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        You are here: Home / Latest News

        May 20, 2016 05:00

        Pursuant to Section X.D [Merger Policy and Related Employee Protective Provisions: Contractual Protection] of the AFA-CWA Constitution & Bylaws (C&B), the AFA Alaska Master Executive Council (MEC) is seeking two members in good standing (dues current) to serve on the Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) for merged contract negotiations.

        As of today, the Virgin America Inflight Team Members (ITMs), who are represented by the Transport Workers Union of America (TWU), do not have a first contract. However, they have achieved several tentative agreements on individual sections, so it is very possible they will have a ratified contract by the time the acquisition/merger receives regulatory approval from the Department of Justice. Even if the Virgin America ITMs do not have a first contract, management will still need to negotiate with AFA to address the merger/integration of the work force. Although there is no statutory oversight of contract bargaining in a merger like there is in Section 6 negotiations under the Railway Labor Act (RLA), this can be an opportunity for Flight Attendants to achieve improvements.

        Purpose of the JNC

        The purpose of the JNC is to obtain interim safeguards, including a fence agreement with management (which maintains separate Inflight operations for a specified period of time), and merging the collective bargaining agreement(s) and/or respective work rules.  Many issues will need to be decided in order to provide for a smooth transition into one, combined carrier.

        Scope of the JNC

        From AFA-CWA C&B Section X.D.4: “The members of the negotiating committee shall have complete and full authority to resolve any and all trackage* disputes between the flight attendant groups including those arising from the interpretation or implementation of any agreement embodying interim safeguards.” *Trackage is a somewhat antiquated term originally associated with the railroad industry.

        Duties of the JNC

        • Fully prepare for merged contract negotiations.
        • Attend initial training of new JNC members.
        • Survey/poll the membership regarding bargaining objectives.
        • Conduct a review of the respective agreements (or work rules) to identify commonalities, differences, areas of cultural preference, benefits of each agreement (or work rules), and unique issues associated with specific air service.
        • Review collective bargaining agreements and employment terms at comparable airlines.
        • Create the union’s opening position (“opener”) for joint collective bargaining agreement (JCBA) negotiations utilizing the work of the JNC, industry comparisons and membership feedback/polling results.
        • Interface with counterparts at Virgin America and engage in discussions to reach mutually acceptable provisions on merging the two Flight Attendant groups.

        Expectations/Qualifications

        • Appointed by the AFA Alaska MEC and terms are served to completion at the approved of the MEC. Takes direction from the chairperson of the JNC (i.e. in this case the AFA Alaska MEC president) with input from the AFA Int’l Collective Bargaining Department (i.e. staff negotiator) and Legal Department (i.e. staff attorney). After successful ratification of the JCBA will continue to serve as a contract interpretation resource for the JCBA.
        • Maintain a complete record of negotiations including proposals, notes and communications, and such record is the property of AFA-CWA.
        • Public interactions (including social media) must reflect favorably on AFA Alaska. If requested by AFA Alaska, JNC members must be willing to reasonably limit social media interactions for the duration of JCBA preparation, negotiations and implementation.
        • Ability to tolerate controversy amongst one’s peers.
        • Willing to travel for training, preparation, negotiations, roadshows and other meetings as needed.
        • Must be willing to adjust her/his schedule as needed, sometimes with very little notice.

        Compensation/Expenses

        • 6 TFP for each 8 hours of work (0.75 TFP per hour)
        • 5% override on TFP in lieu of per diem
        • Travel time is unpaid; exceptions will be treated on a case-by-case basis.
        • Meal & incidentals and other expenses to be reimbursed according to AFA Alaska Policy Manual and AFA-CWA C&B.

        Application Process

        • Interested candidates should submit an expression of interest and resume to MEC Secretary-Treasurer Yvette Satterlee at satterlee@afaalaska.org.  The deadline for applications is Friday, June 17th at 5 PM PDT.
        • Yvette will contact applicants to coordinate an interview with the MEC. Interviews will be held on Wednesday, June 29, 2016.
        • The MEC president is an ex-officio (i.e. “by right of holding another office”) member of the JNC.

