AFA Alaska

Representing the Flight Attendants of Alaska + Hawaiian

Click here to report an issue to AFA
You are here: Home / Latest News

Bay Area California Wildfires

As if battling a pandemic isn’t enough to deal with this year, sadly many Flight Attendants have been impacted by the California Wildfires.  If you are unable to report to work as scheduled, please reach out to a supervisor as soon as possible:  SFO Village: 650.218.6810

The AFA-CWA Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is available to support those affected by the Wildfires: AFA Alaska EAP: 949.922.1606 or eap.sfo@afaalaska.org.

AFA-CWA Disaster Relief Fund

We know that disasters can change lives forever. While we can’t stop destructive events from happening, we can, as a Union, assist our members with their recovery. AFA established the Disaster Relief Fund after September 11th to assist our members whose lives were placed in harms way. AFA members and retirees, whose primary residence is in the affected counties and who have suffered damage and/or dislocation, are eligible for $200.00 from the AFA-CWA Disaster Relief Fund.  It is a gift made possible by the generosity of your fellow union sisters and brothers with AFA.

If you would like to apply for assistance, visit the AFA-CWA Disaster Relief Funds website and download the Disaster Relief Fund Application and submit via:

  • Mail: AFA-CWA EAP Department, 6th Floor, 501 Third Street NW, Washington D.C.  20001-2797   
  • Email: lfoster@afanet.org
  • Phone: 1.800.424.2406
  • Fax: AFA EAP Department at 202.434.1411

If you wish to make a contribution either by check or electronic payment, please visit  AFA-CWA Disaster Relief Funds website for more information on donating. 

Stay safe and healthy!

Your Council 35 Officers,

Melissa, Aladrian, James and Brad

Melissa Osborne, LEC President •  Melissa.osborne@afaalaska.org • 415-275-1322
Aladrian Hillmon, LEC Vice President • Aladrian.hillmon@afaalaska.org •  415-991-3791
James Ikehara, LEC Secretary •  James.ikehara@afaalaska.org  • 415-289-9011
Bradley Young, Council Representative • Bradley.young@afaalaska.org • 916-508-3503

This is the seventh in a series of “Reduction in Force” (RIF) communications from the Master Executive Council (MEC). See RIF Part 1, RIF Part 2, RIF Part 3, RIF Part 4, RIF Part 5, and RIF Part 6 for the previous editions.

In This Edition

  • COVID-19 Pandemic Impact to Staffing
  • Early Out and Other Furlough Mitigation Awards
  • Involuntary Furloughs
  • Systemwide Vacancy Bid?
  • Payroll Support Program Extension

COVID-19 Pandemic Impact to Staffing

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on staffing. Over the past several months, approximately 70% (~4200 out of 5968) of Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants have been on some form of pandemic-related leave of absence or reduced hours line. This includes school/childcare closure leaves; high-risk or self-isolation leaves; directed isolation or quarantine leaves; work-related exposure leaves; capacity reduction leaves; and voluntary low bid (reduced hours) lines. That is over 70% of Flight Attendants whose paychecks and livelihoods have been directly affected by this pandemic, which is not even factoring in the impact to the entire group through reduction of the line average to the contractual minimum.

Early Out and Other Furlough Mitigation Awards

With regard to Early Outs (EOs), Extended Leaves of Absence (ELOAs) and Enhanced Voluntary Furloughs (EVFs):

  • Total bids: ~2,900
  • Total awards: ~2,500
  • EOs awarded: 200
  • ELOAs awarded: 50
  • EVFs awarded: 2,250
  • Total denied: ~400

Management has stated that the denied furlough mitigation bid requests are to prevent excessively imbalanced staffing between the domiciles. The Master Executive Council (MEC) has reviewed numerous iterations of potential awards, and we can validate that the complex interplay between occupational seniority, domicile assignment, leave duration and base guarantee requirements lead to vastly different outcomes depending on how many of each type of furlough mitigation are awarded. Candidly, there was no potential award that felt good to the MEC for various reasons. Although we are extremely disappointed that not all furlough mitigation bids were awarded, this final award is the least objectionable—call it the best of a really, really bad situation.

Involuntary Furloughs

We regret to inform you that management intends to involuntarily furlough approximately 400 Flight Attendants effective October 1, 2020. This affects the junior quarter of the April 16, 2018 Initial Training class and all Flight Attendants junior to them. Management will begin involuntary furlough (IVF) notifications starting next week via certified mail at current mailing addresses on file with the Company and via Company email. Management will also host an online IVF information session the week after, and MEC representatives will participate.

Management also intends to recall many IVFs in October after a very short furlough—on the order of a few days. The MEC understands these October recalls will be based most likely in Seattle, Anchorage or Portland in order to “right size” the operation. We are already working with management to develop a domicile preference bid form for IVF recalls as soon as possible. Involuntary furloughs will have access to all reduction in force contractual provisions, including severance pay and relocation benefits as applicable. Management is not committing to this, but the MEC believes there is a very good chance that all IVFs will be recalled by March 2021 based on the staffing projections we have seen; however, these projections are subject to change.

Systemwide Vacancy Bid?

Will there be a systemwide vacancy bid (sometimes called a “master re-bid” on the line) in which everyone rebids for a domicile? Management seems to believe that recalling the involuntary furloughs to specific domiciles will adequately balance the operation for now, but they have not ruled out a systemwide vacancy bid in the future. AFA disputes management’s position that it may unilaterally impose a systemwide vacancy bid under these circumstances, and we fully intend to file a contractual grievance and push for expedited arbitration if management decides to move forward with such a bid.

