremely important piece of information that we would like to highlight: JCE notifications.

JCE Notifications

When you log into JCE, you may notice one or more pop up notifications. These could range from advising you of a change to your report time to a reserve assignment. If you click through the notification, that is the equivalent of Crew Scheduling directly delivering the notice to you. In many ways, this could be a huge convenience for Flight Attendants as well as for Crew Scheduling. However, if you do not want to be “on the hook” for accepting the notification, you need to click the little “X” in the corner of the pop-up. Crew Scheduling will then be required to contact you the old fashioned way.

If you have general JCE-related questions or concerns, contact one of your local Scheduling Committee members (ANC: anc.scheduling@afaalaska.org, SEA: sea.scheduling@afaalaska.org, PDX: pdx.scheduling@afaalaska.org, LAX: lax.scheduling@afaalaska.org and SAN: san.scheduling@afaalaska.org. For reserve-specific questions or concerns, contact MEC Reserve Committee Chairperson Jarod McNeill at jarod.mcneill@afaalaska.org. During this challenging time be assured AFA will continue to advocate to management to do the right thing for our Flight Attendants. We’ll get through this together!

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Tim Green, Brice McGee; MEC Scheduling Committee Chairperson Jake Jones; MEC Reserve Committee Chairperson Jarod McNeill; and MEC Grievance Committee Chairperson Stephanie Adams

There have been concerns raised to your Master Executive Council (MEC) leadership about what exactly the acquisition of Virgin America by Alaska Air Group and the subsequent merger between Alaska Airlines and Virgin America will mean for the AFA Alaska contract. Specifically, the question on the minds of many: If the Virgin America In-flight Teammates (ITMs) ratify a second tentative agreement between the Transport Workers Union of America (TWU) (the union representing the ITMs) and Alaska Airlines management, will our joint contract negotiations result in a deterioration of the “legacy Alaska” compensation and/or work rules? These concerns have been brought about by a recent communication from Alaska Airlines management to the Virgin America ITMs that hints an impending second tentative agreement (TA) and provides management’s perspective regarding the TA.

Be assured our bargaining objectives will not be negatively affected if the Virgin America (VX) ITMs have a contract, because the “floor” for our talks will be the AFA Alaska contract. In our preliminary discussions so far, Alaska Airlines management has indicated they want to simply assimilate the Virgin America ITMs into our contract with minimal or no changes. It is clear from executive management on down that they are not expecting to “negotiate” any changes to the AFA Alaska contract.

For example, check out the video of the Alaska and Virgin America Day One Town Hall in which MEC President Jeff Peterson asks Alaska Air Group CEO Brad Tilden about expectations related to the merger for enriching the Alaska labor group contracts. The video can be accessed by going to “AS+VX Day 1 roundup: Photos, videos and celebration” on Alaskasworld.com (login required), scrolling down to “Employee and teammate town hall” and clicking on the link to the full version of the town hall. Jeff’s question is found between 51:15 and 52:00 and Brad’s answer is between 52:00 and 53:15.

In spite of this prevailing opinion amongst management, we have indicated there must be improvements for the Alaska Flight Attendants as well as for the Virgin America ITMs.  The recent communication from Alaska Airlines management to the VX ITMs spoke of them getting the AFA Alaska pay and work rules, not lesser ones. Management also referred to our contract as “industry leading.”

Certainly, management recognizes there is no going backwards. We all want make this merger a success.  Undermining the pay, protections and benefits in our contract would be a disastrous for the merger. Finally, all AFA Alaska and AFA Virgin America members in good standing (dues current) will get to vote on the joint contract, so we are going to move forward in solidarity to improve the legacy Alaska contract.

Beyond providing this information to our membership, it is important that AFA Alaska does not speculate any further on TWU VX’s ratification process and how it may affect the merger of our groups. The VX ITMs should have the space to take part in their democratic vote without influence or interference from anyone, including us. The MEC encourages the VX ITMs to talk to their TWU leadership for any specific concerns or questions regarding their contract negotiations.