        * * *

        Any questions regarding Joint Negotiating Committee members should be directed to MEC President Jeffrey Peterson at jeffrey.peterson@afaalaska.org.

        In solidarity,

        Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Satterlee, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow, Stephen Couckuyt; LEC Presidents-elect Tim Green and Brice McGee

        cropped-AFA-Alaska-Logo-Transparent-Background.png

        Filed Under: AS/VX Merger, Latest News, Master Executive Council (MEC) Tagged With: 2016, AS/VX JCBA, AS/VX Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC), merger

        May 19, 2016 20:00

        Your Master Executive Council (MEC) Officers, Local Executive Council (LEC) Presidents, and many other LEC Officers and Committee Chairs will be attending the 44th Annual AFA Board of Directors (BOD) meeting being held next week in Atlanta, Georgia.  This annual meeting is where AFA conducts the business of our union at the international level.

        Schedule of Events

        Saturday, May 21

        Regular MEC Meeting

        Sunday, May 22

        Executive Board Meeting (MEC Presidents from each airline)

        Monday, May 23

        Board of Directors Meeting
        Equality March to Center for Civil and Human Rights
        Bridge The Gap Campaign Picketing

        Tuesday, May 24

        Board of Directors Meeting continues

        Wednesday, May 25

        Special MEC Meeting

        BOD Meeting Agenda Items

        Your LEC President represents you and the other members of your Local Council on the Board of Directors and will be casting votes on your behalf at the BOD meeting.  Your MEC Officers serve in an ex-officio capacity on the BOD but do not have voting privileges.

        A total of 14 advance agenda items were submitted for consideration by the Board at this meeting. Each LEC held a Local Council meeting over the past several weeks to discuss these agenda items and gain your feedback.  You can find a list of these agenda items and complete language at http://afa-bod.org/index-of-agenda-items.

        MEC Meetings

        In conjunction with the BOD meeting, two MEC meetings will also be conducted; the regular May MEC meeting being held on Saturday, May 21 and a special MEC meeting on Wednesday, May 25.  The purpose of the special MEC meeting with International President Sara Nelson, the International Officers and certain members of AFA staff is to discuss the proposed merger of Alaska Airlines and Virgin America in accordance with section X.B.5 of the AFA International Policy Manual.

        Equality March and Bridge the Gap Picketing

        As part of the BOD meeting, AFA leaders will be participating in an equality march from the meeting site to the Center for Civil and Human Rights in downtown Atlanta.  Once there, a picketing activity will be conducted to support the Bridge the Gap campaign. Bridge the Gap is an AFA International campaign designed to build public awareness of the disparate treatment of Flight Attendants at regional carriers.  Despite flying under the same airline name as their mainline counterparts, Flight Attendants at regional airlines are often paid substantially less and suffer from longer duty days, less crew rest, and a host of other work rules that lag behind the industry.  You can find more information about the Bridge the Gap campaign at http://www.afacwa.org/bridge_the_gap.

        Questions?

        If you have any questions or thoughts about the BOD meeting or any of the submitted agenda items, please contact your LEC President.

        In Solidarity,

        Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Satterlee, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow, Stephen Couckuyt and LEC Presidents-Elect Timothy Green and Brice McGee

        AFA Alaska Logo No Tag

        Filed Under: Latest News, Local Councils, Master Executive Council (MEC) Tagged With: 2016, AFA Board of Directors, AFA BOD, BOD

        May 18, 2016 17:00

        As reflected in the Open Time Trial Survey Results for May 2016, 87.8% of respondents reported they do not understand or are still learning the Open Time trading codes (TO/DD/CP/TX/no code) and how to trade sequences in Open Time based on those codes.

         

        Open Time Trading with the Codes Quick Reference Guide

         

        Consequently, AFA Alaska has prepared a short (six page) Open Time Trading codes quick reference guide. The Master Executive Council (MEC) thanks the Council 30 Anchorage Local Executive Council (LEC) officers and Scheduling Committee chairperson for developing the guide.

