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The Master Executive Council (MEC) has recently become aware of situations involving Inflight management discouraging new hires from exercising their contractual ability to trade, reposition, or give away trips or reserve days.  This kind of pressure violates our contract.

Have You Been Pressured Not To Trade?

When you were on probation, did a member of Inflight management discourage you from exercising your contractual rights to trade?  We’re looking for first-hand examples of Inflight supervisors or managers discouraging you from:

  • Asking for personal drops
  • Trading or giving away pairings (either on your line or picked up)
  • Repositioning, trading, or giving away reserve days or block

Share Your Example With Us

If you have a first-hand example of an Inflight supervisor or manager pressuring you not to exercise your contractual right, we’re looking for your feedback.  Flight Attendants currently on probation: please participate!  However, be assured that AFA will hold any responses from probationary Flight Attendants in strict confidence until the completion of probation.

Click here to complete a response form

Questions?

Send an email to probation@afaalaska.org

In Solidarity,

Your MEC—Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Gesch, Becky Strachan, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow and Stephen Couckuyt

MEC 5B Logo

From Your AFA EAP

As we approach the thirteenth anniversary of September 11th, many of us will begin to plan how we’ll recognize this day. Anniversaries offer an opportunity to acknowledge our memories and experiences, to connect with others who share in them, and to pay tribute to our individual and collective journeys. Anniversaries can also serve as personal and professional milestones of our healing and resiliency.   For some, September 11th will be marked with private personal gestures such as observing a moment of silence, spending quiet time reflecting, or dedicating our flying to our profession. For others, it will be marked with collective activities such as ceremonies and memorial services.

There is no right way or better way to recognize the anniversary; but, there are some suggestions that may prove helpful as we approach the anniversary of September 11th.

  • Observe the anniversary in a way that’s comfortable for you. Say “no” to events or activities that you sense may flood you with too many feelings.
  • Don’t compare yourself to how others around you appear to be dealing with the September 11th
  • Acknowledge that we all heal at different rates, in different ways, and with different outcomes.
  • Give yourself permission and time to be affected. Though uncomfortable, anticipate and plan for having a stress reaction as the anniversary approaches. Trust that if you have moments of difficulty, you’ll be able to pull yourself back together.
  • Try not to isolate. Isolation can often amplify difficult feelings. Pre-plan now to be with family or friends if you know you have this tendency.
  • Think through in advance how much and the type of anniversary media coverage you can comfortably absorb. Actively monitor and control what news coverage enters your personal space.
  • If you are interested in attending scheduled anniversary events, check local community websites or voicesofsept11.org.
  • Ask for help, support, and opportunities to talk. Your AFA Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is here to listen. Telephone numbers of your local EAP committee members are listed at afanet.org under the EAP Section or at http://afaalaska.org/eap. You can also call the AFA International EAP at 1-800-424-2406 or the AFA Alaska EAP at 1-949-470-0493.

In solidarity,

Your AFA International and AFA Alaska EAP

Patriotic Ribbon

AFA-CWA BASE MEETING

Council 19 – Seattle

September 9, 2014

11:00 Base Meeting

1:00 Town Hall 

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

Parking provided at airport with the exception of the 4th floor 

I. Call meeting to order

  • Call for late agenda items
  • Announcements
  • Matt Isenhower (11:30)
  • Flight Pac – Bev Bullock
  • DEL Program – Laura Masserant

 II. LEC Update

  • Officer Update
  • Committee Updates
  • Budget Review
  • Donation – Project Help

III. Update on Negotiations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For bidding purposes, please save the date for our first Council 15 San Diego Local Council Meeting!

San Diego Local Council Meeting
Monday, October 20, 2014
11 AM to 2 PM 

Joining us at the meeting will be special guests Jeffrey Peterson, MEC President, to address Negotiations and Stephen Poynter, MEC Scheduling Vice Chairperson for PBS, to answer your PBS questions.

