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Representing the Flight Attendants of Alaska + Hawaiian

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Dear Flight Attendants,

 

AFA-CWA Council 30 Anchorage will be hosting a solidarity event tomorrow, May 8, 2014. Flight Attendants will be participating in a rally and informational picketing at the Alaska Air Group Shareholders meeting. Because Alaska Airlines System Regulations prohibit traveling non-revenue in order to picket, we invite Flight Attendant Shareholders, Anchorage-based Flight Attendants and Flight Attendants laying over in Anchorage to join in the event. The festivities will occur on the public sidewalk outside of the Anchorage Museum at Rusmuson Center (625 C St, Anchorage, AK) from 3pm to 4pm ADT.

 

Following the rally, we invite all Flight Attendant Shareholders to join Master Executive Council (MEC) President Jeffrey Peterson, Council 30 President Becky Strachan, and Council 30 Vice President and Negotiating Committee member Lisa Pinkston as they participate in the Shareholders meeting from 4pm to 6pm. Be advised we anticipate entry will be restricted to Shareholders only.

 

AFA appreciates the support of our probationary Fight Attendants, but we’re going to ask them to sit this one out. Probationaries are technically allowed to participate in informational picketing but AFA believes probationaries can best support their ‘tenured’ brothers and sisters by focusing on staying informed, familiarizing themselves with the Contract and passing probation.

 

Any Flight Attendants participating in informational picketing CANNOT wear the Flight Attendant uniform to the event. Instead, we encourage all Flight Attendants to wear their blue AFA t-shirts as a sign of solidarity. AFA t-shirts will also be provided on site in various sizes while supplies last. A plain royal blue t-shirt will suffice as a backup. Alternatively, you can never go wrong wearing your AFA pin along with a generic blue t-shirt of any shade!

 

If you’re in the Anchorage area tomorrow afternoon, join in the fun!

 

In solidarity,

 

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

 

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For over two years, our Flight Attendants have worked without seeing an improvement in our collective bargaining agreement.  We spoke in a resounding way and with a unified voice during the vote on our recent tentative agreement (TA). We told management “NO,” the TA does not recognize the contributions Flight Attendants make towards the numerous industry awards and record profits the company continues to achieve.

Becoming a Mobilization Volunteer is how you can directly contribute to the success of our Negotiating Committee.  Read on to find out why being a Mobilization Volunteer is right for you:

1.      You’re Tired of Waiting

Our contract has been amendable for over two years.  After more than two years of negotiating, the parties have failed to reach an acceptable tentative agreement.  This is two years too long!

2.     You’re Not Afraid To Let Management Know How Serious We Are

When our voices are united in support of our Negotiating Committee, we send a loud message to management.  When our actions are united in solidarity, the message is even louder.

3.     You Want Management To Recognize Our Contributions

Flight Attendants have the most direct and longest customer interaction than any other position within the Company.  We have been told time and again by management that it is our people who make the difference and keep these customers coming back.

4.     Quality of Life Is Important To You

Being able to balance work and life is important to us.  Together, we bargain for work rules and provisions that allow us to achieve this.

It’s time to get involved.  Mobilization Training sessions are scheduled for next week in all of our base cities.  In one two-hour session, you’ll learn about how we got to where we are in the negotiating process, where we’re going from here, and how you can make an impact.

Sign up now for a training session at alaskamec.org/mobilization/training.  Want to know more?  Visit alaskamec.org/mobilization or get in contact with your Local Mobilization Chairperson, listed below.

  • ANC – Thresia Raynor (thresiaraynor@gci.net)
  • SEA – Krystle Cook (kcook907@gmail.com)
  • PDX – Shawn Grill (sgrill@alaskamec.org)
  • LAX – Stacy Uebelhor (stacyc.uebelhor@yahoo.com)
  • SAN – Brice McGee (SanSecAFA@gmail.com)

As we prepare to go back to the table, we must show management that we are unified, organized, and prepared—that we are FIVE BASES, STANDING STRONG!

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Please join us at the Solidarity Event planned for tomorrow, May 8th!

