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Representing the Flight Attendants of Alaska + Hawaiian

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First, thank you for your patience and understanding as we maneuver through these times. We realize everything is somewhat ‘fluid and vague’, but we are working to get more concrete plans in place, and as soon as we do, you will know! Keep in mind, when we set up events, there are processes that have to take place (permits, etc). 

Thank you for showing solidarity with your fellow Flight Attendants by wearing your RED AFA pin. Continue to monitor social media to see the hours of distribution. If you are at Seatac Airport, swing by the area across from gate D2 and you may see someone handing them out! We are working on ways to make distribution more streamlined. 

Did you know we have a new Seattle Council #19 Facebook Group? You can request to join it by CLICKING HERE. Please note that all councils have their own pages, this is the Seattle page.  We will post updates here and also send emails.

Try to attend the following events. We are hyper linking the events to our Facebook events page, but also including the information for those of you who are not on social media.

  • July 19, 2023: Informational Picketing at the Seattle Tacoma Airport flag pavilion. We will meet at 12:30 and the event will last until 2:00pm. There is limited parking at the AFA Office. We suggest parking at the SeaTac Light Rail station and take the train to the airport. Try to carpool if you will be parking. We also ask that you wear your uniform. 
  • August 15, 2023: Systemwide Day of Solidarity. We are still working out the details on where we will be staging and where we will send people, so keep your eyes out for future communications.

Where is the Flag Pavilion? The Flag Pavilion is located right at the entrance to the airport, across the street from the Radisson Hotel. 

SIGN UP HERE for JULY 19 EVENT: We have our permit for the event, however, the Port of Seattle limits the number of people who can attend. If you know you can attend, SIGN UP HERE. 

Stay tuned for more information on our RED hot summer! We will post on our Facebook page and also send updates via email, so make sure to check your email regularly for our communications!

In This Edition

Bidding Reminder: Day of Solidarity – August 15

Originally posted July 6, 2023

Remember to bid Tuesday, August 15 off for our Day of Solidarity informational picketing! If you can’t bid the day off, you can also bid around the picketing time for your base. Our Negotiating Committee is counting on your support to demonstrate our solidarity during the first negotiation session since the expiration of management’s promise of industry-leading pay. More information, including meet-up locations for each base, will be coming soon!

Read More >

Shared on Social

Red AFA Pins Are Red HOT!

Red AFA pins are spreading like fire throughout the system! Once you receive your red AFA pin, wear it whenever you fly, attend training, or participate in a company event. Tag #SelfiesForSolidarity when you post pictures of you or your crew with red AFA pins on so we can feature you!

Do you need a red AFA pin? Mobilization Volunteers are working hard to get pins into everyone’s hands ASAP. Want to know when Mobilization Volunteers will be out at your base? Check your Local Council’s Facebook page for information, or contact your Local Mobilization Committee Chairperson.

#AFAAlaska #RedHotSummer

Next Week’s Events

Monday, July 10 – Wednesday, July 12CWA Convention
Thursday, July 13Quarterly Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC) Meeting
Thursday, July 13Scheduling Review Board (SRB)

See the MEC Event Calendar >

Find Us on Social Media

You can find the most up-to-date official information on our AFA Alaska social media accounts.  Click below and follow so you can stay connected!

​

Red AFA Pins! 

​We have heard you loud and clear! Council 15 – SAN members are eager to start wearing our red-hot AFA pins!​Mobilization volunteers will begin distributing red AFA pins beginning next week. Please begin wearing them immediately!  We appreciate your patience; it may be several days before all local volunteers receive the pins.

you can also reach out to our mobilization chair Samantha Wolff sam.wolff@afaalaska.org

Mobilization Events – Coming Soon!  

​Management’s insulting compensation offer has members hot and ready to stand up against corporate greed! It’s time for us to demand our fair share! Our Mobilization Committee is busy planning events designed to harness that energy!  