         

        >>> Click here to view the “Open Time Trading with the Codes” quick reference guide in a Portable Document Format (pdf). <<<

         

        Click the following to view each page of the “Open Time Trading with the Codes” quick reference guide in picture format (jpg):

        OT Trading with the Codes 1 of 6

        OT Trading with the Codes 2 of 6

        OT Trading with the Codes 3 of 6

        OT Trading with the Codes 4 of 6

        OT Trading with the Codes 5 of 6

        OT Trading with the Codes 6 of 6

         

        If you have any questions, contact your local Scheduling Committee or Local Executive Council (LEC) officers.

         

        In Solidarity,

         

        Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Satterlee, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow, Stephen Couckuyt; LEC Presidents-elect Tim Green, Brice McGee; MEC Scheduling Committee Chairperson Jake Jones

        Open Time Trading with the Codes Quick Reference Guide

         

        Filed Under: Latest News, Scheduling Committee Tagged With: 2016, Open Time, OT, Trial

        May 16, 2016 22:00

        The Open Time Trial Survey for May 2016 concluded this morning (May 16, 2016), and the results are now available.

         

        Survey completion information

         

        1,055 surveys were completed and 87 were partially completed. A small number of Flight Attendants submitted more than one survey, in which case only the last submission was counted. There were also a few entries without Arctic numbers, so those were excluded; going forward the survey has been updated to disallow submissions without Arctic numbers. The Master Executive Council (MEC) encourages all Flight Attendants to contribute to future monthly Open Time Trial surveys.

         

        Survey overview

         

        The results show a clear need to improve general understanding of the Open Time Trial and a strong dissatisfaction for the current system.

         

        Understanding of the Open Time trading codes

         

        87.8% of respondents do not understand or are still learning the Open Time trading codes (TO/DD/CP/TX/no code) and how to trade sequences in Open Time based on those codes.

         

        AFA Alaska is putting the finishing touches on an Open Time trading codes quick reference guide and will publish that very soon.

         

        Understanding of the estimated time frame for making any programming changes to Open Time

         

        A majority (53.6%) reported they do not understand the time frame involved for making any programming changes to the Open Time system.

         

        Based on membership feedback the MEC will make a determination on the future of Open Time:

         

        • Prior to making a determination, the MEC would like to gather several months of survey results and other data pursuant to AFA Alaska CBA §12.F.8.d [Exchange of Sequences: Open Time Trial] for review. The Open Time Trial is scheduled to last up to a year before a final decision has to be made–unless the Association and management mutually agree to extend the trial.

         

        • If the MEC determines to go “back to book,” reverting to the former Open Time system could take approximately one year. This is because the new JCTE crew management system would need to be reprogrammed with the rules for the former OT system. (It is currently being programmed with the new OT rules.)

         

        • If we do go “back to book,” AFA will start negotiating a new system as outlined in CBA §12.F.9 [Exchange of Sequences: Open Time Trial: Cancellation of Open Time Trial]. Implementation of a replacement OT system would likely take a minimum of nine months after reaching an agreement with management.

         

        Strong dissatisfaction with the Open Time Trial

         

        76.1% indicated they are dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the Open Time Trial. If a decision were to be made today regarding the future of the Open Time Trial, 81.1% of respondents would prefer to revert “back to book” to the old Open Time system (based on IT limitations) and begin negotiations on a new system; whereas 18.9% would prefer to keep the current system.

         

        Detailed survey results

         

        >>> Click here to view the detailed AFA Alaska Open Time Trial Survey Results for May 2016. <<<

         

        AFA Alaska will review the survey results with management at our upcoming biweekly Open Time Trial Review meeting. Additionally, your MEC officers are very concerned about these statistics and will thoroughly discuss the survey results at this month’s MEC meeting; the May MEC meeting will occur this coming weekend in Atlanta prior to the annual AFA-CWA Board of Directors meeting.

         

        In solidarity,

         

        Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Satterlee, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow, Stephen Couckuyt; LEC Presidents-elect Tim Green and Brice McGee

        AFA Alaska Open Time Trial Survey Results May 2016

        cropped-AFA-Alaska-Logo-Transparent-Background.png

        Filed Under: Latest News, Scheduling Committee Tagged With: 2016, Open Time, OT, Trial

        May 13, 2016 08:00

        Pursuant to AFA Alaska Collective Bargaining Agreement §12.F.8.D.5 [Exchange of Sequences: Open Time Trial], the Master Executive Council (MEC) is conducting a monthly poll of membership regarding your satisfaction with Open Time. Your candid responses will help the MEC determine the course of the Open Time trial.