Many of you have expressed a desire to show your solidarity at the upcoming Alaska Airlines Shareholders’ Meeting on May 8th. If you plan to join us, we will be outside of the Anchorage Museum at the Rasmuson Center, on the public sidewalk. We will have extra blue AFA t-shirts available for you to wear, if you do not already have your own. Remember, if you plan to participate in the informational picketing, you cannot wear your uniform! Because the Shareholders’ meeting is being held in Anchorage this year, our colleagues in Seattle will be showing their solidarity, as well, by participating in a solidarity activity at Sea-Tac.

If you have any questions, please reach out to any of your Council 30 Officers! We are looking forward to seeing you there!

In Solidarity,

Becky, Lisa & Jan

Dear Flight Attendants,

 

Our fellow Alaska Airlines Flight Attendant Veda Shook will soon conclude her term as International President of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA. As our International President Veda has made numerous invaluable contributions to our union.

 

Your Master Executive Council (MEC) officers put forward a floor resolution to the AFA Board of Directors (BOD) in recognition of Veda’s service. The resolution, which was adopted unanimously by the BOD, is as follows:

 

 

 

Association of Flight Attendants – CWA, AFL-CIO

Forty Second Board of Directors Meeting

April 28-30, 2014

Orlando, FL

 

Floor Resolution: Appreciation and Recognition for AFA-CWA International President Veda Shook

 

WHEREAS Veda Shook has tirelessly advocated for Flight Attendants at all levels of our union, and

 

WHEREAS we recognize Veda’s many contributions to our union in her many leadership roles, and

 

WHEREAS Veda has served her term as the voice for Flight Attendants on the job, in the workplace and on Capitol Hill, and

 

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED we stand in unity with Veda at the completion of the Forty Second (42nd) AFA-CWA Board of Directors meeting, and

 

THEREFORE BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED we thank Veda for her unwavering dedication as AFA-CWA International President.

 

 

Adopted unanimously by the Board of Directors on April 30, 2014

 

 

 

In solidarity,

 

 

Your MEC — Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Gesch, Becky Strachan, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn and Council 18 LAX/SAN Vice President Kelly Johnson (proxy for Sandra Morrow)

 

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In preparation for the upcoming May 20th Mobilization events at each base, AFA Council 18 (LAX) Mobilization trainings are being held at the Westin LAX May 15th. By attending a single two-hour session, you’ll be empowered with knowledge about how you can help the Negotiating Committee send management a unified message—we are Five Bases, Standing Strong!

Read more about the Mobilization Committee at alaskamec.org/mobilization.  Ready to gear up and make a difference?  Sign up to attend a Mobilization Training session at alaskamec.org/mobilization/training.

Details of the first Mobilization event will be provided at the training May 15th. Please plan on attending one of the two sessions (May 15th) and event on May 2oth.

Mobilization Training is at the Westin LAX:  session 1 is from 10am-12pm, session 2 is from 1pm-3pm.Sign up at www.alaskamec.org/mobilization/training. Please contact StacyC.Uebelhor@yahoo.com with any questions.

Five Bases Standing Strong!