For some historical perspective, there have been only two systemwide vacancy bids: once in the mid-90s to correct seniority violations as a result of imposed work rules during contract negotiations and again in 2011 to correct seniority violations and to right size LAX as a result of a preceding reduction in force. Both scenarios involved discussion and concurrence from AFA and management prior to proceeding.

Payroll Support Program Extension

Although Congress has technically recessed for now, work to extend the Payroll Support Program (PSP) continues in earnest during the recess. If PSP were to be extended at any point and involuntary furloughs subsequently prohibited, AFA and management would meet and confer over any necessary changes to furlough mitigations and involuntary furloughs pursuant to the October 2020 Involuntary Furlough Mitigations Letter of Agreement. Realistically, that would likely lead to discussion regarding voluntary leave programs similar to those offered over the last five months.

These are extremely difficult and stressful times. Please remember that your AFA Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Committee is always available as a support resource. As your direct representative on the MEC, your LEC president is available to answer questions or concerns that you may have about all the information presented here. Contact information for your respective LEC president can be found by clicking here.

With today’s announcement from management that the awarding of Extended Leaves of Absence (ELOA) and Enhanced Voluntary Furloughs (EVF) will be additionally delayed, the MEC knows that Flight Attendants will be greatly disappointed. Though it is certainly understandable that there are complexities around the process of determining staffing levels, many of us are eager to have some definite news during this period of relative uncertainty. It is unfortunate that this delay may add to feelings of apprehension and unease.

Despite the delay in furlough mitigation awards, management’s intention to review all of the information available to them and make a decision that minimizes the disruption to the lives of Flight Attendants is a rational course of action.  The situation is further complicated by the ongoing discussions within Congress for a clean extension to the Payroll Support Program (PSP).  Should Congress pass an extension to the PSP, it would be further frustrating to everyone if management had to adjust or roll back any decisions that had already made and communicated. 

Payroll Support Program (PSP) Extension

Our Union is working around the clock at all levels to extend the PSP to keep Flight Attendants and aviation workers in our jobs, connected to our healthcare and providing essential service to our country, as it has over the last five months.  It was anticipated that there would have been a definite outcome on the extension by last Friday. However, that is not the case and the discussions in Washington, D.C. are ongoing.  The PSP Extension the best solution for our jobs, our airline, our communities, and our country. 

Our focus as an entire Union and industry is focused on pressuring Congress to get to the table and negotiate a COVID-19 relief bill.  Every Flight Attendant can make a difference. 

SENATE: (888) 848-4824

Sample Script:

I am a constituent calling on Senator [NAME] to save my job as an essential worker and airline employee. An overwhelming majority of Congress supports an extension to the Payroll Support Program for aviation workers to avoid massive job loss and to ensure there’s no cancellation of service to small communities. The Executive Orders signed over the weekend will not save my job. We need a COVID-19 relief package with our payroll support passed TODAY. Our jobs are on the line right now and millions are hurting without this relief!  Keep us connected to our jobs, paychecks, & healthcare. We are counting on you. Thank you.

EAP Assistance

These are extremely difficult and stressful times. Please remember that your Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Committee is always available as a support resource.  Contact information for your Local EAP Committee can be found by clicking here.

This is the sixth in a series of “Reduction in Force” (RIF) communications from the Master Executive Council (MEC). See RIF Part 1, RIF Part 2, RIF Part 3, RIF Part 4 and RIF Part 5 for the previous editions.

In This Edition

  • WARN Notices

WARN Notices

WARN Act Requirements

The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act compels advance notice in cases of qualified mass layoffs. Management is required by law to provide “WARN notices” to employees who may be laid off (i.e. involuntarily furloughed). In all the states in which there are Flight Attendant domiciles (AK, WA, OR and CA), those notices must be sent no less than 60 days prior to the date of the involuntary furlough, or no later than August 1st for involuntary furloughs effective on October 1st. WARN notices provided to the union on behalf of affected employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement satisfies the WARN Act requirements except for in California, which also requires notices to be sent directly to the employee.

WARN Notices Served to 2089 FAs

AFA has now received WARN notices on behalf of the approximately* 2089 most junior Flight Attendants, affecting all domiciles: Anchorage (ANC), Seattle (SEA), Portland (PDX), San Francisco (SFO), Los Angeles (LAX) and San Diego (SAN). (* Master Executive Council representatives have not yet physically counted the names to validate the expected number, but we wanted to get the list out to the Membership as soon as possible.) The 2089 is inclusive of a significant buffer above the number of potential involuntary furloughs (IVFs), which is to assure the Company is in compliance with the WARN Act.

Affected California-based Flight Attendants received personalized WARN notices via Company email earlier today (Friday, July 31, 2020); such Flight Attendants will also receive a personalized hard copy of the WARN notice at their respective mailing addresses on file with the Company. Although the WARN notices sent to affected California-based Flight Attendants say (in part), “[W]e deeply regret to inform you that you are being furloughed,” the actual number of involuntary furloughs is still being determined.

WARN Notice List

The WARN notice list is password protected and is restricted from being printed or edited. Please respect the security of the document and do not share the password.

Click here for the AFA Alaska WARN Notice List for October 2020 Furloughs >

Password: [Check the personal email address that you have on file with AFA Alaska for the email version of this newsletter, which contains the confidential password. Otherwise, please contact your LEC president for assistance.]

AFA Alaska Statement to the Media Regarding WARN Notices

“COVID-19 is an unprecedented threat to aviation workers and the entire U.S. aviation industry. This crisis dwarfs all others in aviation history and there’s no end in sight. Demand was just barely climbing back to 20 percent of last year and even those minimal gains evaporated over the last month due to surging COVID-19 cases across the country.

