December 4, 2015 05:00

Under normal circumstances, we don’t give the air we breathe onboard the aircraft a second thought. As we’re all taught in initial training, cabin air is bleed air that is taken in through the aircraft engines then cooled and pressurized to make it usable. As with any piece of mechanical equipment, there’s always a possibility of malfunction. As a part of the engines, a malfunction in the cabin air system has the possibility of introducing oil, hydraulic fluid, or other materials into the cabin.

What to do if You Think You’ve Been Exposed to Contaminated Air

Being prepared and knowing what to do in the event of an air quality exposure incident can help you and your crew to the help you need as quickly as possible. Here’s what to do:

1. Identify the Situation

If you encounter unusual fumes (odors), smoke, or haze:

Quickly rule out in-cabin items (e.g. burning food, oven residue, etc.)
Report the situation to the pilots immediately. If the source is the air from the vents in the cabin, there is the possibility of oil/hydraulic fluid contamination.
If no passengers are on board, step off the aircraft, especially if maintenance boards to test systems
Avoid breathing fumes coming from vents

2. Get Help if Sick

If in the air, notify the pilots to call MedLink
If still at the gate, ask the CSA to call paramedics. Deplane if possible.
Seek medical attention as soon as possible. Most tests that detect exposure are time sensitive; even a few hours can make a difference. Your symptoms can persist, worsen, or return after another incident.
Call AFA for help

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Call First

Karyn Kobe, Air Quality Chairperson
(206) 457-2010, Extension 1101

Backup

Seth Heiple, ASHSC Chairperson
(206) 457-2010, Extension 1100

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Print and begin completing the AFA exposure checklist
Review the AFA International Air Quality website

3. Report & Document

File an I-21 (employee injury report) and ASAP report with the company
Keep printed copies of each report for your records
Send a copy of the completed I-21 form to airquality@afaalaska.org
Ask supervisor to complete their Alaska Airlines air quality checklist with you
If sick, file a worker’s compensation claim and see a doctor as quickly as possible. Claims do not start until you see a doctor.
Keep a symptom diary and document everything with a doctor

Keep This Information With You In Case You Need it

Get Your New Quick Reference Card

New air quality exposure quick reference cards have been printed and will soon be available in your base. These cards replace all old versions of the air quality cards (gold or blue lanyard cards or old black and white folded paper card). When you pick up your new card, please discard any old cards that you have and replace them with the new one. This card fold up to the size of a credit card and will fit easily inside a plastic badge holder or in your purse or wallet. On the card, you’ll find information that you’ll need in the event of an air quality exposure incident as well as links to online AFA resources and contact information for AFA representatives who can assist you.

Print Your Own Quick Reference Card

You can download and print a quick reference card at any time by clicking this link.

Find it on the AFA Alaska Website

This information is also available on a dedicated page of the AFA Alaska website at: http://afaalaska.org/ashsc/airquality/checklist.

From the AFA Alaska mobile website or web app, a quick link is located on the main page of the site. For instructions on how to save the AFA Alaska web app as a desktop icon on your IMD or personal Apple device, click here.

If you have questions, please contact your Local Air Safety, Health, and Security (ASHSC) Committee.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Gesch, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow, Stephen Couckuyt, Air Quality Chairperson Karyn Kobe and MEC ASHSC Chairperson Seth Heiple

December 3, 2015 17:00

There is some confusion regarding continuation of health benefits coverage and vacation accrual while on a Staffing Adjustment Leave of Absence (or “Staffing Leave”/”Staffing Adjustment Leave” for ease of reference). Hopefully this will answer some of the questions that have been raised.

Continuation of heath benefits coverage

As stated in the Informational Bulletins that are posted when Staffing Adjustment Leaves are offered, health benefits coverage will end on the first day of an awarded Staffing Leave—with an exception. If a F/A has a trip that overlaps from the prior month to the awarded leave month, the Staffing Leave begins on the first day following the overlap. This means your pairing must have some duty that touches the awarded leave month. (However, keep in mind that in order to not have your vacation accrual reduced by 1/12 you must have some paid time in the leave month. That requires duty beginning after midnight in the leave month rather than duty simply touching the leave month.)

For example, if a trip begins on the final day of the prior bid month, and overlaps into the second day of the leave month, the leave would officially begin on third of the month. Since the overlap would result in Worked TFP during the month of the staffing leave, health benefits coverage would continue throughout the remainder of the month.

