Latest News

September 1, 2013 13:02

Click the following link to read the latest edition of The Fly By….

AUG 2013 Newsletter

A message from our LEC President, Melanie Buker

Hi Anchorage,

I can’t believe our beautiful

summer is almost over!

I want to take a moment to thank Karina Cameron Fetters for all of her hard work on behalf of our Negotiation

Committee. As you know we have scheduled mediation sessions once a month, through the end of the year and

I know this has

been a huge time commitment for Karina and her family. Be sure to thank her for all of her

efforts.

Victoria Gray, our NMB Mediator, has asked both AFA and the company to dial back on their communication

during this process. Jeff will still be sending out a communication at the end of each session and you can

receive the update by email. To sign up for the blast, please send me your personal email address. You can also

visit our newly redesigned MEC website for the updates www.alaskamec.org. A big thank you goes to SEA

LECP, Laura Masserant and to PDX LEC VP, Brian Palmer, for all of their hard work creating this resource for

all of us. There is also an Alaska Airlines Negotiations Facebook page and we have our own Anchorage

Council 30 Flight Attendant page. Just locate each on Facebook and ask to join, they are both private groups.

Just a quick update on where we are with the “interim” uniform. The committee is meeting once a week to get

this uniform to you as quickly as possible; we are still looking at a yearend roll out. The pieces that have been

chosen are taken from Land’s End catalog stock except for a dress, which will be a custom piece in navy. I

think you will be happy with the choices made available and you will be able to view them shortly, in an electronic catalog.

The outer wear coat was chosen this week; it looks very much like the Twinhill coat.

Once the “new brand” is presented we will start a “custom” uniform and engaging our AFA uniform

committees with the new design process. I would like to introduce you to your uniform committee. We have

Janie Chenoweth as your Chair. On committee is Roberta Darby, Warren Long, Sonny Carlisle, Jenny Partch,Heather Wagner, Karrie Wesley, Bonnie Walters & Destiny Topps.

Just a reminder to bid September 3rdoff if you would like to attend our base meeting where the guest speaker

will be Sunae Park. Susan and I thought it would be a good idea to get Sunae to Anchorage to answer your scheduling questions; it has been such a hot topic for so long now. Later in the day Andy Schneider will be

hosting her Anchorage “Happy Hour”. Last, a very special welcome to the last class that came on board July 1st, we hope you enjoy your time here in Anchorage!

Take care and fly safe,

Melanie

September 1, 2013 12:55

Just a very quick but IMPORTANT reminder! This Tuesday, September 3rd, we will be having a Base Meeting at the Alaska Regional Building. We are expecting Andy Schneider, Ron Calvin and other “guest speakers” to attend and answer questions that we have all been talking about! Some of these circle around pairings, future planned Anchorage flying, hotel issues/costs (since use of API), etc. Please plan to attend and/or send in any questions you’d like your LEC to ask, in your absence!

Following the Base Meeting is the Anchorage “Happy Hour” (also at the Alaska Regional Center). Andy Schneider is hosting this event, and she requests that anyone planning to attend RSVP online. (You can find the link on our Flight Attendant webpage at Alaskasworld.com)

This is a great opportunity for all of us to find out, firsthand, what future plans may be in the works AND to get our own specific questions answered! See you there!

August 28, 2013 08:41

For Immediate Release

Contact:Corey Caldwell 202-434-0586

FLIGHT ATTENDANT UNION COMMEMORATES 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF HISTORIC MARCH ON WASHINGTON

Washington, DC – The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA) issued the following statement in honor of the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington:

“On this day 50 years ago, hundreds of thousands of women and men descended upon our nation’s capital for an unprecedented demonstration for freedom and economic justice. Strangers from all corners of the country stood side by side as sisters and brothers to demand freedom from discrimination and the means to live their lives free of economic oppression. They were unified and they sent a powerful message that changed the course of history.

“This historic day serves as a reminder of what we, as citizens, can accomplish when we raise our voices together. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s words, evoking a new vision of the American dream, still ring true today and serve as a reminder of how far we have come and how far we have yet to go.

“AFA’s commitment to equal treatment of all individuals, regardless of race, color, creed, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression has remained a top priority since our founding 68 years ago. Like Dr. King, we recognize that true freedom requires both an end to discrimination and an end to economic oppression. On this historic day, we recommit our efforts to push back against discrimination of any kind and we stand for economic justice.