         

        It is important to focus on Open Time functionality, not the technical issues with logging into the system, when answering the questions.

         

        You must enter your Arctic number in order to take the survey. We’re asking for your Arctic number to ensure each Flight Attendant receives one vote per month and is not for tracking purposes. If a survey is submitted more than once with the same Arctic number, only the last response will be counted for this month.

         

        > > > To take the AFA Alaska Open Time Trial Survey for May 2016 click here. < < <

         

        To capture the data for Open Time trading in April/May for the May 2016 bid month, the survey will close on Monday, May 16th at 9am Pacific Time. That is three days from now, so it is important that you do not delay taking it.

         

        Going forward, the MEC intends to open the survey just after PBS bids are due on the 10th and close the survey at the same time as this month (the 16th at 9am PT). The monthly survey will be timed to capture the data for each successive month (e.g. the next survey will be from June 10th – 16th to capture data from May/June Open Time trading for the June 2016 bid month).

         

        In the interest of full transparency, the MEC will publish a summary of results once the responses have been tallied. Thank you in advance for your feedback!

         

        In Solidarity,

         

        Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Satterlee, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow, Stephen Couckuyt; LEC Presidents-elect Tim Green and Brice McGee

        AFA-Alaska-Logo-Transparent-Background

        Filed Under: Latest News, Scheduling Committee Tagged With: 2016, Open Time, OT

        May 11, 2016 23:54

        Stay Informed

        and

        Be Involved!

        AFA-CWA Council 19

        Base Meeting

        When: Tuesday, May 17th, 2016

        Where: Meeting location will be at the BEIJING ROOM on the mezzanine level (south end) of SEA-TAC Airport at the Sea-Tac Conference Center

        Time: 1pm-4pm AFTER OPEN TIME!

        (Parking will be validated on any floor except floor 4 in terminal)

        Your AFA Officers are preparing for the annual AFA Board of Directors (BOD) meeting and we need to discuss the agenda items for the BOD and seek your input. We will be posting the agenda items for review and look forward to discussing them with you at the May 17th meeting.

        Please bring all your Open Time trading questions for our scheduling experts; we will be having a Q&A regarding Open Time trading.  If you can’t attend our base meeting send us your trading questions to sea.scheduling@afaalaska.org.

        We will be discussing Alaska’s acquisition of Virgin America, and share any information we have about merging together.

        Agenda

        I. Call meeting to order

           A. Call for late agenda items

           B. Late agenda items

           C. Announcements

        II.  AFA BOD agenda items

        III. LEC Update

           A. Officer Update

             1. LEC President Report

             2. LEC VP Report

             3. LEC Sec and Membership Report

             4. Committee Report

           B. Open Time Trading Q&A

           C. Virgin America Q&A

           D. Budget Review

        In Solidarity,

        Your Council 19 Officers

        Filed Under: Council 19 SEA

        May 11, 2016 13:45

        The AFA Alaska Master Executive Council (MEC) donated $1,000 dollars on behalf of Alaska Flight Attendants to the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life. SEA Flight Attendant Krista Livingston, SEA Inflight Supervisor, Tina Gamache and Tom Richardson are Co-Captains of the Alaska Airlines Inflight Kickin’ Cancer Team. They are out on the Seattle concourses today (Wednesday, May 11, 2016) with other volunteers continuing to raise money and support for this important cause.

         

        Many of our Flight Attendants, family members and friends have experienced cancer and it is time to rally for them and help find a cure!

         

        If you haven’t already donated, please take a minute to click on the link and donate~ any amount helps!

         

        http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLCY16GW?pg=entry&fr_id=75481

         

        In Solidarity,

         

        Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Satterlee, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow, Stephen Couckuyt; LEC Presidents-elect Tim Green and Brice McGee

        cropped-AFA-Alaska-Logo-Transparent-Background.png

        Filed Under: Latest News Tagged With: 2016, Relay for Life

        May 11, 2016 05:00

        [Note: This is a longer communication containing a lot of information, so you might want to read this when you have a decent amount of time set aside.]