The projected furlough numbers at Alaska are difficult and we are working with management on possible furlough mitigations. Right now, our focus is fighting to extend the Payroll Support Program to keep Alaska Flight Attendants on the job and connected to our healthcare during COVID-19.”

Coming Soon

  • Early Out and Other Furlough Mitigation Awards

These are extremely difficult and stressful times. Please remember that your Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Committee is always available as a support resource. As your direct representative on the MEC, your LEC president is available to answer questions or concerns that you may have about all the information presented here. Contact information for your respective LEC president can be found by clicking here.

This is the fifth in a series of “Reduction in Force” (RIF) communications from the Master Executive Council (MEC). See RIF Part 1, RIF Part 2, RIF Part 3 and RIF Part 4 for the previous editions.

In This Edition

  • Voluntary Permanent Transfers and Temporary Base Trades
  • Furlough Mitigation Clarifications
  • Dues Obligation

Voluntary Permanent Transfers and Temporary Base Trades

Voluntary Permanent Transfers

Flight Attendants may voluntarily transfer to a new domicile while on an Extended Leave of Absence (ELOA) or Enhanced Voluntary Furlough (EVF) by participating in vacancy bids pursuant to §28.C [Vacancy Bids] and §28.D [Standing Bid Awards…]. See also “October 2020 Involuntary Furlough Mitigations LOA” §II.A.3 and §II.B.4 for more information.

Temporary Base Trades (“Swaps”)

Flight Attendants on ELOA retain the ability to temporarily trade (“swap”) bases pursuant to §28.A.9 [Rules Governing Multiple Domiciles]. Flight Attendants on an EVF may finish out the term of an existing swap but may not renew the swap or enter into a new swap. A base swap is terminated if either of the Flight Attendants are involuntarily furloughed, and both are returned to their respective domiciles; however, Flight Attendants on involuntary furlough are not guaranteed to return to their domicile when recalled.

Furlough Mitigation Clarifications

Master Executive Council (MEC) representatives have been working with management to identify some lingering furlough mitigation questions. The following topics are being addressed by management in a communication issued tonight.

  • Maternity and Other Medical Leaves
  • Medical Coverage if 480 TFP is Met While on a Leave of Absence
  • Reciprocal Alaska & Horizon Jumpseat Privileges

Dues Obligation

In accordance with the AFA-CWA Constitution & Bylaws every Flight attendant on a leave of absence owes dues for the first three months of their leave of absence after their compensation from the airline ends. This obligation includes Extended Leaves of Absence and Enhanced Voluntary Furloughs. However, Flight attendants on involuntary furlough (or a military leave) do not owe this amount.

Article XI A.6. Payment of dues shall be required of all members that are on active status during a month or any portion thereof. After the first ninety (90) days of removal from service and no longer receiving compensation through a carrier for disability leave, payment of dues shall not be required.

AFA-CWA Constitution & Bylaws

Example: Voluntary furlough begins on October 1. You would owe dues for October, November and December. If dues are payroll deducted for any of these months, it will be applied to this 90-day leave obligation.

Click here for AFA-CWA Membership Services >

Coming Soon

  • WARN Notices

These are extremely difficult and stressful times. Please remember that your Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Committee is always available as a support resource. As your direct representative on the MEC, your LEC president is available to answer questions or concerns that you may have about all the information presented here. Contact information for your respective LEC president can be found by clicking here.

Service Survey:  Participation Needed!

AFA recently published a survey for Flight Attendants to give feedback on the current service.  Many members have expressed their concern with the safety of the increased service levels amidst the COVID19 outbreak.  Please take a moment to complete the survey!  Additionally your Council 35 officers strongly recommend FAs file a report (FAIR) regarding passenger mask removal onboard.

OAL Travel on Leave

Council 35 officers have received many messages from concerned members about the loss of other airline (OAL) ZED travel while on leave coming up in October.  Policy surrounding OAL travel is determined by the participating airline.  ZED agreements require that to be eligible for travel, employees must be active.  For an employee to be active, they need to be on payroll, or have a pay event in order to remain active for a given month.  The leaves offered as furlough mitigation leaves are unpaid and FAs that are on these leaves are not considered active employees.  AFA has discussed this concern with management, and have requested that options be considered to allow employees to remain eligible for OAL.  Please stay tuned for progress on this request.

Rumor Control:  Avoiding IV

There is a rumor that suggests that applying for a leave will alleviate any risk of involuntary furlough (IVF).  Unfortunately this is not true.  If an FA’s seniority number is in the furlough “zone” there is no action an FA can take that would prevent furlough from happening.  The MEC has published multiple communications on what FAs can do to avoid furloughs at Alaska, which encourages FAs to reach out to Congress to vote in favor of additional support for airline employees.

Staffing Leaves and Coordination

Another misconception about leaves is that cashing out vacation or sick bank hours will allow an FA to “coordinate” to keep the FA on payroll and active while on a staffing leave.  The furlough mitigation leaves are unpaid, and FAs will not be able to cash out any days when on one of the upcoming staffing leaves.

Stay Informed

Although Flight Attendants are not required to read company emails and bulletins while on leave, it is recommended that FAs keep current with all the latest information while on leave during this time of constant change.  Additionally it’s important to ensure the personal email address on file with AFA is up-to-date.  To change your contact information, please visit the AFA website to update email and/or mailing address.