“For the brave women and men who stood in Lincoln’s shadow on this day 50 years ago, we continue our efforts to fight discrimination in any form in their honor. It is time, once and for all, to eradicate the poisonous legacy of discrimination from our society while we redouble our efforts to achieve economic justice for all working families.”

The Association of Flight Attendants is the world’s largest Flight Attendant union. Focused 100 percent on Flight Attendant issues, AFA has been the leader in advancing the Flight Attendant profession for 68 years. Serving as the voice for Flight Attendants in the workplace, in the aviation industry, in the media and on Capitol Hill, AFA has transformed the Flight Attendant profession by raising wages, benefits and working conditions. Nearly 60,000 Flight Attendants come together to form AFA, part of the 700,000-member strong Communications Workers of America (CWA), AFL-CIO. Visit us at www.afacwa.org.

__________________

Corey Caldwell

AFA Communications

ccaldwell@afanet.org

202-434-0586 (w)

202-550-5520 (c)

August 23, 2013 08:46

Dear Flight Attendants,

As we have said in prior communications, our federal mediator from the National Mediation Board (NMB) Victoria Gray has imposed a “limited communication” policy on both AFA’s and management’s teams. As a result, this update does not contain the same level of detail as during direct negotiations and prior to mediation.

However, we want you to know that much progress was made in our session at the Hilton Portland & Executive Tower in the beautiful City of Roses. Although no tentative agreements (TAs) were reached this session, we are extremely close on three sections and fully anticipate signing off on them right out of the gate during our next mediation session:

Section 14 – Vacation,

Section 16 – Sick Leave/On the Job Injury, and

Section 32 – Attendance Policy.

Mediator Gray was extremely effective in getting the parties to discuss compromises and “think outside of the box.” She facilitated full committee and small group sessions and helped us navigate some pretty thorny areas.

Our next meeting is in Washington, DC, from September 9^th through 12^th at the NMB headquarters. Until our next communication, stay informed and stay strong.

In solidarity,

Your Negotiating Committee – MEC President Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Tracy, Karina Cameron-Fetters, Jake Jones and AFA Staff Negotiator Paula Mastrangelo

“Five Bases, One Voice”

alaskamec.org

August 22, 2013 12:27

FLIGHT ATTENDANT UNION’S ENDURING EFFORTS FOR SAFETY AND HEALTH PROTECTIONS in THE CABIN BECOME REALITY
AFA Commends OSHA, FAA for Finalizing Cabin Workplace Safety and Health Policy

Washington, DC – The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA) today hailed the release of Occupational Safety and Health protections for Flight Attendants working on commercial aircraft. Following AFA’s tireless advocacy to improve safety and health standards for Flight Attendants in the workplace, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) finalized a policy statement that corrects a nearly four-decade old exclusion of OSHA in the passenger cabin.

“AFA looks forward to continuing our work with the FAA and OSHA to protect the safety and health of our nation’s Flight Attendants, whose duties in the cabins of commercial aircraft subject them to potential workplace hazards, including noise, bloodborne pathogens, and toxic chemicals. AFA welcomes the opportunity, as the voice for Flight Attendants, to ensure full implementation of these critical protections,” said Veda Shook, AFA International President. “AFA Flight Attendants have been forceful advocates for OSHA protections. We appreciate the efforts of FAA and OSHA to bring workplace safety and health standards into the cabin. This change will improve the working conditions of tens of thousands of Flight Attendants while benefiting the millions of passengers who travel on commercial flights every day.”

In 1975, the FAA issued a notice claiming exclusive jurisdiction over workplace safety and health for all crewmembers, preventing OSHA from protecting Flight Attendants while working on board commercial flights. Since then, AFA has pursued multiple legal and regulatory solutions to extend OSHA safety and health protections to airline workers. Today’s final policy statement resulted from years of aggressive AFA advocacy for inclusion of Flight Attendant safety and health protections, a memorandum of understanding signed between the FAA and OSHA during the Clinton administration, and follow through by the Obama administration. This final policy statement was issued after the FAA and OSHA thoroughly reviewed comments submitted by AFA, individual AFA members, and various industry stakeholders.