If no overlap trip exists, health benefits coverage will lapse on the first of the month and a COBRA packet will be sent. There are several options in this case:

Complete the COBRA paperwork and submit it along with the appropriate payment to continue health care coverage.

If the leave is only one month, complete the COBRA paperwork and mail it in promptly. If health care expenditures during the leave are less than the amount of the COBRA payment, there is no need to pay the payment.

Secure other coverage in the marketplace, or through a convenient union supported health care portal such as Working America Health Care (a joint partnership between Working America and Union Plus); their phone number for AFA members is 866-961-3297.

If you have other coverage, there is no need to complete the COBRA paperwork.

If you have Recurrent Training or other Company required training during a Staffing Adjustment LOA, your health care coverage will re-start on the first day of training and continue through the end of the bid month.

We have been told that if the leave is 30 days or more, it will be necessary to call the Benefits Portal number (AON) when you return to work in order to restart your health care benefits. This is a fairly new procedure.

Vacation accrual

Vacation accrues each month that a F/A has paid TFP for that month. If there is no pay for the month, vacation accrual is reduced by one-twelfth (1/12).

If there is an overlapping trip, vacation will accrue during the leave month.

Scheduled vacation during a leave of absence is not automatically paid, and does not automatically result in vacation accrual for the following year. For vacation during a Staffing Adjustment Leave of Absence, there are two options:

Vacation days can be manually traded to later available days. First it is necessary to find available open vacation time, and then call Crew Administration to request the trade to be processed due to the leave status.

You may request that any of your awarded vacation days be paid to you on either the fifth (5^th) or twentieth (20^th) paycheck while you are on a Staffing Adjustment Leave. The request must be made no later than seven days prior to the selected pay date. If you have requested that you receive vacation pay during the month of the Staffing Adjustment Leave, this will prevent your vacation accrual from being reduced by 1/12 for that month.

* * *

Questions? Contact one of your Local Executive Council (LEC) officers (ANC 30 | SEA 19 | PDX 39 | LAX 18 | SAN 15).

In solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Gesch, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow, Stephen Couckuyt; and MEC Benefits & Retirement Chairperson Terry Taylor

November 24, 2015 17:00

Your Alaska Master Executive Council (MEC) would like to take this opportunity to thank Sherrijon Gaspard for stepping up to the plate as MEC Pairing Analyst for the last six months. Regretfully, she recently stepped down from her position due to unforeseen family circumstances. The MEC is now in search of qualified individuals interested in becoming the new MEC Pairing Analyst.

Background

The official title in the AFA Alaska MEC Policy Manual for the AFA Pairing Analyst is MEC Scheduling Committee Vice Chairperson—Pairing Construction. The Pairing Analyst is chairperson and sole member of the Pairing Construction Subcommittee, which is a part of the Scheduling Committee. See below for additional information.
Both the Crew Planners and the AFA Pairing Analyst individually use a computer system provided by Jeppesen to construct pairings each month.
The pairings in our bid packets are “optimized” (usually for least cost) and built using a computer program designed by Jeppesen. Inflight management selects the final pairing solution to be used.

Additional Background from the AFA Alaska MEC Policy Manual

PAIRING CONSTRUCTION SUBCOMMITTEE

Scope

(i) The Pairing Construction Subcommittee will work with the company and the Inflight Crew Planning Department to build Flight Attendant pairings

Policy/Responsibilities

(i) The Pairing Construction Subcommittee shall consist of the MEC Scheduling Committee Vice Chairperson—Pairing Construction.

(ii) The Subcommittee shall:

(A) Regularly communicate with and provide updates to the MEC Scheduling Chairperson on the activites of the subcommittee

(B) Meet on a monthly basis with the Company and the Inflight Crew Planning Department to review problems and suggested resolutions regarding construction of Flight Attendant pairings and monthly lines of flying.

(D) Keep the MEC informed on all activities relating to the pairing construction process. When meetings or communications are due to unusual scheduling activities, a written report will be made.

(E) Keep the membership informed of the results of the pairing construction process on a monthly basis through the MEC Communications Committee Chairperson.

(F) Solicit feedback from the membership regarding desired pairings, trip lengths, and types of flying through Local Scheduling Committees and advocate for such during the pairing construction process.

(G) Discuss any problems occurring within the pairing construction process with the Local Scheduling Committee Chairpersons on a monthly basis and will provide any suggestions for remedy of problems to the MEC.

Skillset/Requirements

Strong computer skills are a must.
Ability to independently meet several deadlines throughout the month.
Potentially frequent travel to Seattle for training and meetings. However, duties may generally be fulfilled remotely.

