Latest News

May 29, 2020 18:00

In This Edition

AFA President Sara Nelson Statement on Justice for George Floyd, Attacks on Protesters and Press
AFA Board of Directors Special Meeting – May 20, 2020
COVID-19 Agreements Extension – June 2020
Life Insurance Coverage While on a Staffing Adjustment Leave

AFA President Sara Nelson Statement on Justice for George Floyd, Attacks on Protesters and Press

AFA International

Washington, DC (May 29, 2020) – Responding to violent clashes between police and protestors demanding accountability for police violence, especially for the killing by police of George Floyd in Minneapolis, AFA International President Sara Nelson released the following statement…

Click here to read President Nelson’s statement >

AFA Board of Directors Special Meeting – May 20, 2020

AFA Board of Directors

A Special Meeting of the AFA Board of Directors (BOD) took place on May 20, 2020, at which an interim budget was approved for fiscal year 2020-2021 (July through June). This was AFA’s first ever virtual BOD Meeting. The AFA International Office is currently updating documentation and writing a Compilation of Actions that will be posted online for review by the Board and Members in the near future. We will send notice when this information is available.

COVID-19 Agreements Extension – June 2020

Master Executive Council

The Master Executive Council (MEC) and Alaska Airlines management have previously executed several agreements that temporarily modify the administration of specific contractual provisions in order to mitigate the burden to Flight Attendants and the Company during the COVID-19 pandemic. The parties agreed to extend the duration of some of those agreements that were scheduled to expire on May 31; the agreements are now extended through June 30.

Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs)

Temporary Waiver of Discipline Delivery Confirmation (04/14/2020) – Notifications of confirmation of oral warnings and written warnings will continue to be sent via Company email rather than by US Mail with delivery confirmation.

Letters of Agreement (LOAs)

Commuter Policy and Utilizing Other Airline (OAL) Carriers During COVID-19 Schedule Disruptions (04/07/2020) – Registered air commuters may continue to utilize other airline (OAL) carriers to satisfy the “two consecutive scheduled flights from the registered air commuter’s designated registered commuter city to the domicile/co-terminal” requirement in the Commuter Policy.
JCBA §10.Z Personal Drops During COVID-19 Schedule Disruptions (04/14/2020) – Personal Drop(s) will continue to be administered two days prior to the day requested to be dropped rather than one day prior.
COVID-19 Schedule Changes (04/17/2020) – Re-times, flight routing changes and other schedule changes that occur in advance of the day of departure of a sequence will continue to be treated just like pre-cancellations with the exception of §10.S.1.c. Continue to email Crew Scheduling up until the day prior if you wish to drop a pre-cancellation without pay protection, and wait to call Crew Scheduling regarding pre-cancellations until the day prior.

Reference: COVID-19 Agreements Extension June 2020 Letter of Agreement (05/29/2020 – 06/30/2020)

Life Insurance Coverage While on a Staffing Adjustment Leave

Master Executive Council

Some of you who took a COVID-19 Staffing Adjustment Leave (SAL) were extremely surprised and angered to learn that your life insurance coverage may have terminated while on leave. Apparently, your Company-sponsored life insurance is cancelled after the first partial or full bid month on a COVID-19 SAL.

This MEC was also surprised to learn that cancellation of coverage has evidently always occurred while on SALs. We confirmed that a reference to this has been in the Alaska Airlines Employee Benefits Handbook for Flight Attendants (AAG SSO required) for many years. Regardless, Inflight management agrees that the disclosure was not included in the original leave materials and related Q&A. Consequently, management is offering a one-time opportunity for Flight Attendants to change their minds and cancel their SAL for July and beyond.

Flight Attendants must email Inflight Crew Planning no later than 11:59 PM PT on Tuesday, June 2 in order to cancel their SAL for July and beyond and bid for the month of July.
Flight Attendants who decide to stay out on a SAL may find useful information regarding life insurance portability and conversion options by clicking here (AAG SSO required).

As your direct representative on the MEC, your LEC president is available to answer questions or concerns that you may have about the information above. Contact information for your respective LEC president can be found by clicking here.