Dear Flight Attendants,

Your Negotiating Committee and the Master Executive Council (MEC) have been working with Hart Research Associates to resolve the challenges with the follow up AFA negotiations survey. Access to the online survey via individualized links Is being closed out. However, since there are many Flight Attendants who have yet to complete the survey, AFA and Hart Research Associates have coordinated to provide alternate access to the online survey.
Instructions will be sent In a separate email communication from AFA (not Hart Research Associates) shortly. The survey will remain open until Friday, May 9, 2014, at noon Eastern (0900 PDT). For security reasons, it is important that you do NOT post the instructions on social media.
What went wrong with the email invitations sent by Hart Research Associates? Very likely there is no single root cause. AFA reviewed the updated email addresses with our existing database and there were several discrepancies. In many instances the Flight Attendant provided the same address name but with a different email host (e.g. Gmail vs. Hotmail).
We also observed many issues resulting from certain email hosts rejecting the survey invitations altogether. This is called a “hard bounce.” More specifically, a hard bounce is when the email host filters out bulk emails by not even allowing them through the host’s filter. This results in email not even reaching an individual’s spam folder.
A hard bounce happens when an email host receives a number of emails around the same time from the same sender (FlightAttendantSurvey@hart-research.com in this case). AFA experienced similar issues with the last negotiations survey in 2011. Anecdotally, we can confirm AOL and Comcast appear to generate the largest number of hard bounces. Unfortunately there is nothing that can be done about hard bounces except to have Flight Attendants use another email host.
One of the other issues is that Hart Research Associates operates on Eastern Time Monday through Friday during normal business hours. It seemed many Flight Attendants who sent in troubleshooting inquiries outside of this window were getting frustrated when they were not receiving a response right away. Keep in mind that all survey invitations were being sent by Hart Research Associates directly and AFA had no way to expedite the process. We were simply passing along requests to Hart.
Combine all these reasons with the fact that your leadership was fully immersed in the annual AFA Board of Directors meeting during this time and it was a perfect recipe for frustration! Please be assured it is extremely important to AFA that your voice is heard. If you haven’t yet completed the survey, be looking for the instructions immediately following this communication.
Thank you very much for your patience!
In solidarity,
Your MEC–Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Gesch, Becky Strachan, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn and Sandra Morrow; and
Your Negotiating Committee–MEC President Jeffrey Peterson, Kristy Stratton, Lisa Pinkston, Jake Jones and Christina Frees
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Last week, Alaska Air Group posted another record quarterly profit for the first quarter of 2014. Quarter after quarter, the Company has been making money hand over fist.  Meanwhile, our Flight Attendants have been in contract negotiations for over 2 years. We have yet to be presented with a contract that recognizes our contributions to the award-winning customer service and record profits that Alaska Airlines continues to receive and the record profits that the company continues to earn.

The time has come to show management that we stand together in our desire to achieve a contract that acknowledges our contributions to a wildly successful company.  Our Mobilization Committee needs you to help demonstrate our solidarity to management by becoming a Mobilization Volunteer.  Mobilization Volunteers will show management that we’re serious about negotiating an industry-leading contract by participating in solidarity activities. The Mobilization Committee will also be facilitating active communication between Flight Attendants and the Negotiating Committee.

Mobilization Training events are being held in all bases the week of May 12.  By attending a single two-hour session, you’ll be empowered with knowledge about how you can help the Negotiating Committee send management a unified message—we are Five Bases, Standing Strong!

Read more about the Mobilization Committee at alaskamec.org/mobilization.  Ready to gear up and make a difference?  Sign up to attend a Mobilization Training session at alaskamec.org/mobilization/training.

MEC 5BSS Logo

Dear Flight Attendants,

A short time ago, the National Mediation Board (NMB) officially notified the AFA and management negotiating teams that it has delayed our return to mediation until July by canceling the negotiations session scheduled for the week of May 12th.

Once in mediation, the NMB has control over our meeting schedule and they have the authority to decide that a mediation session should be canceled.

Do we agree with this decision?  No!  We would always be ready to meet and make progress in our quest for a new contract.  We have expressed our frustration that there is no available meeting date in June. Despite our protests, mediation will resume in late July.

Even if we wanted to meet earlier than July, AFA and management do not believe it is in the best interest of either party to proceed without the sanction of the NMB.  However, as a show of good faith management has agreed to absorb AFA’s costs resulting from the relatively last-minute cancellation.

Given that we have no choice, AFA will make good use of the downtime.  We have already established meeting dates for our own internal review of the negotiations survey.  Additionally, we will hold a joint AFA negotiations training with the Negotiating Committee and the Master Executive Council (MEC) leadership.  AFA International trainers, legal staff and department heads will also participate in the training.

While this is an unfortunate delay, we are determined to take advantage of the situation and use it to prepare for the next session and demonstrate to the NMB–and management–just how serious we are about getting back to the table and fighting for the contract that we all deserve.

Our sincere thanks to management for covering the cancellation fees.  The parties are looking forward to getting back to the table the week of July 21st.

In solidarity,

Your MEC–Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Gesch, Becky Strachan, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn and Sandra Morrow; and

Your Negotiating Committee–MEC President Jeffrey Peterson, Kristy Stratton, Lisa Pinkston, Jake Jones and Christina Frees

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Please join us in welcoming Lisa Curry, Tracy Speck, and David Jelinek to the Alaska AFA PDX Uniform Committee.