Duties

Build pairings solutions using a pairings optimizer computer program (Jeppesen).
Work collaboratively with Crew Planning in regards to pairing building.
Review, validate and comment on the monthly pairing solutions.
Write a monthly pairings report.
Correspond with Local Scheduling Committee chairpersons, the MEC Scheduling Committee chairperson, and LEC presidents regarding pairing solutions and related concerns brought forward by flight attendants.
Advocate for flight attendants in the pairing building process.

Time Commitment and Compensation

This is a paid position compensated by the Company under 27.P Company Business (CB) Flight Pay Loss with a 5% override and “A” pay. CB is compensated at 0.75 TFP per hour of work.
Estimated 16 to 20 hours per month (12 to 15 TFP per month), most of which may be accomplished remotely.

Reporting Structure

Directly reports to the MEC Scheduling Committee chairperson, who in turn reports to the MEC.

Interested?

The MEC will hold interviews on Tuesday, January 26, 2016. Bid around the interview date or arrange to adjust your schedule accordingly to accommodate.
Interviews will be at the AFA Alaska MEC office in Seattle. Our office is located in the Alaska Airlines Flight Operations and Training Center, Suite 280 at 2651 S 192^nd St, Seattle, WA 98188.
Submit a declaration of interest and resume to MEC Secretary-Treasurer Yvette Gesch at yvette.gesch@afaalaska.org no later than 5 PM Pacific Time on Friday, January 15, 2016. Yvette will be able to provide additional information regarding transportation and booking of flights if necessary.

* * *

In solidarity,

Your MEC—Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Gesch, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow, Stephen Couckuyt; and MEC Scheduling Committee Chairperson Jake Jones

November 23, 2015 17:00

Electronic Contract with Hyperlinked Citations and Index

AFA and Alaska Airlines management are finally ready to publish the electronic contract with hyperlinked citations and index. We hope you will find the document much easier to use on your mobile devices compared to prior versions. Besides the link below, you can find the contract and active letters of agreement at afaalaska.org/contract. Management will also be pushing the contract to your Inflight Mobile Device.

If you click on the hyperlinked citation references, the document will reposition to that citation. If the citation is a sub-paragraph within a main “header,” the hyperlink will take you to the header and you simply have to scroll down to the desired paragraph. At the bottom of every page you will find a link for the Table of Contents, the Index and the Reference section. The Reference section shows a list of the main headers within each section as well as the letters of agreement. All of the citations are hyperlinked throughout the document for ease of reference.

Although we have scoured the contract many times over, with a document as complex as this one there are bound to be a few errors such as incorrect or broken hyperlinks. If you find something amiss, email the Contract Committee at contract@afaalaska.org. It is possible to periodically update the electronic contract as needed to correct those minor errors.

–> AFA ALA eCBA 2014-2019 FINAL 2015.11.09 <–

TA2 Print vs Final Print Versions Comparison

There have been several contractual improvements and clarifications added since the TA2 Print version. In order to make it easier to identify the changes, we have created a comparison document that highlights differences between the two. The comparison document is produced using a computer program that catches the vast majority of differences, but it is not infallible. Be aware there may be a few citations that are not highlighted even though the citations differ between the versions.

–> Printed TA2 v2 vs Final Printed Copy v1 thru LOA6 Comparison <–

Hard copies

The contract will be sent off to the printer shortly, and we expect publication to take several weeks. AFA and management are ordering enough for every flight attendant to have a trade paperback sized hard copy of the contract. As soon as we have the details regarding an estimated release date and the means of distribution, we will provide an update.

* * *

It has been a long time coming—we thank you for your patience! If you have any concerns or questions, please contact your LEC president.

In solidarity,

Your MEC—Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Gesch, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow and Stephen Couckuyt; and

Your Negotiating Committee—MEC President Jeffrey Peterson, Kristy Stratton, Lisa Pinkston, Jake Jones, Christina Frees and AFA Senior Staff Negotiator Paula Mastrangelo

November 17, 2015 05:00

Background

In light of recent technical issues with Open Time, the Master Executive Council (MEC) made a decision at our November meeting last week to temporarily change trading times for all bases. This is a temporary change that should end with an upgrade from eMaestro to the Jeppesen Crew Tracking Enterprise (JCTE) system next year.

The problem appears to lie with the current system’s inability to handle the amount of users when Seattle Flight Attendants access the system. As many of you know, technical issues with Open Time are not new. However, all trading within a base now starting at the same time has been consistently causing Seattle Flight Attendants to have trouble logging into eMaestro. The system completely shut down for over 30 minutes when Seattle Open Time began in September and, even though management implemented changes to accommodate the traffic for October and again in November, Seattle Flight Attendants experienced problems accessing the system.