​Save The Dates:

  • July 17th SAN
  • July 18th LAX
  • August 15 ALL BASES Bid the date off! Additional information will be provided soon. 

Reach out to SAN@AFAAlaska.org for more info on the events

Show Your Solidarity!

Wear your red AFA pin proudly while flying and at all company events, including training and special events.

Get Involved!

​Become a Mobilization Volunteer!  

Share reliable information and help promote solidarity and mobilization events!
Learn more here.  

Stay informed!​

Bookmark the official AFA Alaska Negotiations website https://contract2022.afaalaska.org/

​​Update your newsletter subscription at afanewsletters.org.

​

In Red-Hot Solidarity,

Brice, Melanie, Stephen, Sam

In This Edition

Harvard Flight Attendant Health Study – Fourth Wave

Originally posted June 26, 2023

The Flight Attendant Health Study, launched in 2007, aims to advance knowledge that can improve working conditions for flight crew in the U.S. and internationally.

Flight Attendants are some of the most understudied workers, yet flight crew are exposed to many physical and psychosocial stressors, such as cosmic ionizing radiation, higher ozone levels, stressful interactions with passengers, hypoxia/reduced oxygenation, potentially severe circadian rhythm disruption, and other exposures.

Read More >

It’s Going To Be A Red Hot Summer!

Originally posted June 27, 2023

It’s time to turn the heat up on management. The official AFA pin at Alaska Airlines is now red. Mark your calendar for August 15 and plan to bid the day off for solidarity events in all bases.

Read More >

June 2023 MEC Meeting Recap

Originally posted June 28, 2023

Our AFA Alaska Master Executive Council (MEC) met this week on Monday, June 26, and Tuesday, June 27, to conduct their ongoing work to represent our Flight Attendants. The MEC also met with executive management and a group of union leaders from other company workgroups to receive updates and discuss concerns affecting employees company-wide. The next Regular MEC Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, August 8, and Wednesday, August 9.

Read More >

Setting the Record Straight

Originally posted June 29, 2023

Our Negotiating Committee was asked to provide an official response to the statements management made last week about negotiations. We are committed to negotiating an industry-leading contract with many significant improvements. Our value does not diminish on June 30th – or any other arbitrary date!

Read More >

Shared on Social

Share The News!

As part of our mobilization efforts, use this statement for your social media profile picture and status:

Nearly 7,000 Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants, the largest labor group at the company, are currently negotiating our first full contract since 2014. There are many essential changes needed to address how far behind the industry our contract has fallen in the past 9 years. Management initially agreed to place us at the top of the industry in pay, but they indicated their commitment has expired. 

We were instrumental in Alaska Airlines and the entire airline industry surviving the Covid-19 pandemic, and our airline is back to making record profits. Other labor groups have recently ratified contracts with vast improvements. Now is the right time for Alaska Airlines to Do the Right Thing and negotiate a Flight Attendant contract we deserve.

Based on their recent negotiations proposals, it’s clear Alaska Airlines management doesn’t value me or my fellow Flight Attendants. We are mobilizing for a “Red Hot Summer” to support our Negotiating Committee’s efforts to negotiate a contract equal to our value. Alaska Airlines – show us you CARE!

Next Week’s Events

Thursday, July 6Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR)

See the MEC Event Calendar >

Find Us on Social Media

You can find the most up-to-date official information on our AFA Alaska social media accounts.  Click below and follow so you can stay connected!

Master Executive Council (MEC)

  • Our AFA Alaska Master Executive Council (MEC) met this week on Monday, June 26, and Tuesday, June 27, to conduct their ongoing work to represent our Flight Attendants.
  • The MEC also met with executive management and a group of union leaders from other company workgroups to receive updates and discuss concerns affecting employees company-wide.
  • The next Regular MEC Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, August 8, and Wednesday, August 9.