As a reminder, Article II.C.1.b of the AFA Constitution & Bylaws require that AFA dues continue to be paid during any leave of absence less than 90 days.  If you currently pay your dues through payroll deduction, dues payments will continue to be deducted as long as you continue to receive a paycheck with sufficient funds for all other payroll deductions plus your AFA dues.  If you are no longer receiving a paycheck or your paycheck does not cover all of your payroll deductions, AFA dues will not be deducted and you will instead receive an invoice from AFA International Membership Services.  Members can pay dues online or submit invoice payment via mail.  Please contact membership services for specific account information.

Membership Dues While on Leave

As a reminder, Article II.C.1.b of the AFA Constitution & Bylaws require that AFA dues continue to be paid during any leave of absence less than 90 days.  If you currently pay your dues through payroll deduction, dues payments will continue to be deducted as long as you continue to receive a paycheck with sufficient funds for all other payroll deductions plus your AFA dues.  If you are no longer receiving a paycheck or your paycheck does not cover all of your payroll deductions, AFA dues will not be deducted and you will instead receive an invoice from AFA International Membership Services.  Members can pay dues online or submit invoice payment via mail.  Please contact membership services for specific account information.

EAP is Here to Help

With Warn Notices and leave bid awards coming soon, these are extremely difficult and stressful times. Please remember that the SFO Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Committee is always available as a support resource.  For help, please contact sfo.eap@afaalaska.org.  

How do I contact Council 35 Officers?

Using a personal email address, the preferred methods of contact are:

  • Open an Online Support Request ticket
  • Officer group email sfo@afaalaska.org (if one officer is flying /unavailable other officers can respond)
  • Individual officer emails (if information is for a specific officer)
  • Calls/text (if situation requires more urgent attention)

When contacting Council 35 officers please avoid the following methods:

  • Sending to/from alaskaair email (subject to company audits and therefore not private)
  • Officer personal Facebook/social media accounts (not actively monitored for AFA concerns)
  • Excessively lengthy texts (please use email for important information as it’s easier to respond and forward to appropriate resource-texts should be reserved for alerts to an issue that requires a timely response)

Please allow at least one business day for a response to any method of contact (email, phone, text).  

Stay healthy and safe!

In solidarity,

Melissa, Aladrian, James and Brad

Melissa Osborne, LEC President •  Melissa.osborne@afaalaska.org • 415-275-1322
Aladrian Hillmon, LEC Vice President • Aladrian.hillmon@afaalaska.org •  415-991-3791
James Ikehara, LEC Secretary •  James.ikehara@afaalaska.org  • 415-289-9011
Bradley Young, Council Representative • Bradley.young@afaalaska.org • 916-508-3503

This is the fourth in a series of “Reduction in Force” communications from the Master Executive Council (MEC). See “Reduction in Force Part 1,” “Reduction in Force Part 2,” and “Reduction in Force Part 3” for the previous editions.

In This Edition

  • Avoiding Involuntary Furlough: Extend the CARES Act Payroll
  • How Many Furlough Mitigation Applicants are Needed to Avoid Involuntary Furlough?
  • Can I Avoid Involuntary Furlough by Applying for an Extended Leave of Absence or Enhanced Voluntary Furlough?
  • Order of Recall

Avoiding Involuntary Furloughs: Extend the CARES Act Payroll Support Program

The single most impactful thing that you can do to completely avoid involuntary furloughs (IVFs) in October would be for you, your family members and your friends to contact Congress and demand our legislators extend the CARES Act Payroll Support Program.

We need urgent action on this now and every day in July:

  1. Call your Representative and Senators. Flight Attendants, family and friends should make three calls every day: two to the Senate line and one to the House line.
  2. Sign this letter to your Representative and Senators >
  3. Tell five flying partners and your friends and family to do the same!

House: 888-907-9365 |Senate: 888-848-4824

Sample Script:
Hello, I am a constituent calling to ask [Representative] /[Senator] to help save my job as an essential worker. Take legislative action in July to extend the CARES Act Payroll Support Program for aviation workers in order to avoid massive job loss in October. Keep us connected to our jobs, our paychecks, and our healthcare. Thank you for your urgent attention to this.

How Many Furlough Mitigation Applicants are Needed to Avoid Involuntary Furlough?

The MEC is currently estimating approximately 1900 to 2200 Flight Attendants are in the potential involuntary furlough range without any furlough mitigations. As of this writing, over 2300 Flight Attendants have bid for some form of furlough mitigation (e.g. Early Out, Extended Leave of Absence or Enhanced Voluntary Furlough). How many are needed to avoid involuntary furloughs (IVFs)?

That is very difficult to project with any degree of certainty. Keep in mind that management believes the Company is under no obligation to award all furlough mitigations to the bottom of the list. The Master Executive Council (MEC) is confident management will award all EOs, but we’re less confident about all ELOAs and EVFs.

Management is concerned about awarding all furlough mitigation bids because of the potential to significantly imbalance the domiciles depending on the number and duration of the respective furlough mitigations (e.g. ELOA-12, EVF-6, EVF-9, EVF-12 and EVF-15). If management were to cut off furlough mitigation awards prior to reaching the bottom of the bids, that could lead to IVFs. Relatively junior Flight Attendants who have applied for furlough mitigations would be converted to IVF if they are in the seniority range impacted by involuntary furlough. Therefore, one cannot assume that every application for furlough mitigation will actually reduce the number of involuntary furloughs in a one to one (1:1) ratio.

Can I Avoid Involuntary Furlough by Applying for an Extended Leave of Absence or Enhanced Voluntary Furlough?