The meeting will be held in the Sharie D. Shipley Media Center at San Diego International Airport.  The center is located in Terminal 2 on the Baggage Claim Level.

From the Commuter Terminal ride the Airport Loop Bus. Get off at the third stop. Walk into Terminal 2 Baggage Claim, take a left and walk to the very end. The Media Center is on the left side of the far end wall.

If you wish to submit an advance agenda item, please email it to LEC President Stephen Couckuyt at san15pres@gmail.com no later than October 16th.

AFA Council 15 Logo

Inflight management recently announced a voluntary training called “Making the Connection” via Inflight Bulletin 2014-0173, which seems to be visible to Seattle-based Flight Attendants only. The training is intended to provide Flight Attendants some familiarization with the duties of a Customer Service Agent and vice versa. AFA was informed of the program but it was rolled out without negotiating the terms of the training with the union.

Available for pick-up in Seattle Open Time

“Making the Connection” is currently being offered in Seattle only and may be picked up out of Seattle’s Open Time. It is available on Mondays through October and is a trial. If the class is successful, the program may be rolled out system-wide.

Flight Attendants in other domiciles are being allowed to pick up the training; however, be advised that management is not offering hotel accommodations in Seattle in order to position for the class. Compensation is quoted as 6 TFP, which is contractually consistent.

“Making the Connection” is not cross training!!!

The training is designed to foster a better understanding between the Flight Attendant and Customer Service Agent workgroups—nothing more. This is not cross training and AFA leadership and IAM leadership will pursue our respective dispute resolution processes if employees of one workgroup are required to perform duties of the other. However, we have no reason to believe this will happen.

AFA disputes the program “follows the same rules as Recurrent Training”

From the bulletin: “This program follows the same rules as Recurrent Training for rest requirements, date change requests and attendance (sick leave and Failure to Report to training would apply).” Through the Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) process, AFA is disputing that the program as described actually follows the contractual Recurrent Training rules for attendance, sick leave and to a certain extent date change requests.

Once AFA and management achieve agreement on the concerns, one or both parties will communicate the outcome. In the meantime, be aware that several aspects of this voluntary training class are in dispute.

In solidarity,

Your MEC—Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Gesch, Becky Strachan, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow and Stephen Couckuyt

MEC 5B Logo (Email)

The Negotiating Committee is grateful for the amazing response of our Flight Attendants and their willingness to share their financial struggles with us.  This is a personal issue and we value your honesty and trust.

We are concerned but not surprised by the number of responses.  We know, however, this is not all of you.  We have heard some say that this survey was available for a short period of time and flight attendants could not continue to participate.  That is incorrect.  We are committed to gathering your stories for as long as it is necessary to ensure that everyone wanting to share has had the opportunity.

Because of the statistics involved in this survey and our desire to understand all of the needs of our group, the sooner you can return your survey the better.  This helps us have stable statistics as we move forward in negotiations.

To make this easier for you to respond, we are going to attach the questionnaire in this communication.  Please return it to one of the negotiators below or whichever one you feel most comfortable with.  If you have any questions please continue to ask.  We are here to help and listen.

ANC SEA & PDX LAX & SAN
Lisa Pinkston Christina Frees Kristy Stratton
lvarner22@mac.com freesitintime@gmail.com stratton.kristy@gmail.com

AFA Alaska Airlines Flight Attendant Financial Aid Questionnaire

All information will be handled with the utmost care and confidentiality.  Your name will not be shared outside the Negotiating Committee.  The information collected is strictly for negotiation and statistical purposes.  Individual Flight Attendant names will be removed and kept confidential.