The June 2023 Regular MEC Meeting was held this week on Monday, June 26, and Tuesday, June 27. The meeting consisted of updates from our MEC Officers, LEC Presidents, Grievance Committee, and Scheduling Committee. Our MEC also reviewed written reports submitted by other AFA MEC Committee Chairpersons about their current programs of work. Council 19 (SEA) LEC President-elect Paula Isla-McGill joined the MEC for the meeting in preparation for the upcoming officer transition.

It’s Going To Be A Red Hot Summer!

On Monday afternoon, our MEC met with our Negotiating Committee and MEC Mobilization Committee Chairperson to discuss the next steps after last week’s negotiation session with management. Following the discussion, the first part of our Red Hot Summer campaign was put into motion. The distribution of red AFA pins will soon be underway, and more activities are planned to let management know that we stand behind our Negotiating Committee as they go back to the table to negotiate the industry-leading contract we deserve! 

More information about the Red Hot Summer campaign can be found on the Contract 2022 website.

Meeting with Management

As part of this meeting, the MEC met with company executive management and a group of union leaders from the other union-represented workgroups within the company. The intent of these meetings, usually held once per quarter, is to receive updates from management and allow for a broader discussion of issues and concerns facing all company employees.

Our MEC came to the meeting with a full display of solidarity, dressed in red with red AFA pins on. MEC President Jeffrey Peterson offered a statement on behalf of our MEC that management must do better and provide our Negotiating Committee with an industry-leading contractual proposal that recognizes the contributions of our Flight Attendants to the company’s success. Flight Attendants will accept nothing less!

System Board of Adjustment Interviews

Our MEC spent part of Tuesday interviewing candidates for the System Board of Adjustment position that was previously posted in April. Members of the System Board of Adjustment are responsible for arbitrating any disputes or grievances that may arise under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement between Alaska Airlines and its Flight Attendants. Our MEC would like to thank all of the candidates who expressed a willingness to serve and interviewed for the positions.

After extensive discussion and thorough consideration, the voting members of the MEC (LEC Presidents) have re-appointed Rene Celestin to the position. Rene’s term of appointment will begin on July 1, 2023 and conclude on June 30, 2025.

Action on Agenda Items

The MEC took action on two agenda items that were submitted in advance of the meeting.

  • A proposed update to the Line Observation Safety Audit (LOSA) letter of agreement was approved. The letter of agreement will now be sent out for signing by representatives from AFA and management.
  • A resolution in support of negotiations was unanimously adopted. The resolution changed the color of the official AFA pin at Alaska Airlines to red.

Questions?

If you have any questions about this month’s Regular MEC Meeting, please get in touch with your LEC President.

Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC)

This message is from researchers at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in regard to the Harvard Flight Attendant Health Study. If you have any questions about the study, please contact the researchers directly at fahealth@hsph.harvard.edu.

The Flight Attendant Health Study, launched in 2007, aims to advance knowledge that can improve working conditions for flight crew in the U.S. and internationally.

Flight Attendants are some of the most understudied workers, yet flight crew are exposed to many physical and psychosocial stressors, such as cosmic ionizing radiation, higher ozone levels, stressful interactions with passengers, hypoxia/reduced oxygenation, potentially severe circadian rhythm disruption, and other exposures.

We Need Your Help!

On June 26, the fourth wave of the study launches and we need as many Flight Attendants as possible to participate in order to accurately represent the characteristics and experiences of flight crews.

Our goal is to understand the prevalence of health conditions in current and retired U.S. and international flight crew and the relationship with working conditions – especially in light of the pandemic and its aftermath – in order to solve some of the stressors in Flight Attendant work that lead to early-onset illness and disease.

Please take the survey via this QR code or at bit.ly/fahs and share widely with your colleagues.

Thank you for helping to advance Flight Attendant health by contributing to this important research.

In This Edition

AFA Council 19 (SEA) LEC Vice President Runoff Election Results

Originally posted June 21, 2023

The following AFA Flight Attendant was elected to the office of LEC Vice President representing Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants based in Seattle:

LEC Vice President: Melinda Jorge Henderson

This officer will serve a term of office starting July 1, 2023 and concluding on June 30, 2026.