No. There has been a lot confusion regarding ELOAs/EVFs and IVFs. Bidding for an EVF does not prevent you from being involuntarily furloughed. – Section 18.A.3

If a Flight Attendant bids for an ELOA and/or an EVF and if her/his Occupational Seniority number is in the IVF seniority range, then the Flight Attendant will be converted to IVF. If management is forced to involuntarily furlough Flight Attendants, then the most junior Flight Attendant on the Occupational Seniority list will be listed as IVF; the process continues up the seniority list until a sufficient number of IVFs have been designated to meet staffing needs. In no circumstances will the most senior Flight Attendant on IVF have anyone junior to her or him designated as an active Flight Attendant or on ELOA or on EVF.

Order of Recall

Recall will be in the following order: (1) Involuntary Furloughs, (2) Enhanced Voluntary Furloughs and (3) Extended Leaves of Absence.

IVFs

IVFs will be recalled first and offered in Occupational Seniority (system seniority) order; IVFs may bypass recall until no Flight Attendant is left junior to her/him amongst the IVFs.

EVFs

EVFs will be recalled second and offered in Occupational Seniority (system seniority) order irrespective of EVF duration; EVFs may bypass recall until no FA is left junior to her/him amongst the EVFs. EVFs are automatically recalled at the conclusion of their respective EVF duration (6, 9, 12 or 15 months).

ELOAs

ELOAs will be recalled third and offered in Occupational Seniority (system seniority) order. ELOAs may bypass recall until the end of their ELOA duration (12 months).

Coming Soon

  • Base Swaps and Permanent Transfers
  • Dues Obligation

These are extremely difficult and stressful times. Please remember that your Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Committee is always available as a support resource. As your direct representative on the MEC, your LEC president is available to answer questions or concerns that you may have about all the information presented here. Contact information for your respective LEC president can be found by clicking here.

On July 16, management implemented an expansion of onboard service which included the addition of multiple beverage selections and the re-introduction of hot beverages as an option for passengers.  During the lead up to the service expansion, members of our Master Executive Council (MEC), Inflight Service Committee, and Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC) engaged management in multiple discussions with the intent of protecting Flight Attendant safety and health during the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite the objections raised by AFA and the nationwide increase in COVID-19 cases over the past several weeks, management made the decision to proceed with the rollout of the additional service citing the need to address complaints received through the Alaska Listens platform and improve scores on customer satisfaction surveys.  The MEC, Inflight Service Committee, and ASHSC believe that the decision to proceed with an expanded onboard service in the wake of the increase in COVID-19 cases was irresponsible on management’s part.  

COVID-19 Onboard Service Survey Launches Today

The MEC fully intends to continue to engage with management on the subject of onboard service, especially surrounding management’s plan for a further expansion next month.  In an effort to gather as much direct Flight Attendant feedback as possible to share during those conversations, we have launched the AFA COVID-19 Onboard Service Survey.  The survey is an opportunity to share your thoughts, feedback, and experiences related to the July 16 expanded onboard service.  

Click here to take the survey

You’ll be able to take the survey any time between now and Sunday, August 2 at 5 PM PDT.  Please share this link with your flying partners and encourage everyone who has worked since the July 16 onboard service expansion to take part! Even if you have not worked since July 16, you’ll still be able to share any comments you have about the service expansion.

REMINDER: Report Any Safety Hazards

In addition to completing the AFA COVID-19 Onboard Service Survey, please also remember to report any safety hazards that you experience while performing the expanded onboard service.  This could include instances of increased exposure to passengers (e.g. passenger removing their mask to speak to you, etc.) or other hazards related to service.  You can report these hazards through ReportIt! by submitting either a FAIR and/or ASAP for each flight on which they occur.  Include the terms “COVID-19″ and “service” in your narrative to ensure they are correctly categorized by management.  This data will help our AFA representatives to advocate for safe levels of service.

Questions?

If you have any questions about the AFA COVID-19 Onboard Service Survey, please contact your LEC Officers.

In This Edition

  • REMINDER: Call Congress to Extend the CARES Act Payroll Support Program
  • Onboard Service Expansion
  • Free Online Learning Course—African American History: From Emancipation to the Present
  • REMINDER: Flight Attendant COVID-19 Survey
  • Grievance Committee Update

REMINDER: Call Congress to Extend the CARES Act Payroll Support Program

Government Affairs Committee

Keep up the pressure on our lawmakers to do the right thing and extend the CARES Act Payroll Support Program.  The House of Representatives is scheduled to break for recess on July 31st and the Senate on August 7th. Make your calls today and every day!

House – (888) 907-9365
Senate – (888) 848-4824

Sample Script:

Hello, I am a constituent calling to ask [Representative]/[Senator] to help save my job as an essential worker. Take legislative action in July to extend the CARES Act Payroll Support Program for aviation workers in order to avoid massive job loss in October. Keep us connected to our jobs, our paychecks, and our healthcare. Thank you for your urgent attention to this.

Onboard Service Expansion 

Master Executive Council (MEC)

Last week, management implemented an expansion of onboard service by increasing beverage choices for passengers and re-introducing hot beverages as an available menu option.  This expansion of onboard service took place despite vocal objections by our Master Executive Council (MEC), Inflight Service Committee, and Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC).  Among these objections are management’s failure to adequately address the increased risk of exposure that our Flight Attendants are facing due to the additional time being spent interacting with passengers to offer the prescribed service.  In light of the recent nationwide increase in COVID-19 cases and many jurisdictions postponing or rolling back plans to reopen businesses, the expansion of onboard service seems counterintuitive and does not indicate that management is serious about “owning safety”.

The MEC is currently developing a survey to gather more information about the specifics of how the expanded onboard service has impacted our Flight Attendants.  More information will be available in soon in another AFA update.