Until the NMB makes the determination that AFA is the representing union for Virgin America, the MEC affirms the right of TWU VX to achieve a historic first contract. As a reminder, AFA filed for single carrier status with the NMB on January 5, 2017. AFA looks forward to representing the Virgin America ITMs in the near future!

In Solidarity,

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

Your new crew scheduling system launches tonight at 8:00 pm.

There will be a freeze placed on all

trading / dropping /pickups while the system is being installed

After this time you will access the new system under Schedule & Bidding.

It’s going to be very important that you view the videos to learn more about the new system.

Then, take the simple 3-question quiz to receive 1.0 tfp.

NOTE: Make sure you receive an email confirmation that you took the quiz. If you didn’t receive an email, take the quiz again. You do not have to re-watch the videos to retake the quiz.

​

​

Update your contact information in PeopleSoft!

It is important to list a phone number for the company so they can contact you or your family in the event of an emergency. It is not required to list a cell phone number and the act of listing a number does not mean that you are required to answer a call from Crew Scheduling unless you are required to do so per the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

REMINDER: You will need your PeopleSoft ID to access the new crew scheduling system. Your Peoplesoft number is located on your crew ID (and is not your Arctic Number).

You also have the ability to list for TEXT Alerts. You can sign up for Text Alerts on AlaskasWorld.

Preferential Bidding System- PBS

The only change to the bidding system is how you log in:

In order to log into PBS, you must now use your ‘PeopleSoft’ number.  It can be found on your company I.D. card.  Arctic numbers will no longer be used for logging into PBS, Buddy Bidding or using Avoid or Award bids.

For more information, log into PBS and read the PBS Info Page.

​

Terminology:

Make sure to review the new “Terminology” for using the Crew Access trading system. You will find Crew Access Quick Tour cards available in the Inflight Resource Center.

Note:

1. In the new system your schedule is called your roster.

2. Your bid position on the trip is called role.

3. Pairing number is called Trip Number.

You can view your roster by tapping the airplane icon at the top of the screen. Use Publish Roster available at Navigation Bars/Reports/Publish Roster to print your roster.

If you wish to have your crew info shared on Trip Assignments you will need to “Opt In” under the Settings tab on the menu.

Looking to pick up or trade your trip? Make sure that you have the “Home” button selected to ensure that you are looking in the San Diego trip pool.

When you click on the ‘Pickup’ or ‘Trade’ button on a transaction the process is complete.  There is no secondary window that will open to complete the trade unless you need to waive rest or to allow pickup of a 4k trip.

​

Tips on How to Locate Trade Codes

Note: If the trip assignment has a code attached (TO), it would be located under the FAR Block Time.  The trip counts towards the TSN.

Note: “No code” located under the FAR Block time means the trip has no impact on the TSN.

Remember: The change in the system does not mean that we are going “Back to Book” with trading. If you want to process a multiple trade the same rules apply.

Trading rules for trips with or without codes are in Section 12 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

  • A trip isn’t yours until you finish the transaction. The Trade Cart doesn’t “hold” it for you
  • When you advertise your trip you won’t see it listed in the Trip Pool
  • Trading or Splitting Reserve Trips? Search in First Class, Submit request via Outlook
  • There isn’t a clock within the application to indicate time related to trading windows. You will need to use the clock on your device / computer
  • Patch coming soon that to make TSN codes more visible

REMINDER: Your new crew scheduling system launches tonight at 8:00 pm. 

After this time you will access the new system under Schedule & Bidding.

It’s going to be very important that you view the videos to learn more about the new system. Then, take the simple 3-question quiz to receive 1.0 tfp.

NOTE: Make sure you receive an email confirmation that you took the quiz. If you didn’t receive an email, take the quiz again. You do not have to re-watch the videos to retake the quiz.

