Dear Flight Attendants,

 

 

Your AFA Negotiating Committee just wrapped up our fourth mediation session October 29-30, 2013. This session was held at the National Mediation Board (NMB) in Washington, DC, and overseen by federal mediator Victoria Gray. We were again joined by transportation economist Dan Akins as our financial advisor. Although we did not reach a tentative agreement (TA) on any sections this session and there is some distance between our positions, we believe there is a willingness on both sides to get a deal in the near future.

 

On Monday we were joined at the table by Alaska Air Group (AAG) Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Brandon Pedersen. He came to answer any questions we had about Alaska’s stock buy-back program and the recent decision to pay a dividend on AAG stock (NYSE: ALK). AFA believes that if senior management and the AAG Board of Directors are willing to direct significant funds back to the shareholders, our leaders should also be willing to reward their Flight Attendants in kind. Following the discussion with Brandon, management passed us a comprehensive proposal at the end of the day which made some movement toward our position.

 

We spent Tuesday morning in further evaluation of management’s proposal and in formulating our response. Pat Sims, senior mediator with the NMB, dropped by mid-day to talk about our negotiations and she stayed through the remainder of the day. After we returned from lunch we smelled a weird electrical smell and further investigation revealed smoke coming from the ceiling!

 

Luckily, our caucus room was filled with first responders and we successfully evacuated in under 90 seconds! (Okay, maybe we’re dramatizing the event ever so slightly.) Seriously, though, we did have to move to a different part of the building after it was discovered that the air conditioning motor had seized up and was smoking. That evening after all the excitement had passed we gave management a comprehensive response to their proposal.

 

As a consequence of the electrical issue, on Wednesday we were required to relocate to the Hamilton Hotel just down the street from the NMB. AFA Director of Collective Bargaining Clare Burt joined us for the bulk of the day. Mediator Gray met separately with both sides and there was some consultation about how to move the discussion forward. We had a small group discussion with Mediator Gray and the principle members of management’s team which seemed to put the talks back on track. We will continue that dialogue on a conference call early next week and expect to resume mediation in San Diego, CA, November 12-14, 2013.

 

In the meantime, we appreciate your supportive messages and the faith you show in your representatives at the table. It is a difficult job we are undertaking to better the situation for all of us. Please stay strong, stay informed and together we will prevail!

 

 

In solidarity,

 

 

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

 

negotiations@alaskamec.org

https://www.facebook.com/alaskaairlines.negotiations

http://www.youtube.com/user/AFAALANegotiations

“Five Bases, One Voice”

 

Dear Flight Attendants,

 

 

In preparation for this week’s mediation session, the Negotiating Committee has updated the Flight Attendant Payscale Industry Comparison with the latest information.

 

ALA FA Payscale Industry Comps 2013-09-18

 

Keep in mind that all carriers except Southwest Airlines are paid in block-hours rather than in Trips for Pay (TFP). In order to fairly compare them the block-hour pay rates have all been converted to TFP equivalent by dividing by the conversion factor 1.13 TFP per block-hour (1.13 TFP/block-hour). The rates must be converted because on the average, a Flight Attendant flies approximately 1.13 TFP in every block-hour. Conversely, you can convert pay in TFP to pay in block-hours by multiplying by 1.13. If you are looking at another carrier’s published pay rates in block-hours and see a discrepancy with this chart, it is because the pay rates have been converted.

 

Why is TFP different than a block-hour? That is because TFP is based on point-to-point mileage whereas a block-hour is based on time from aircraft block-out to block-in. Did you also know that your TFP pay is “front loaded” for each segment? If you look in Section 21.C-D you will see that you are paid 1 TFP for the first 243 miles and then 1 TFP for every 400 miles after that, with no less than 1 TFP for every segment.

 

We often hear Flight Attendants say that we are not compensated for boarding, which is not strictly true. This is why the first TFP in a segment is “front loaded” at 243 miles vs. 400 miles. We thought you might find it interesting to know exactly how much you are paid for boarding at every step rate.

 

2013 Alaska FA Boarding Pay

 

Now, we’re not trying to say that the front loading of TFP on each segment is sufficient compensation for boarding. That is why your Negotiating Committee is pushing hard to achieve a duty rigs as well as other rigs. The duty rig in particular will ensure you are paid appropriately for your time on duty—such as for boarding, sits, delays, etc. A duty rig will also cause the pairing optimizer to do its best to minimize sit times. Other rigs such as a trip rig and an average daily guarantee will ensure that we are paid appropriately for long layovers and eliminate 3-day trips worth 8 TFP. Very, very important!

 

Your Negotiating Committee is committed to achieving rigs in order to ensure we are adequately compensated for our time on duty, to improve pairing value across the board and to minimize sit time. Obviously, we are also focused on attaining a significantly improved compensation and benefits package for all!

 

 

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”

negotiations@alaskamec.org

  

Dear Flight Attendants,

 

 

Under the direction of federal mediator Victoria Gray, your AFA Negotiating Committee and Transportation Economist Dan Akins return to the National Mediation Board (NMB) in Washington, DC, October 28-30 for another round of talks with Alaska Airlines management. It is extremely fortunate that the government shutdown was resolved just in time to bring back Mediator Gray from mandatory furlough!

 

The remaining seven sections of our Contract to be negotiated are Scope, Definitions, Compensation, Expenses, Insurance, Profit Sharing/Retirement and Duration. Before the end of our last mediation session in September, the Negotiating Committee decided that passing multiple economic proposals back and forth with management would simply be a waste of time. That is because we are already aware of the Membership’s expectations in terms of the overall economics.

 

Therefore we thoughtfully prepared a comprehensive compensation and benefits proposal that cut to the chase. After explaining to management our motive for doing so—Flight Attendants want a deal yesterday and they’re tired of waiting—we presented the package so that they would have something significant to work on during the six week break between sessions. The idea behind this was to give the management negotiating team, the Alaska Air Group (AAG) executive leadership and the AAG Board of Directors plenty of time to consider our respective positions.

 

It seems in every Company communication and meeting recently we hear from management that the major challenge coming our way is competition from other airlines moving into our territory. In this morning’s communication from CEO Brad Tilden “Alaska’s Q3 Financial Results” Brad was quoted as resonating with a colleague who said, “The best defense (to competition) is … performance.” We couldn’t agree more! What better way to defend against the competition than to deploy an army of proud Flight Attendants who will strengthen the relationship with our loyal customers and win over new ones into our fold?

 

After all, the Flight Attendants are the front line ambassadors of the “Alaska Airlines product” who by far have the most time spent with our customers compared to any other workgroup in the Company. As such we are the “tip of the spear” in any war with our competitors. Management can ensure this army feels valued and proud by recognizing Flight Attendants with a contract which reflects our contributions to the current and future success of Alaska Airlines!

 

During this past month the flood of emails to management and your passionate attendance at recent Company meetings have proved that Flight Attendants are now more than ever united and serious about achieving a contract we deserve. We expect management to show up in DC next week having carefully considered our most recent comprehensive proposal, to acknowledge our resolve, and to be prepared and focused to “get ‘er done.” This mediation session should significantly reveal the direction negotiations are heading. (No pressure, management!)

 

Keep united and stay tuned for more developments next week!

 

 

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”

negotiations@alaskamec.org