Free Online Learning Course—African American History: From Emancipation to the Present

Human Rights Committee

Yale University is currently offering a free course on African American history taught by Jonathan Holloway.  Professor Holloway was Professor of History, African American Studies, and American Studies at Yale University and Dean of Yale College. 

This course represents a unique opportunity to assist in fulfilling our union’s promise to redouble our efforts to seek out, listen to, and amplify the voices of black and brown Flight Attendants within our Union and to address the systemic racism in our Union, our industry and our nation.

Additional information about the course can be found in the excerpt below from the Yale University website.  You can access the course directly by clicking here.

About the Course

The purpose of this course is to examine the African American experience in the United States from 1863 to the present. Prominent themes include the end of the Civil War and the beginning of Reconstruction; African Americans’ urbanization experiences; the development of the modern civil rights movement and its aftermath; and the thought and leadership of Booker T. Washington, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, W.E.B. Du Bois, Marcus Garvey, Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X.

Warning: Some of the lectures in this course contain graphic content and/or adult language that some users may find disturbing.

Course Structure

This Yale College course, taught on campus twice per week for 50 minutes, was recorded for Open Yale Courses in Spring 2010.

REMINDER: Flight Attendant COVID-19 Survey

AFA International

As a reminder, AFA International is currently running a Flight Attendant COVID-19 Survey to collect Flight Attendants’ experiences with the COVID-19 pandemic. It is essential to our work with our airlines, the federal government, and Congress to get your feedback.

Is there available PPE at work? Have you tested positive for COVID-19? How many trips have you worked since March? What’s your experience with aircraft cleaning? Are you on leave?

Click here to take the survey

All individual responses will be de-identified, kept confidential and only utilized publicly in the aggregate.

Grievance Committee Update

Grievance Committee

The Master Executive Council (MEC) has been very hard at work ensuring disciplinary due process and contractual compliance on your behalf.  The contract requires a minimum of 13 arbitration dates yearly to dispute discipline/termination cases and contractual issues.  AFA typically prioritizes termination cases in order to return a Flight Attendant back to work as soon as possible; however, we seek a balance between discipline and contractual cases.  AFA and management mutually decide which cases to arbitrate next based on many factors. 

Steps of discipline are confirmation of oral warning (COW), written warning (WW), suspension (varied number of days) to termination.  COWs, WWs, and suspensions remain in a Flight Attendant’s file for 18 months, and then are removed.  If a Flight Attendant is in a step of discipline and gets another violation, the new violation will build on the previous violation.  Management doesn’t always progressively travel up the steps of discipline.  If management investigates a Flight Attendant for theft or abuse of sick leave, for example, management will terminate the Flight Attendant if there is evidence to support its findings; if there is no evidence, then the Flight Attendant will most likely be issued a record of discussion (ROD). A ROD is not considered discipline.  There is no middle ground for certain violations.  

Subject of Most Recent Discipline

  • Theft.  Anything other than an opened/used bottle of water, unused pilot crew meal or purchased food removed from the aircraft will result in termination.  (Temporarily there are Covid-19 exceptions).  
  • Sick leave and FMLA abuse—Terminations on the rise due to travel audits among other things.  Anything written in the comments posting of trip trades and personal drops can be seen, even if eventually deleted.  If management determines abuse it results in termination.  
  • Timecard fraud—For example: Holding the door open to obtain sit pay.  Management has terminated for this violation.
  • Drug/Alcohol violations
  • Harassment
  • Reserves commuting during reserve availability period even if self-assigned a trip. Management has terminated for this reason several times.
  • Social media violations Including “friending” passengers on FB from information gained from the IMD
  • Commuter Violations
    • Flight Attendant released from DHD and used D8Y home
    • Flight Attendant used D8Y when they picked up out of base
    • Flight Attendant used D8Y to/from incorrect cities
    • Flight Attendant used D8Y for pleasure travel
  • Lost IMD or other required items
  • Failing to complete CBT—even if FA just forgets to hit the close button within Cornerstone to switch the CBT from in process to complete.

Recent and Upcoming Arbitration/Mediation

ArbitrationApril 21Disciplinary Grievance
ArbitrationMay 27Contractual Grievance
ArbitrationJune 15Contractual Grievance
ArbitrationJune 25Disciplinary Grievance

Recent Arbitration Awards

Grievance No.:  36-99-2-52-17-Violation of §§11.H.3.b & 11.H.4 JCTE Denying Unlimited Trading of Reserve Days Due to Classification as a Reserve Block Split.  This grievance alleged the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §§11.H.3.b & 11.H.4 [Reserve:  Reserve Exchange of Days, Pick-Ups and Trades/Reserve Day/Blocks], past practice and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when its Jeppesen Crew Access (JCA) trading system denied unlimited trading of reserve days pursuant to §11.H.4 due to JCA incorrectly classifying such trade as a reserve block split pursuant to §11.H.3.b. 

Arbitrator’s Decision:  The grievance is denied.  Alaska Airlines did not violate Sections 11.H.3.b & 11.H.4 and/or any and all related sections of the collective-bargaining agreement or past practice when its Jeppesen Crew Access trading system denied transactions where Reserve Flight Attendants sought to give away less than an entire block more than once per month.  Alaska Airlines properly classified these transactions as a reserve block split pursuant to Section 11.H.3.b.

Recent Grievance Settlements

Grievance No.:  36-99-2-30-19-Violation of §28.G.2 Ground Commuting Policy.  This alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §28.G.2 [Domiciles:  Commuter Policy/Ground Commuting Policy], past practice and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when during the February 2019 Pacific Northwest snowstorms, it did not allow Flight Attendants to use the ground commuter policy because the Company did not consider a snowstorm-related ground commuting failure to be unanticipated.  