Moving forward, AFA will continue to work with the FAA, OSHA, and key aviation industry stakeholders to ensure that Flight Attendants are provided sufficient information to understand their rights to safe, healthy cabin workplaces, and that airlines comply with all relevant aspects of the applicable OSHA standards, including Flight Attendant training requirements.

The FAA/OSHA final policy statement will be posted later this week.

The Association of Flight Attendants is the world’s largest Flight Attendant union. Focused 100 percent on Flight Attendant issues, AFA has been the leader in advancing the Flight Attendant profession for 67 years. Serving as the voice for Flight Attendants in the workplace, in the aviation industry, in the media and on Capitol Hill, AFA has transformed the Flight Attendant profession by raising wages, benefits and working conditions. Nearly 60,000 Flight Attendants come together to form AFA, part of the 700,000-member strong Communications Workers of America (CWA), AFL-CIO. Visit us at www.afacwa.org.

082213 OSHA BECOMES REALITY
__________________

Corey Caldwell
AFA Communications
ccaldwell@afanet.org
202-434-0586 (w)
202-550-5520 (c)

August 20, 2013 00:03

August 20, 2013

Dear Flight Attendants,

The second session of contract mediation begins Tuesday morning at the Hilton Portland & Executive Tower in downtown Portland, OR, and lasts through Thursday. As you may recall, at the first mediation National Mediation Board (NMB) mediator Victoria Gray recommended that going forward both parties should pull back on the frequency and detail of communications in regards to negotiations. AFA and management agreed we would communicate our progress at the conclusion of a negotiations session and discuss the content with the other party prior to sending the communication.

After everybody received the “Mediation Begins Again!” message from Vice President of Inflight Services Andy Schneider earlier today, your Negotiating Committee has received feedback that our members would like to hear something from the Association. Although it’s not comfortable for your AFA Negotiating Committee to be less communicative than before mediation began, we are committed to honoring the process agreement. Just know that your Negotiating Committee is ready to go for this session and expect an update at the end of the week!

p.s. For those of you who might be considering a 30/60/90 day staffing adjustment leave, be advised that you must be a member in good standing in order to vote on a tentative agreement. Therefore, it’s important that you stay current on your dues payments. If you have questions about dues currency and payment options, you may contact the AFA-CWA Membership Services Department (http://www.afacwa.org/membership/) or one of your Local Executive Council (LEC) officers.

In solidarity,

Your Negotiating Committee – MEC President Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Tracy, Karina Cameron-Fetters, Jakes Jones and AFA Staff Negotiator Paula Mastrangelo

“Five Bases, One Voice”

alaskamec.org

August 15, 2013 13:57

SAVE THE DATE Burbank and Ontario FAs!

LAX base meetings are coming to co-terminals in September, so mark your calendars. Your LEC officers will be in attendance to listen to and answer any questions.

Tuesday, September 17th, 11am-2pm in the Burbank area.

Thursday, September 26th, 12-2pm in the Ontario area.

Dates and times are set, but exact location is TBD. Please standby for more details.

See you soon!

August 7, 2013 15:32

This update includes the location of the Local Council Meeting

Date: Monday, September 16
Time: 1 to 3 PM
Location: Sandy Room, PDX Airport Conference Center

Please mark your calendar for our next Local Council Meeting, to be held Monday, September 16 from 1 to 3 PM. The meeting will be held in the Sandy Room of the PDX Airport Conference Center. From the Oregon Market Food Court, take the stairs near the clock tower to the mezzanine level and follow the signs to the Sandy Room.

Local Council Meetings are a great opportunity to find out more about what the Local Council is working on, hear updates from the Officers and Local Committees, network with fellow Flight Attendants, and get involved in your union!

If you have an advance agenda item to submit, please email it to LEC President Cathy Gwynn at catgwynn@comcast.net. Submission deadline for advance agenda items is Monday, September 9 at 3 PM PDT. Please direct any other questions to LEC Vice President Brian Palmer at bpalmer@alaskamec.org.

August 5, 2013 14:32

Hello Seattle Flight Attendants,

First of all, I want to thank all of the Flight Attendants who were able to work as scheduled, VJA’d and especially the 11 Flight Attendants who were junior assigned last weekend. Junior Assignments require additional sacrifice to personal schedules and valued time off and I recognize the hardship this may cause.