Lisa Curry

Lisa started her flying career with Alaska Air Group in August 1989 with Horizon Air. She left Horizon in April 1996 to continue her flying career with Alaska Airlines. Although she doesn’t have any previous AFA involvement at Alaska Airlines, she has been involved in several special projects and committees at Horizon Airlines including aircraft standardization, recycling, food and beverage committee, Big Brother/Big Sister mentorship program, and interviewing potential new hire flight attendant candidates.

Lisa brings prior experience of an eight-year career in men’s and women’s fashion to the committee.  She has worked both in sales roles at Nordstrom, Contempo and Foxmoor Casuals and in both sales and management positions at Meier & Frank.  Her heartfelt passion for design and fashion in general will help to bring her ideas to the workplace and apply them specifically to our own company’s uniforms.

Lisa is extremely grateful for this opportunity to be a voice for our workgroup and she very much looks forward to working with such a talented to team.

Tracy Speck

Tracy started with Alaska Air Group in 1996 as a Customer Service Agent in Portland.  In April 1999, she joined inflight and has served proudly as a Flight Attendant since.  Her previous AFA experience includes serving as a VOICE Committee Member.

Being an active voice for our Flight Attendant group is important to Tracy.  This motivated her desire to join the Uniform Committee.  She looks forward to providing expertise and input as to the concerns, likes and wants of a leading airline uniform while helping to make decisions of a quality yet professional and classy look.  Tracy is eager to be an integral part of the process and bringing a look to our Flight Attendant group that sets us a part from other carriers.  “We are number ONE in the industry and should look number ONE,” says Tracy.

David Jelinek

David joined Alaska Airlines as a Flight Attendant in March 2013.  Prior to Alaska, he flew for 8 years with Frontier Airlines.  During that time he served for 4 years on the Uniform Committee and helped implement a new uniform as well as update uniform standards and wear guides.

David has a degree in costume design from the University of Northern Colorado. When not flying, he enjoys making costumes and doing other sewing projects.

David wanted to get involved with the AFA Alaska Uniform Committee because he wants to help in the creation process of the new Land’s End custom uniform. He looks forward to working with the committee to design a uniform that is not only stylish and professional, but is comfortable and easy to wear. Most importantly, he looks forward to helping to design something that showcases the updated Alaska Airlines brand and that Flight Attendants will be proud to wear.

We would also like to take this opportunity to thank Contesa Diaz-Nicolaidis and Deanna Hill for their work on the Uniform Committee over the past several years.  Their contributions to the committee during both the TwinHill and interim Land’s End uniform periods have been sincerely appreciated.

The Uniform Committee is responsible for ensuring contract language compliance for Flight Attendants in the area of uniforms. The Committee is also charged with representing Flight Attendant interests to management regarding design, fabric selection, and other details of the Flight Attendant uniform.

In Solidarity,

Your LEC Officers – Cathy Gwynn, Brian Palmer and Local Uniform Committee Chairperson Bob Moore

Dear Flight Attendants,

The online portion to the follow up AFA negotiations survey by Hart Research Associates will remain open through Sunday, May 4, 2014.  As a reminder, your AFA leadership is currently at the 42nd Annual AFA-CWA Board of Directors meeting in Orlando.  We are responding to all inquiries during breaks between meetings and thank you for your patience.

A second round of email invitations containing individualized links to the online survey were sent a short time ago by Hart Research Associates.  Check your spam/junk folder in case the invitation is there.

Important: Do not share your link with anybody or else others could take the survey on your behalf.  The email address used by Hart Research Associates for the invitations is FlightAttendantSurvey@hart-research.com.

If you have NOT received a survey or if you completed the phone survey AND received an email invitation, contact FlightAttendantSurvey@hart-research.com and request an email invitation. Provide your first and last name and your PeopleSoft number. 

(We are using PeopleSoft numbers as identifiers and did not provide Arctic numbers due to privacy and security concerns.  Your PeopleSoft number can be found on the Inflight webpage on the upper left hand corner.)

It is extremely important that your voice be heard. Make sure to complete the survey!

In solidarity,

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

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

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