Details:  See the July 13, 2020 AFA Update for more information.

Grievance No.:  36-99-2-159-19-Violation of §11.F, §11.F.13 and §11.D.2.c Airport Standby Reserve and On Duty at 4:29 am.  This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §11.F [Reserve:  Airport Standby], §11.F.13 [Reserve:  APSB on Duty at 4:29 am] and §11.D.2.c [Reserve:  Notice of Time to Report], past practice and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when it failed to or inconsistently compensated Flight Attendants when they were:  1)  Sitting airport standby (APSB) prior to 4:29 am; 2) Sitting APSB prior to 4:29 am and while on said APSB was given a flight assignment prior to 4:29 am; and 3)  Sitting APSB prior to 4:29 am and while on said APSB was given a flight assignment after 4:29 am. 

Details:  

  1. Reserve Flight Attendants sitting airport standby (APSB) prior to 4:29 am local domicile time who do not receive a flight assignment during APSB:
    1. Will be compensated pursuant to §11.D.2.c at one and one-half times (1.5x) the trip rate in that duty period of which one-half times (0.5x) the trip rate will be paid above guarantee for the APSB assignment if the Flight Attendant receives less than nine (9) hours’ notice of the APSB assignment; or 
    1. Will be compensated straight time (1.0x) towards the reserve guarantee for the APSB assignment if the Flight Attendant receives at least nine (9) hours’ notice of the APSB assignment.  
  2. Reserve Flight Attendants sitting APSB prior to 4:29 am local domicile time and while on said APSB are given a flight assignment prior to 4:29 am will be compensated one and one-half times (1.5x) the trip rate for all TFP flown or credited or APSB in that duty period of which one-half times (0.5x) the trip rate will be paid above guarantee.   
  3. Reserve Flight Attendants sitting APSB prior to 4:29 am local domicile time and while on said APSB are given a flight assignment after 4:29 am will be compensated one and one-half times (1.5x) the trip rate for all TFP flown or credited or APSB in that duty period of which one-half times (0.5x) the trip rate will be paid above guarantee.

Click here to view the complete settlement agreement.  

Grievance No.:  36-99-2-116-18-Violation of §10.J.4 Bidding Timelines.  This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Section 10.J.4 [Scheduling:  Bid Packets and Bidding Timelines], past practice, and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when on or about March 13, 2018, management re-opened its Preferential Bidding System (PBS), NAVBLUE, for a full bid re-award for April 2018 because it was not programmed to match the bid “duty on” preference on the new web application user interface.  However, due to system limitations the re-award required the PBS to reopen which allowed access for Flight Attendants to submit new bids after the contractual bid submission deadline.   

Details:  The Company and AFA will The parties will actively work on installing an administrative lock-out function (or other mutually agreed upon solution) in the NAVBLUE bidding system (or any successor system).  The lock-out function will allow the ‘back end’ of the bidding system to be opened for bid protests, technical issues, or other adjustments while locking out Flight Attendants from altering their bids on the ‘front end’. It is unknown whether NAVBLUE can accommodate a lock-out function exactly as described in this paragraph. If it is not possible, the parties will work together and mutually agree on the alternate solution and how it would work.  If an alternate solution is not mutually agreed upon, AFA reserves the right to refile this grievance.  

Compensatory Settlement:  The Company will pay compensation to all Flight Attendants whose adjusted April 2018 bid resulted in a loss of four (4) or more TFP and at least one day of flying from their original April 2018 bid.  Approximately 150 Flight Attendants are in this pool, plus two additional Flight Attendants who do not meet the requirements but whose situations present unique circumstances that warrant settlement.  The total TFP amount to be paid out is 1130.6 TFP. A list of said Flight Attendants will be provided to the Company by the Association pursuant to this Settlement Agreement.  The Company will pay the TFP to all the above-named Flight Attendants no later than on their June 20, 2021, paycheck.  For any affected Flight Attendant who is inactive  (due to separation or furlough) as of June 20, 2021, the Company will mail a check (less applicable withholdings) to the Flight Attendant’s last known address.  The pay will be at the respective rates in effect on the day the Flight Attendant is paid.  Payment will be paid above the reserve guarantee if applicable.  

Click here to view the complete settlement agreement.

Grievances Recently Granted by Management

None

Grievances Recently Filed and Denied

Grievance No.:  36-99-2-200-20-Violation of §25.C.1 Failure to Include ASHSC in Safety Meeting.  This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §25.C.1 [Air Safety Health and Security: Safety Meetings], past practice, and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when on or about April 3, 2020, it failed to include the Air Safety, Health and Security Committee (ASHSC) in a meeting to discuss passengers who were scheduled to travel on Alaska flights after disembarking from a cruise ship which had suffered an outbreak of COVID-19. The company instead opted to brief AFA about the issue after the meeting and decision was made about how to proceed. 

Grievance No.:  36-99-2-201-20-Violation of §10.Q & §11.E.4.d Violation of Reserve Assignment List Order.  This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §10.Q [Scheduling:  Low-Bid Option] and §11.E.4.d [Reserve:  Order of Assignment, Assignment of Open Sequences/Assignments], past practice, and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when its Jeppesen Crew Access (JCA) scheduling system places low-bid option and no-bid lineholder Flight Attendants who pick up reserve days and opt out of the Reserve Assignment List (LTFA) at the top of the list rather than listing them in inverse seniority order following all other Reserves within the same classification (AM/PM/ER) and with the same number of days of availability.