1. What is your name? Answer:

2. Where you are currently based? Answer:

3. Are you on reserve (Y/N)? Answer:

4. Are you on active status or on a leave of absence? Answer:

5. What is your average monthly paid TFP? Answer:

6. What is your pay step? Answer:

7. What is your household size? Answer:

8. Are you the sole provider (Y/N)? Answer:

9. Do you have a second income (job, rent out rooms etc) to subsidize your monthly income? Answer:

10. At any time in the past 5 years, while you were an Alaska Flight Attendant, have you applied for any form of financial assistance, government, local, third party assistance or loan deferment/forgiveness (Y/N)? If so, what type?
Answer:

11. Are you currently receiving, or have received any of the following types of financial assistance in the past five years while you were an Alaska Flight Attendant? (You do not need to tell us what type of assistance if you do not wish, simply answer with A, B, C, D or AFA Alaska Airlines Flight Attendant Financial Aid Questionnaire all of the above.) (Y/N)? Answer:

A. Government (food stamps, WIC [Women, Infants & Children] assistance, housing, low income housing, medical, school lunches, cash, other) (Y/N)? Answer:

B. Local (lost cost, subsidized or reduced housing, rent, mortgage, utilities, phone, water, electric, trash, food bank, local charity, non-profits, other) (Y/N)? Answer:

C. Third-party (family, friend, church, Employee Assistance Fund, car payment, free or reduced rent, mortgage assistance, cash, other) (Y/N)? Answer:

D. Deferment or forgiveness program (student loan, mortgage, etc) (Y/N)? Answer:

12. Would you be open to being contacted in the future in regards to this topic (Y/N)? Answer:

If yes, please provide the best way to contact you (email / phone / text / other):

We understand this can be a sensitive topic. On behalf of the Negotiating Committee, thank you for participating and assisting us in collecting this information.

MEC 5BSS Logo (Web)

Dear Seattle Flight Attendants,

WOW! What an amazing week for AFA at Alaska. You all answered the call and came out to support your negotiating committee and for that we all THANK YOU for your dedication and support!

If you have not seen the update from the table this week go to: http://afaalaska.org/negotiations/negotiations-update-august-29-2014 for more information!

You can also log on to the AFA FaceBook page, afaalaska, to see pictures from all of the base events and links to the local media.

Your local officers in Seattle were blown away by the turn out on Wednesday! We counted approximately 200 Flight Attendants, friends, family members, and support from local unions. We especially would like to thank Teamsters and AFT for coming out to support us! Let’s keep up the RED HOT momentum as we move into the next few sessions.

Stay Informed, Stay Connected, and Stay Strong!

AFA-CWA Council 19 Local Base Meeting and Town Hall Forums

AFA-CWA base meeting is on September 9th

Time: 11am-1pm

Where: Seoul Room, SEA TAC conference center, mezzanine level, south end of the terminal

Parking is paid on all levels except 4.

Join your LEC Officers after the meeting for an informal Town Hall style meeting from 1pm to 4pm.

Click to view the agenda:

http://afaalaska.org/sea/council-19-afa-cwa-local-base-meeting-9914

September 10, 2014 Town Hall Meeting

Time: 11am-4pm

Where: Seoul Room, SEA TAC conference center, mezzanine level, south end of the terminal

Parking is paid for on all levels except 4

Upcoming October Events:

October 24th Town Hall Forum

Time: 11am-4pm

Where: Seoul Room, SEA TAC conference center, mezzanine level, south end of the terminal

Parking is paid for on all levels except 4

We hope to see you at one or all of these events!

AFA-CWA BASE MEETING

Council 19 – Seattle

September 9, 2014

11:00 Base Meeting

1:00 Town Hall Meeting

 

Meeting.  location will be at the SEOUL ROOM on the mezzanine level (south end) of SEA-TAC PORT

Parking provided at airport with the exception of the 4th floor

I. Call meeting to order

         A.  Call for late agenda items

1.  Late Agenda Items  

B.  Announcements

II.  LEC Update

         A.  Officer Update

B.  Committee Updates

C.  Budget Review

D.  Donation – Project Help 

III.  Update on Negotiations

Your Negotiating Committee just wrapped up 4 days of mediation under the direction of NMB Mediator, Victoria Gray, at the La Jolla Marriott in San Diego, CA.  