Read More >

Negotiation Session 17

Originally posted June 22, 2023

Negotiations on an aggressive timeline were unsuccessful. Management shared their response to our economic proposal. Both parties are significantly apart from agreeing on economic provisions. We are planning next steps. Expect negotiations to continue for quite some time, along with mobilization activities to pressure management to provide a contract we all deserve.

Read More >

Next Week’s Events

Monday, June 26 – Tuesday, June 27Regular MEC Meeting
Tuesday, June 27Monthly Scheduling Committee Meeting

See the MEC Event Calendar >

Find Us on Social Media

You can find the most up-to-date official information on our AFA Alaska social media accounts.  Click below and follow so you can stay connected!

Master Executive Council (MEC)

The following AFA Flight Attendant was elected to the office of LEC Vice President representing Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants based in Seattle:

LEC Vice President: Melinda Jorge Henderson

View the certified election results here >>

This officer will serve a term of office starting July 1, 2023 and concluding on June 30, 2026.

Our Master Executive Council (MEC) congratulates the newly elected officer and we sincerely thank all those who stepped forward to run in the election.

In This Edition

Reserve Committee Meeting Recap – 2nd Quarter 2023

Originally posted June 14, 2023

Our AFA Reserve Committee Chairpersons met on Thursday, June 8 to discuss their ongoing program of work to represent and advocate for our Reserve Flight Attendants. The Committee also met with management to review a number of specific concerns that were brought forward by Flight Attendants. Your Local Reserve Committee is available to answer questions, provide clarification, or help to resolve any reserve related issues. Please don’t hesitate to reach out!

Read More >

Negotiation Session 16

Originally posted June 16, 2023

Our Negotiating Committee tentatively agreed on Section 11: Reserve and the Instructor Handbook LOA, and we began discussing Section 5: Definitions. Progress continued on Sections 9: Junior Available and Premium Open Time, 10.R-S: Scheduling, 12: Exchange of Sequences, 14: Vacations, and 21: Compensation. The only section yet to be discussed is Section 35: Duration. The next negotiation session is June 20-22.

Read More >

Next Week’s Events

Tuesday, June 20 – Thursday, June 22Contract Negotiations

See the MEC Event Calendar >

Find Us on Social Media

You can find the most up-to-date official information on our AFA Alaska social media accounts.  Click below and follow so you can stay connected!

Reserve Committee

  • Our AFA Reserve Committee Chairpersons met on Thursday, June 8 to discuss their ongoing program of work to represent and advocate for our Reserve Flight Attendants.
  • The Committee also met with management to review a number of specific concerns that were brought forward by Flight Attendants.
  • Your Local Reserve Committee is available to answer questions, provide clarification, or help to resolve any reserve related issues. Please don’t hesitate to reach out!

On Thursday, June 8, representatives from our AFA Local Reserve Committees met to discuss their ongoing work to advocate for Reserve Flight Attendants. Representing you at the meeting were Heather Reier (ANC), Conner Gallagher (SEA), Meghan Casey (SFO), Kanako Yamada (LAX), and Rebecca Garcia (SAN). Also present was MEC Reserve Committee Chairperson Julie Thornton and MEC Reserve Committee Vice-Chairperson for New Hires & Probationaries Jarod McNeil.

The committee met with Inflight Crew Scheduling Director Sara Cook and Inflight Crew Scheduling Supervisor Derrick Bernard.

The committee is next scheduled to meet on Thursday, September 14th.