        Beyond frustrated with Open Time

        Your AFA Alaska Master Executive Council (MEC) understands that our Members are beyond frustrated with Open Time. Please know that we are doing everything possible to ensure Alaska Airlines management (1) implements the language of the new Open Time system in the way it was negotiated, and (2) that Flight Attendants can access Open Time without it slowing/”hiccupping”/freezing/crashing/etc.

        Speaking of Open Time slowing/hiccupping/freezing/crashing/et cetera…

        Speaking of Open Time slowing/”hiccupping”/freezing/crashing/et cetera, the login issues are not directly related to the new Open Time system of trading. The reality is that no matter which Open Time rules are being used (old vs. new), Maestro/eMaestro has been on its last legs for far too long. Ideally Maestro/eMaestro should have been replaced years ago. The system is designed to handle around 500 connections at any given time (including Crew Scheduling, administrative access, reports, etc.). When everybody is trying to log on at the same time when Open Time opens, the system almost always slows down—or worse.

        What can be done about the connections? The MEC and management previously agreed to more widely stagger the opening of trading. This was done in order to spread out the number of users attempting to access Maestro/eMaestro at any given time and therefore reduce the load on the system. See AFA Alaska’s New Temporary FA to FA and Open Time Trading Schedule update from November 17, 2015, for more information. Realistically, nothing more can be done to speed up Maestro/eMaestro, so in the short term we’re stuck dealing with a slow system.

        Jeppesen Crew Tracking Enterprise (JCTE)

        However, the Company is set to roll out the new crew management system called Jeppesen Crew Tracking Enterprise (JCTE) this coming September 30th. Management has advised the MEC that JCTE will be able to handle many more users than Maestro/eMaestro. You have already heard about JCTE recently from Inflight Crew Scheduling management. Your MEC hopes JCTE delivers as much as has been promised!

        Start of the Open Time trial has become a “rolling delay”

        The MEC and management agreed the trial period of twelve months from “initial implementation” referenced in Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) §12.F.10 [Exchange of Sequences: Open Time Trial: Trial Period] should begin when the system is fully functional. During negotiations, the trial was estimated to begin around August 2015, which is reflected in CBA Letter of Agreement 6 [Contract Implementation Schedule].

        As a result of all the programming challenges associated with the new Open Time system, the start of the Open Time trial has become an unforeseen “rolling delay.” In our previous Open Time Trial update dated January 15, 2016, AFA Alaska communicated, “Based on the latest estimates, we are anticipating the Open Time trial to officially begin in the next month or so.” That estimate has proven to be too optimistic by several months.

        Incorrect Open Time programming

        The MEC is extremely disappointed that the new Open Time has been programmed incorrectly. The new Open Time has suffered from major programming glitches that were corrected as recently as just a few months ago. In fact, Open Time was initially programmed incorrectly with more favorable trading rules than negotiated. OT was left to run for several months with the more favorable rules starting last autumn, and then the system was reprogrammed with the negotiated trading rules a few months back.

        Open Time still has one minor bug related to multiple trades even up to the present day. The MEC finds this completely unacceptable. We are pushing for management to install a programming patch that would fix the bug as soon as possible.

        Programming limitations for Maestro/eMaestro and JCTE

        Unfortunately, due to the complexities of programming and resource limitations, no additional changes beyond that possible patch can be made to Maestro/eMaestro. The MEC also knows that all the OT codes (TO, DD, CP and TX) are confusing to many and ideally we would like to condense all the codes into only two categories. However, any programming change requests made to the new system JCTE will not go live until February 2017 at the earliest—or later.

        Open Time trial officially begins this month (May)

        At this point, the MEC is not willing to wait any longer for conditions to improve prior to commencing the trial. Consequently, the Open Time trial will officially begin this month (May), and the MEC will be sending out monthly surveys regarding your opinion of the trial. The first round of surveys will be sent out very soon.