Due to the on-going problems and the fact that these problems begin with Seattle’s start time, the MEC has decided to further alter FA to FA trades and Open Time(s) by splitting FA to FA trades and Open Time(s) to different days/times beginning in December for January trading. Again, this is a temporary fix until transition to JCTE. We anticipate the new schedule—which will be in effect in December for January trading and until further notice—will offset the ‘load factor’ to the system that allows every Flight Attendant, in every base, a fair opportunity to access Open Time and FA to FA trades.

NEW TRADING TIME LINE IN PACIFIC TIME

15^{th –}FA to FA Trades

0900: SAN

1000: PDX

1100: ANC

1200: LAX

1300: SEA

16^{th –}OT (Except Seattle)

0900: SAN

1000: PDX

1100: ANC

1200: LAX

17^{th –} 0900 OT SEA

18^{th –} 0900 Out of Domicile (ALL)

* * *

If you have any questions please contact your LEC president.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Gesch, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow and Stephen Couckuyt

November 10, 2015 10:08

Do you have questions about your choices for Open Enrollment?

Do you need some assistance accessing the benefits website?

Members of your Council 19 AFA Benefits Committee will be hosting base sits on the following dates in the Seattle Inflight Service Center.

Please take a few extra minutes to stop by before or after your trips!

You can also contact your LEC Benefits Chair~ Kathy O’Malley at: benefitsassist@hotmail.com

Benefits can be a confusing thing to think about and this year there is a new tool to help clear up the mystery. We encourage everyone to meet the new benefits tool, “Alex.” You’ll be surprised at the information Alex will share with you! There is a link to Alex in the Benefit Information link: http://splash.alaskasworld.com/News/2015/11/02_enrollment.asp

The SEA Benefits Committee is always available to help. Review the Open Enrollment information and make your Enrollment before 11/18/15.

November 14 – 4:30am – 11:00 am

November 16 – 8am -4 pm

November 17 – 3:00 Pm -11:00 pm

November 18 – 4:30 am – 2:00 pm

November 1, 2015 18:00

Open Enrollment starts tomorrow (Monday, November 2^nd). Your AFA Benefits and Retirement Committee compiled the following information in order to assist you with navigating Open Enrollment.

General Changes

Mailer will be sent to employee’s home addresses 10/15 to advise that Open Enrollment begins on 11/02/15.
Follow up emails will be sent as reminders through Outlook beginning 10/30.
A new tool will be added to the web portal. It is called “Alex,” and is a user-friendly tool to enter information, which will then enable employees to compare and contrast different health benefits options.
A ‘My Alaska Benefits-Annual Enrollment Tab’ will be added to the Alaskasworld website.
If desired, an employee can enroll or make changes by telephone.
This year, confirmation of changes/enrollment emails will be sent to employees in Outlook. There will be links in these emails directing F/As back to their selections in the portal, and their portal message folder if need be.
Employees may carry over up to $500 in unspent Flexible Spending Account (FSA) funds into 2016.

2016 Consumer’s Choice (Health Savings Account/HSA)

In Washington State only, the Premera Network will change from the current Heritage Network to the Premera Prime network. This only affects Washington. In Alaska, the Heritage network will remain in place. All other states use the Blue Shield network, which will not change. F/As should be reminded to check to see that their current health providers are also Premera Prime participants.
The company contribution will remain $1,000 for employee only and $2,000 for a family. This year all enrollees in the plan will receive an additional $500 company contribution to the plan for an individual and $1,000 for a family. This bonus is available during open enrollment only, both for those switching plans and for current Consumer’s Choice plan participants.
A new “HSA On-Demand” feature will be added to the Health Savings Account (HSA) website. It will be called “Click to Pay,” with a sign up and usage explanation. It will automatically draw funds from the employees account to pay bills, similar to an online bill pay service.
A change in the crediting and access to the company contributions will begin in 2016. Similar to a Flexible Spending Account (FSA), the company contributions will be credited at the beginning of the year. IRS regulations require than an employee’s personal contributions cannot be credited until the beginning of the month in which they were actually deducted, and transferred to the HSA account.
If an employee has prior year contributions and/or an investment balance in their account, their cash balance would be used first. Next, they could access their investment balance, and then the company’s contributions. This might prove very beneficial for someone who incurs a large expense in the early part of the year.
The Health Saving Account (HSA) statements will look different this year—more information will be added. A “HSA for Dummies” booklet will be posted on the website.
For prior HSA plan participants who become ineligible (due to Medicare, or other disqualifiers which are listed in the booklet), the Company will contribute $500 to a Special Purpose FSA, which can be used for dental and vision expenses, as well as medical expenses after the relevant deductible is met in one of the other AS plans.
The 2016 HSA limit is $6750 for an individual under the age of 55.