The days were long and stretched into the night as both teams were frustrated as we grappled with complex issues and tough decisions.  We did reach some consensus.

Thank you to everybody who worked yesterday and who attended informational picketing system-wide.  Your enthusiasm was a big encouragement to your NC.  The SAN Flight Attendants stopped by our caucus room to show their support!

This session we did TA 3 Sections: 

  • Section 9 JA
  • Sick Leave Make-up Program (which will end up in Section 16)
  • Section 23 Insurance Benefits
  • Section 32 Attendance Policy

Section 9 – JA

We retained protections from being JA’d when trading away days off one’s line provided you don’t replace those days with anything else and all the improvements from the TA.  Additionally, a FA cannot be JA’d into or while on a vacation.

Sick Leave Make-up Program

This will allow F/As to restore their sick leave on a 1:1 basis under conditions of the program.

Section 23 Insurance Benefits

We achieved the 15% year on year cap on health care contributions and maintained the annual cost share caps from the TA.

Section 32 Attendance Policy

  • In the TA a FA does not have to complete one leg to avoid the 2.5 points when calling in sick-on-line.
  • For record improvement, we improved the flying requirements compared to TA1.
  • We retained the increased 6 bank points and negotiated that a FA will have the choice to use her/his Quarterly Point Reduction Form prior to having bank points apply.

Your Negotiating Committee will meet with management’s team in SEA in September to work on language clean-up for Section 12 and parameters for an automated Reserve Repositioning Calendar.

The next mediation session is scheduled for October 6-8 in Portland, OR. We also have a mediation session scheduled in Washington, DC, November 12-14.

Please check out the Negotiations Update video on our You Tube channel at http://youtu.be/GDX3CDjZZN8

Wear your RED pin, stay informed and stay engaged.  Keep an eye out for more opportunities to show your spirit and voice your thoughts to management!   More information can be found on our new website at afaalaska.org.

In solidarity,

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

MEC 5BSS Logo (Web)

Council 30 (ANC) LEC Officer Election Results

Polls closed at 12 PM PT today for the election of Council 30 LEC Officers, representing Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants based in Anchorage. The following AFA Flight Attendants have been elected to Local Council Officer positions: LEC President: LeiLauni ScheidemanLEC Vice President: Heather ReierLEC Secretary: Anne Madsen View the certified election results here >> These newly elected officers […]

Apps To Help You Save Money On Food

Our AFA Employee Assistance Program (EAP)/Professional Standards Committee recognizes that Flight Attendants may be facing increasing challenges when it comes to accessing affordable food, whether on the road or at home. We want you to know that you are not alone. In response to these difficulties, we have compiled a list of apps to help […]

What You Need To Know About The FAA Capacity Cuts

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced plans for a 10% reduction in flight capacity across 40 markets, starting this Friday. According to news reports, these schedule reductions will begin on Friday and will gradually increase throughout the weekend until they reach the full 10% by the following week. Reports also suggest that all Alaska […]

Council 47 (LAX pmHA) LEC Officer Election Results

Polls closed at 12 PM PT today for the election of Council 47 LEC Officers, representing Hawaiian Airlines Flight Attendants based in Los Angeles. The following AFA Flight Attendants have been elected to Local Council Officer positions: LEC President: Joshua AokiLEC Vice President: Paul IkiokaLEC Secretary: Beth Hayes View the certified election results here >> These newly elected […]

Pre-Merger Alaska MEC Committee Interviews—December 2025

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants In accordance with Article VI.C of the AFA Alaska MEC Policy and Procedure Manual, the terms of office for the MEC Committee Chairpersons and other MEC-level positions align with those of the MEC Officers. Since the current term for the MEC Officers will conclude on December 31, […]

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