        The MEC will review the survey results on a monthly basis for at least three to four months prior to determining a course of action.

         

        Based on membership feedback the MEC will make a determination on the future of Open Time:

        • If the MEC determines to go “back to book,” reverting to the former Open Time system could take approximately one year. This is because the new JCTE crew management system would need to be reprogrammed with the rules for the former OT system. (It is currently being programmed with the new OT rules.)
        • If we do go “back to book,” AFA will start negotiating a new system as outlined in CBA 12.F.9 [Exchange of Sequences: Open Time Trial: Cancellation of Open Time Trial]. Implementation of a replacement OT system would likely take a minimum of nine months after reaching an agreement with management.

        Other factors contributing to your frustration

        The MEC and Scheduling Committee understand there are several other factors contributing to your frustration. We have heard you loud and clear that all the codes and the trading rules are confusing. In the short term, AFA Alaska is working on a “cheat sheet,” Open Time Trading with the Codes, to help you understand the codes and trading rules. In the long term, the MEC is advocating for combining all the codes into two categories as soon as can be programmed into JCTE.

        Schedule flexibility is also negatively impacted by extremely high line averages in all domiciles. There are fewer Reserves on a comparative basis than in the past, and those Reserves are being highly utilized. Premium OT is being offered nearly every day. From the MEC’s perspective, Inflight appears obviously understaffed. Management has agreed to hire at least one more class this year in order to bring down the line averages, but that will take time.

        Finally, the MEC has received a lot of feedback recently regarding dissatisfaction with the pairings; so stay tuned for more communication from us on that subject!

        * * *

        If you have any questions or concerns, contact your local officers (LEC officers: ANC 30 | SEA 19 | PDX 39 | LAX 18 | SAN 15) or Scheduling Committee members (local Scheduling Committee: ANC 30 | SEA 19 | PDX 39 | LAX 18 | SAN 15).

        In Solidarity,

        Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Satterlee, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow, Stephen Couckuyt; LEC Presidents-elect Tim Green, Brice McGee; and MEC Scheduling Committee Chairperson Jake Jones

        cropped-AFA-Alaska-Logo-Transparent-Background.png

        Filed Under: Latest News, Scheduling Committee Tagged With: 2016, History of Open Time, Open Time, OT

        May 9, 2016 12:00

        Your AFA Alaska Master Executive Council (MEC) and Alaska Airlines management have entered into a side letter of agreement that allows qualified Flight Attendant Trainers to certify Initial Operating Experiences (IOEs) for Flight Attendant trainees.

         

        A copy of the side letter of agreement (signatures pending) can be found by clicking here. You may also find the agreement on the “contract” page of the AFA Alaska website: http://afaalaska.org/contract.

         

        Previously only management employees holding a Flight Attendant-qualified FAA certificate could certify IOEs for trainees. This agreement modifies §CBA 30.E [Trainers Performing Probationary Observation Flights], which already provided for Trainers to conduct Probationary Observation Flights, and incorporates IOEs into that provision.

         

        This side letter of agreement was supported by our Flight Attendant Trainers and developed with input from that group. The major benefit of the agreement is that a larger pool of certifying personnel allows IOEs to be conducted during training. In the past, graduating trainees had to fly their IOEs immediately following graduation.

         

        In addition to being worried about flying their IOEs, trainees also had to be concerned with positioning themselves to their respective new domiciles prior to their start date. Depending on how closely the start date followed graduation, this may have been a stressfully short period of time. With IOEs finished prior to graduation, trainees can truly celebrate graduation without worrying about possibly flying the next morning. They can also focus exclusively on moving to their new domiciles.

         

        IOEs for Class 2016-01 begin today, so you may see some Flight Attendant Trainers out there certifying IOEs in the next couple days. Congratulations to the first graduating class of 2016 and thanks to our Flight Attendant Trainers for their continuing efforts to get our trainees out to the line!