Premera PPO

For 2016 forward, the plan is no longer ‘grandfathered’. The plan will provide 100% preventative health care coverage beginning in January.
Like the Health Spending Account (HSA), the Washington network will be Premera Prime for 2016 forward.
Hospice and palliative care will now be covered even for non-terminal conditions when appropriate.
Over the counter medications in the categories of Flonase, Nexium, and Claritin will no longer be covered, but can be submitted as a Flexible Spending Account (FSA) claim with a doctor’s written prescription.
Up to 90-day prescriptions for maintenance medications can now be filled in retail stores as well as through mail order. There are some exceptions depending on the medication.

* * *

Questions? Contact your local Benefits Committee chairperson.

In solidarity,

MEC Benefits & Retirement Committee Chairperson Terry Taylor and your AFA Benefits Committee

October 29, 2015 17:00

Your AFA Scheduling Committee and Alaska Airlines management team have worked together since July 2015 to send out a survey asking about your flying patterns, trip preferences and quality of life. We ask that you please take the time to fill out this short survey and provide us with detailed feedback we plan to use in future discussions. We appreciate you taking time from your busy schedules to engage in our survey. The survey link is available via your Outlook email and will be open for two weeks.

In solidarity,

Your AFA Scheduling Committee

October 29, 2015 15:00

AFA advocated very hard on your behalf in regard to the recent changes to the sleeping while in uniform policy. Collectively we were successful in getting management to reconsider the policy. Inflight just published Bulletin #2015-0272 “Sleeping While in Uniform” that establishes a much-improved policy.

The bulletin outlines that a flight attendant “may not nest in any public area where customers gather at (a) terminal”, which “includes laying down on (the) floor or on seats inside public areas of (a) terminal” (sic). Essentially this means we may use our discretion to close our eyes as long as we’re not lying down.

Of course a flight attendant may never sleep or give the appearance of sleeping while in uniform when customers are present on the aircraft—except when assigned a customer seat such as when deadheading or commuting.

The bulletin contains an additional clarification that break rooms are acceptable locations even though they may not be appropriate sleep locations for other work groups.

The Master Executive Council (MEC) sincerely thanks Alaska Airlines management for developing a more sensible sleeping policy for the flight attendants. We also thank our members for their resolute support in getting the policy reconsidered!

In solidarity,

Your MEC—Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Gesch, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow and Stephen Couckuyt; and MEC ASHSC Chairperson Seth Heiple

October 29, 2015 14:21

What is going on with ____ (fill in the blank)?

Sometimes you just have to shake your head. First it was Open Time (going on several months now). Then Vacation Open Time yesterday. Today it’s basically everything: Alaska’s World, PET, World of Inflight, eMaestro, etc. Today’s systemic outage is reportedly for different reasons than the challenges with Open Time or Vacation Open Time.

AFA requested that management communicate something about the outage earlier this morning to give a more complete update. We believe they are working on it, but they are also attending to the operational challenges resulting from the outages. Hopefully more information will be out soon.

Beyond frustrating!

In solidarity,

Your MEC—Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Gesch, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow and Stephen Couckuyt; and MEC Scheduling Chairperson Jake Jones

What to do if You Think You’ve Been Exposed to Contaminated Air

1. Identify the Situation

2. Get Help if Sick

3. Report & Document

Keep This Information With You In Case You Need it

Get Your New Quick Reference Card

Print Your Own Quick Reference Card

Find it on the AFA Alaska Website

Continuation of heath benefits coverage

Vacation accrual

Background

Additional Background from the AFA Alaska MEC Policy Manual

Skillset/Requirements

Duties

Time Commitment and Compensation

Reporting Structure

Interested?

* * *

Electronic Contract with Hyperlinked Citations and Index

TA2 Print vs Final Print Versions Comparison

Hard copies

* * *

Background

NEW TRADING TIME LINE IN PACIFIC TIME

* * *

General Changes

2016 Consumer’s Choice (Health Savings Account/HSA)

Premera PPO

* * *

What is going on with ____ (fill in the blank)?

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