Grievance No.:  36-99-2-207-20-Violation of §10, §11.D & §24.L Bundled Scheduling Notifications.  This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §10 [Scheduling], §11.D [Reserve: Scheduling/Notice of Time to Report] and §24.L [General and Miscellaneous: Company-Provided Inflight Mobile Device (IMD)], past practice, and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when its Jeppesen Crew Access (JCA) scheduling system sent bundled scheduling notifications to Flight Attendants on their Inflight Mobile Devices (IMDs) or directly in Crew Access, requiring Flight Attendants to batch acknowledge or ignore such notifications and thereby resulting in Flight Attendants potentially waiving multiple contractual protections via an extra-contractual point of contact (i.e. Crew Access scheduling notifications).  

More Information

For more information, including the status of previously filed grievances, please visit the Grievance Committee Activity Page.

Questions?

Please contact your Local Grievance Committee if you have any questions about the Grievance Committee update.

This is the third in a series of “Reduction in Force” communications from the Master Executive Council (MEC). See “Reduction in Force Part 1” and “Reduction in Force Part 2” for the previous editions.

In This Edition

  • Avoiding Involuntary Furloughs: Extend the CARES Act Payroll Support Program
  • Staffing Projections From the All-Employee Webcast Explained

Avoiding Involuntary Furloughs: Extend the CARES Act Payroll Support Program

The single most impactful thing that you can do to completely avoid involuntary furloughs (IVFs) in October would be for you, your family members and your friends to contact Congress and demand our legislators extend the CARES Act Payroll Support Program.

We need urgent action on this now and every day in July:

  1. Call your Representative and Senators. Flight Attendants, family and friends should make three calls every day: two to the Senate line and one to the House line.
  2. Sign this letter to your Representative and Senators >
  3. Tell five flying partners and your friends and family to do the same!

House: 888-907-9365 | Senate: 888-848-4824

Sample Script:
Hello, I am a constituent calling to ask [Representative] /[Senator] to help save my job as an essential worker. Take legislative action in July to extend the CARES Act Payroll Support Program for aviation workers in order to avoid massive job loss in October. Keep us connected to our jobs, our paychecks, and our healthcare. Thank you for your urgent attention to this.

Staffing Projections From the All-Employee Webcast Explained

WARN Act Notices

The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act helps ensure advance notice in cases of qualified mass layoffs. Management is required by law to provide “WARN notices” to employees who may be laid off (i.e. involuntarily furloughed). In all the states in which there are Flight Attendant domiciles (AK, WA, OR and CA), those notices must be sent no less than 60 days prior to the date of the involuntary furlough, or no later than August 1st for involuntary furloughs effective on October 1st.

WARN notices provided to the union on behalf of affected employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement satisfies the WARN Act requirements except for in California, which also requires notices to be sent directly to the employee. As of today, AFA has not been provided with WARN notices, but we will advise membership as soon as the notice has been served.

Management’s Projections and “Excess Employees” Explained

On today’s all-employee webcast, management shared there would be 2500 “excess employees” in Inflight in October and that there are 1200 “volunteers to date” in Inflight. The Master Executive Council (MEC) understands that 2500 is the number of Flight Attendants who will receive WARN notices. That number of 2500 is inclusive of a buffer above the actual number of potential involuntary furloughs (IVFs) in order to assure the Company is in compliance with the WARN Act; it is not the actual number.

AFA’s Interpretation of Management’s Projections

The MEC is currently estimating approximately 1900 to 2200 Flight Attendants are in the potential involuntary furlough range without any furlough mitigations. At the time of the webcast, 1200 Flight Attendants had bid for some form of furlough mitigation (e.g. Early Out, Extended Leave of Absence or Enhanced Voluntary Furlough); that number has climbed to approximately 1300 since then. It would seem logical to estimate that we are somewhere between 600 and 900 Flight Attendants short of avoiding IVFs as of this writing, but that is not entirely accurate.

Keep in mind that many relatively junior Flight Attendants have applied for various furlough mitigations. They would be converted to IVF if they are in the seniority range impacted by involuntary furlough. Therefore, one cannot assume that every application for furlough mitigation will actually reduce the number of involuntary furloughs in a one to one (1:1) ratio.

Coming Soon

  • Order of Recall for IVF, EVF and ELOA
  • Dues Obligation During a Reduction in Force

These are extremely difficult and stressful times. Please remember that your Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Committee is always available as a support resource. As your direct representative on the MEC, your LEC president is available to answer questions or concerns that you may have about all the information presented here. Contact information for your respective LEC president can be found by clicking here.

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 […]

Recent Posts

News By Month

News By Category

AFA News Now Air Quality Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC) Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) AS/HA Merger AS/VX Merger Benefits Committee Committees Communications Committee Contract Contract 2014 Negotiations Blog Council 15 SAN Council 18 LAX Council 19 SEA Council 30 ANC Council 35 SFO Council 39 PDX EAP/Professional Standards Committee Extension 2021 Blog Featured Government Affairs Committee Grievance Committee Hotel Committee Human Rights & Equity Committee Industry News Inflight Service Committee Inflight Training Committee JNC Blog Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) Latest News Local Councils Master Executive Council (MEC) Membership Committee Membership Engagement Committee Message from the MEC President Mobilization Committee Negotiations Pairing Construction Preferential Bidding System (PBS) Press Releases Reserve Committee Retirement Committee Scheduling Committee Uniform Committee

Want To Stay In The Loop?

Stay up-to-date on AFA Alaska news and information by signing up for our email and text message updates. Click a button below to get started or update your preferences if you're already a subscriber.
Sign Up for Emails
Sign Up for Text Updates