         

        In solidarity,

         

        Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Satterlee, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow, Stephen Couckuyt; LEC Presidents-elect Tim Green and Brice McGee

        AFA LOA 2016-05-03 Trainers Performing Probationary Observation Flights or IOEs PENDING

        Filed Under: Contract, Latest News Tagged With: 2016, ioe, new hires, sideletter, training

        May 6, 2016 17:00

        The AFA Alaska Master Executive Council (MEC) and AFA International are closely monitoring the proposed acquisition/merger with Virgin America while management navigates the various approval processes. On May 25, 2016, the MEC and your newly selected Merger Representatives are scheduled to attend a special meeting called by our AFA-CWA international president. Pursuant to Section X [Merger Policy and Related Employee Protective Provisions] of the AFA-CWA Constitution & Bylaws, the purpose of this meeting is to review the merger, our constitutional protections and procedures, contract bargaining, representation and seniority integration. While preparations are already underway on these items, nothing can officially proceed until the financial transaction is final months from now.

         

        AFA International President Nelson has met with the TWU International President Lombardo and confirmed that AFA will be the surviving union representing the unified group if the merger is finalized. There will be no representational election. In the meantime, TWU is continuing its regular representation activities as they work to secure a first contract for Virgin America Inflight Team Members (ITMs). We support their efforts to achieve a first contract.

         

        In a merger, there is no statutory oversight of contract bargaining. Section 6 negotiations under the Railway Labor Act (RLA), the process we are familiar with under regular contract negotiations, does not apply in a merger. Management will need to negotiate with us to address the merger of the work force and this can be an opportunity for Flight Attendants to achieve improvements. It is important that we not speculate on this process – especially prior to our meeting with AFA Legal and Collective Bargaining on May 25th.

         

        AFA-CWA has experience with dozens of mergers. AFA Alaska will leverage this opportunity to achieve the best possible conditions and improvements for all Flight Attendants.

         

        In solidarity,

         

        Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Satterlee, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow,  Stephen Couckuyt; LEC Presidents-elect Tim Green, Brice McGee; Merger Representatives Sandra Morrow, Marie Maxwell; AFA Senior Staff Attorney Kimberley Chaput; and AFA Senior Staff Negotiator Paula Mastrangelo

        cropped-AFA-Alaska-Logo-Transparent-Background.png

        Filed Under: AS/VX Merger, Latest News Tagged With: 2016, merger, Virgin America

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        Latest News

        • AFA News in Review – September 19, 2025
        • Pre-Merger Alaska MEC Committee Election Results
        • Merged MEC Committee Chairperson Election Results
        • Election Notice: Alaska + Hawaiian MEC Officer Elections
        • SEA Domicile Negotiations – September 2025 Update #2
        • Reserve Committee Meeting Recap – 3rd Quarter 2025
        • Celebrating Hispanic-Latinx Heritage Month
        • AFA News in Review – September 12, 2025
        • Hotel Committee Meeting Recap – September 2025
        • We Will Never Forget – September 11, 2001

        AFA News in Review – September 19, 2025

        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

        September 19, 2025

        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

        September 19, 2025

        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

        September 17, 2025

        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. […]

        SEA Domicile Negotiations – September 2025 Update #2

        September 17, 2025

        This message is for pre-merger Hawaiian Flight Attendants Negotiations Update Our SEA Domicile Negotiating Committee met with the company on September 11 to review their response to our September 5 proposal.  We feel that it is important to acknowledge the challenges within our company as Alaska management is struggling to understand our Collective Bargaining Agreement […]

        Recent Posts

        • AFA News in Review – September 19, 2025
        • Pre-Merger Alaska MEC Committee Election Results
        • Merged MEC Committee Chairperson Election Results
        • Election Notice: Alaska + Hawaiian MEC Officer Elections
        • SEA Domicile Negotiations – September 2025 Update #2
        • Reserve Committee Meeting Recap – 3rd Quarter 2025
        • Celebrating Hispanic-Latinx Heritage Month
        • AFA News in Review – September 12, 2025
        • Hotel Committee Meeting Recap – September 2025
        • We Will Never Forget – September 11, 2001
        • Vacation Survey Now Open
        • SEA Domicile Negotiations – September 2025
        • AFA News in Review – September 5, 2025
        • Pre-Merger Alaska MEC Committee Interviews—October 2025
        • Merged MEC Committee Chairperson Interviews—October 2025

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