While many were able to keep their commitment to work I understand the frustration and disappointment in having your weekend plans ruined by Reassignments and Junior Availability. Each of you came to work and performed your duties with exceptional professionalism and the expectation to fulfill your commitment to the operation. We continue to show the company why we excel in the industry for customer service and operational excellence! For those that were out sick or taking care of family members our thoughts are with you and we wish you and your family a speedy recovery.

Junior Assignment is never an easy topic to dissect. What caused it to happen? Does the company have enough staffing? Did the junior assigning procedure follow the contract and assign in order?

These are all valid questions that I have done my best to address this week.

First of all, the sick calls started growing on Thursday of last week. This meant that the reserve pool that covers the weekend is taking a hit earlier than anticipated. On Thursday July, 18^th the sick calls reached 83 in Seattle. Normally, Seattle averages about 74 sick calls a day for both lineholders and reserves.

On Friday July, 19^th the sick calls remained higher than normal, 80 Flight Attendants.

On Saturday, July 20^th the sick calls returned to the normal average of 74 Flight Attendants.

To minimize the need for junior assigning the company offers VJA. On the 18^th the company granted 6 VJA. On the 19^th 11 VJA trips were granted and on the 20^th 27 VJA trips were granted.

Friday afternoon Crew Scheduling starts assigning trips to reserves for Saturday. When they run the number of sick calls versus available reserves it became clear that the numbers were not going to mesh and even with 27 VJA requests granted, the previous 2 days of sick higher than normal sick calls meant the average number on Saturday could not be managed with available reserves.

Keep in mind that the company manages not only sick calls from Flight Attendants at home. They also manage sick calls from on-line illness and injury. Last weekend several Flight Attendants become sick on line which meant scrambling to cover flights out of domicile. In one instance, a PDX FA graciously offered to cover a flight out of Boston or the flight would have cancelled.

In fact, Portland also saw 4 junior assignments last weekend.

Reserve coverage does not only cover sick calls. The amount of reserves on any day must cover the average sick call of 74 trips and minimum staffing of an aircraft if operational issues arise.

This does raise the question that maybe the company should evaluate the number of reserves and the reality of sick leave use. I have discussed this issue with the company on several occasions and the fact is that there is no way to anticipate a high sick call event.

When the average sick call amount is 74 Flight Attendants the company does plan for a higher average of 74 in reserve coverage. Adding any more reserves than this number does two things: (1). It increases the overall reserve positions and (2) Means less flying for the reserves on the majority of days in the month (impacting paychecks).

I have the JA stack of paper on my desk and I have confirmed that Crew Scheduling followed the contract and called Flight Attendants in order. They started with the most junior person available and legal to fly and went up the list from there. There are a couple of reminders I want to offer to you about this:

1. Reserves cannot be JA’d.

2. Any lineholder who traded out of a day of work cannot be JA’d.

3. Crew Scheduling can contact FAs who are coming in from a trip via ACARS if they are next on the list for an assignment.

4. If Crew Scheduling leaves a message on your cell phone, your home phone, or with one of your family members for you to call that you are NOT required to call them back if you are off duty and/or on a day off.

Remember to reach out to any of your Local Executive Council (LEC) Officers if you have any questions on a Junior Assignment and you can refer to Section 9 of the contract for clarification and procedures that must be followed during a JA event.

As I write this today, I have been notified that we are Junior Assinging for this weekend, too. I am actively tracking the JA assignments and have Kieran Whitney, Manager of Crew Scheduling, on speed dial to address any questions or concerns.

I want to thank everyone, again, for their professionalism during this frustrating time.

August 4, 2013 13:50

When: Thursday, August 29 from 3 to 5 PM
Where: Buffalo Wild Wings, Cascade Station, 9810 NE Cascades Pkwy, Portland, Oregon 97220-6825

We hope you’ll join us for an opportunity to meet the members of the Reserve Committee, ask questions, get answers, and network with your fellow F/As. This is a great opportunity to get to know everyone who has joined us in the PDX base recently including the 35 F/As who will be joining us in September!

All F/As, reserve and lineholder, are welcome! However, due to limited space, no non-F/A guests please.

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

Hotel Committee Meeting Recap – September 2025

Recent Posts

Local Councils

Master Executive Council

Negotiations

Contract

Committees

News By Month

Want To Stay In The Loop?

Connect With AFA