——————————————————————————-

Update your contact information in PeopleSoft! It is important to list a phone number for the company so they can contact you or your family in the event of an emergency. It is not required to list a cell phone number and the act of listing a number does not mean that you are required to answer a call from Crew Scheduling unless you are required to do so per the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

REMINDER: You will need your PeopleSoft ID to access the new crew scheduling system. Your Peoplesoft number is located on your crew ID (and is not your Arctic Number).

You also have the ability to list for TEXT Alerts. You can sign up for Text Alerts on AlaskasWorld.

———————————————————————————

Preferential Bidding System- PBS

The only change to the bidding system is how you log in:

In order to log into PBS, you must now use your ‘PeopleSoft’ number.  It can be found on your company I.D. card.  Arctic numbers will no longer be used for logging into PBS, Buddy Bidding or using Avoid or Award bids.

For more information, log into PBS and read the PBS Info Page.

———————————————————————————–

The Seattle Scheduling Committee pulled together a few helpful suggestions to assist you when you first navigate the system.

Make sure to review the new “Terminology” for using the Crew Access trading system. You will find Crew Access Quick Tour cards available in the Inflight Resource Center.

Note:

1. In the new system your schedule is called your roster.

2. Your bid position on the trip is called role.

3. Pairing number is called Trip Number.

You can view your roster by tapping the airplane icon at the top of the screen. Use Publish Roster available at Navigation Bars/Reports/Publish Roster to print your roster.

If you wish to have your crew info shared on Trip Assignments you will need to “Opt In” under the Settings tab on the menu.

Looking to pick up or trade your trip? Make sure that you have the “Home” button selected to ensure that you are looking in the Seattle trip pool.

When you click on the ‘Pickup’ or ‘Trade’ button on a transaction the process is complete.  There is no secondary window that will open to complete the trade unless you need to waive rest or to allow pickup of a 4k trip.

————————————————————————————–

Tips on How to Locate Trade Codes

Note: If the trip assignment has a code attached (TO), it would be located under the FAR Block Time.  The trip counts towards the TSN.

Note: “No code” located under the FAR Block time means the trip has no impact on the TSN.

Remember: The change in the system does not mean that we are going “Back to Book” with trading. If you want to process a multiple trade the same rules apply.

Trading rules for trips with or without codes are in Section 12 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

  • A trip isn’t yours until you finish the transaction. The Trade Cart doesn’t “hold” it for you
  • When you advertise your trip you won’t see it listed in the Trip Pool
  • Trading or Splitting Reserve Trips? Search in First Class, Submit request via Outlook
  • There isn’t a clock within the application to indicate time related to trading windows. You will need to use the clock on your device / computer
  •  Patch coming soon that to make TSN codes more visible

AFA Listening Tour – LAX

We are launching an AFA Listening Tour this winter and spring with Local, MEC and International Officers. We want to hear from you!

Our union is not an institution. It’s you and me and all of aviation’s first responders. To ensure our union is reflecting the needs and hopes of Flight Attendants today, these meetings seek to gather your questions, concerns and ideas.

Our first meeting is scheduled for February 16, 2017, in Los Angeles where we have Local Councils at Alaska, Compass, Hawaiian, and United. In addition to our International Officers, we’ll have Local and MEC Presidents from all four airlines to ensure we can address any issue. All Flight Attendants are welcome!

First Listening Tour Meeting: Los Angeles
February 16, 2017
11 am- 2 pm

Sheraton Gateway Los Angeles Hotel
6101 West Century Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA, 90045

RSVP HERE >

AFA Officers Scheduled to Attend:

Timothy Green, AFA Alaska Council 18 President
Jeffrey Peterson, AFA Alaska MEC President
Brandon Stone, AFA Compass Council 84 President
Mike Nelson, AFA Compass MEC President
Melissa Hooper, AFA Hawaiian Council 47 President
Sharon Soper, AFA Hawaiian MEC President
Dante Harris, AFA United Council 12 President
Ken Diaz, AFA United MEC President
Sara Nelson, AFA International President
Debora Sutor, AFA International Vice President

Additional locations coming soon.

In Solidarity,

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

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