Topics of Discussion

The committee reviewed a number of items both during internal AFA-only conversation and when meeting with management. Some items discussed include:

  • Planned Initial Training classes for the remainder of the year. Class 3 started online June 1 and class 4 will graduate this week and be online July 1. Management intends to hire additional Flight Attendants this year. The number of classes and specific number of students in each class is dependent on delivery of new aircraft.
  • Crew Scheduling management changes. Sara Cook is in the process of interviewing for new Crew Scheduling Supervisors as well as a manager to support operations.
  • Issues and glitches with Crew Access affecting Reserve Flight Attendants. Reviewed where known issues are documented and newly added/fixed issues. 
  • Review of upcoming update to Crew Access software. Includes associated fixes to current issues and other improvements, and prioritization for programming fixes.
  • Review of reserve-related scheduling issues that have occurred recently. Includes out of order assignment and incorrect application of personal drop for Reserves.
  • Review of reserve-related issues that have been escalated to the Scheduling Review Board (SRB) and Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) process. Includes multiple calls from scheduling while on a layover.
  • Review of reserve utilization statistics. Reserve utilization is approximately 85% in all bases. Reserve coverage is anticipated to be approximately 22-20% for the remainder of Quarter 2 and Quarter 3.
  • Request for management to decrease the Adequate Reserve Coverage (ARC) minimum. Goal of providing additional flexibility for shifting reserve days. Management agreed to review possible changes.
  • Reminder of the newly updated AFA Alaska Online Support Center. New hire Flight Attendants can report issues, raise concerns, or ask questions.

What the Committee is Working On

  1. Assisting Probationary Flight Attendants Through the Probationary Buddy Program. Answering questions from and providing support to probationary Flight Attendants through an expanded AFA Probationary Buddy program.
  2. Addressing Reserve Contractual Concerns. Researching and investigating reports from Reserve Flight Attendants and actively ensuring management is complying with our contract.
  3. Developing Additional Tools & Resources for New Flight Attendants. Working to create documents to provide user friendly, easy-to-digest resources about the Collective Bargaining Agreement and other job-related information for new Flight Attendants.

We Want to Hear From You!

Do you have feedback for the committee, concerns you’d like to share, or items that you’d like brought up with management?  Please let us know!  Your Local Reserve Committee is your voice to management.  You can open a support request on the AFA Alaska Online Support Center or contact us directly using the information on the Reserve Committee page of the AFA Alaska website.

AFA News in Review – September 19, 2025

In This Edition Celebrating Hispanic-Latinx Heritage Month Originally posted September 15, 2025 Join us in celebrating Hispanic-Latinx Heritage Month from September 15 to October 15, a time dedicated to honoring the vibrant cultures and significant contributions of Hispanic-Latinx Americans. Discover the history, participate in special events, and grab your commemorative Hispanic-Latinx Heritage Month AFA Pin […]

Pre-Merger Alaska MEC Committee Election Results

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants During this week’s MEC Meeting, our MEC held interviews for the first group of pre-merger Alaska MEC Committee positions to be elected for the upcoming MEC Officer term. We want to thank everyone who expressed interest in the available positions and their willingness to serve. After careful […]

Merged MEC Committee Chairperson Election Results

This message is for both pre-merger Alaska and Hawaiian Flight Attendants During this week’s MEC Meeting, our MEC held interviews for the next group of merged MEC Committee Chairpersons. We want to thank everyone who expressed interest in the available positions and their willingness to serve. After careful consideration and deliberation, the following candidates have […]

Election Notice: Alaska + Hawaiian MEC Officer Elections

The term of office for our current Alaska + Hawaiian Master Executive Council (MEC) Officers will conclude on December 31, 2025. The voting members of the MEC (LEC Presidents) will elect new MEC Officers at the November Regular MEC meeting. This communication serves as notice of the election in accordance with the MEC Policy and Procedure Manual. […]

SEA Domicile Negotiations – September 2025 Update #2

This message is for pre-merger Hawaiian Flight Attendants Negotiations Update Our SEA Domicile Negotiating Committee met with the company on September 11 to review their response to our September 5 proposal.  We feel that it is important to acknowledge the challenges within our company as Alaska management is struggling to understand our Collective Bargaining Agreement […]

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