May 14, 2020 17:46

The yearly in-person Board of Directors meeting which was to have taken place in Cleveland in early June has been cancelled. To replace the Board of Directors meeting, a special virtual meeting will take place on 5/20, to approve the proposed AFA 2020/2021 Budget. No other agenda items will be considered.

You may recall that each year, prior to the Board of Director’s meeting, we hold an in-person Joint Local Council meeting with Horizon, and United (when they have flight attendants based in Seattle) to review the Advanced Agenda items for this meeting. We answer questions about the proposed Agenda items, and review the proposed budget. We had scheduled this Local Council Meeting, but due to COVID-19 social distancing requirements, this meeting has also been cancelled.

The Finance and Budget Committees have been holding virtual meetings to assess and revise the proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year. As a member of the Finance Committee, Terry Taylor has been very involved in this process. If you have questions about this process, or other budget related questions, please feel free to contact her at Terry.Taylor@afaalaska.org, or by phone at 425-941-7579.

In solidarity,

Terry, Jake, Adam, Melinda and Megan

May 13, 2020 10:57

Membership Meeting to Review 2020-2021 AFA Proposed Annual Budget

The next membership meeting for Council 35 members will be Tuesday, May 19, 2020 from 1100-1200 on Zoom. The purpose will be to discuss the AFA Board of Director’s Budget Proposal 2020. The Board will be voting on this budget during the special AFA Board of Director’s Virtual Meeting on May 20, 2020, so this is the opportunity for members to ask questions and provide feedback to their LEC President on voting preferences.

This meeting will be a combined council meeting and open to all Council 35, 18 and 15 members in good standing (up-to-date on dues). The only agenda item for this meeting will be the budget. Stay tuned for future meetings to allow members the opportunity to discuss a variety of topics with a full agenda.

You may review the agenda prior to this meeting. The full budget document will be shared during the Zoom meeting by the host. Special Guest Terry Taylor from the AFA Finance Committee will be present to answer specific questions.

If you wish to attend, please register by May 18, 2020. Once registered, you may submit budget questions to your LEC and the question will be answered during the meeting. No anonymous questions will be accepted.

Your AFA Alaska California Council Officers-

Melissa, Aladrian, James and Brad (SFO@afaalaska.org)

Tim, Kelese, Martin and Bryan (LAX@afaalaska.org)

Brice, Melanie and JR (SAN@afaalaska.org)

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

May 11, 2020 10:00

In This Edition

Resources While on Reduced or Unpaid Status
AFA Dues Payments While on a Leave of Absence
Taking Control of Your Finances During a Loss of Flying

Resources While on Reduced or Unpaid Status

AFA International

The announcement of reduced flying schedules and the subsequent need for leaves of absence have many Flight Attendants feeling anxious and concerned. Local Unemployment offices are facing an unprecedented demand for information and assistance. Many states are revising their requirements to make it easier for workers to apply online.

Additional benefits for Flight Attendants can be found in the recently passed CARES Act. Because of your many calls and letters to Congress and through AFA’s advocacy on Capitol Hill interacting directly with lawmakers, we were able to secure financial relief for individual workers and airlines in a way that promotes direct support of continued paychecks, healthcare, and financial viability of the airlines. All of this was made law while placing restrictions on stock buybacks, dividends, executive bonuses and using funds in any way to undermine worker rights.

The following information has been compiled from AFA EAP and Legal departments, the AFL-CIO and Union Plus Benefits. Links to several useful flyers are contained within this section which provide additional information.

AFA EAP

We know this is a stressful time for everyone. AFA’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is also available to help you deal with the emotional toll the events of this time are taking. AFA EAP is a resource for resolving problems through an international network of over 200 professionally-trained, peer support volunteer Flight Attendants overseen by mental health professionals. AFA EAP assists members in accessing appropriate medical help around mental health issues involving family crises, work-related trauma and chemical imbalance, as well as conflict resolution services and response to critical incidents. EAP is totally confidential. If you would like to contact AFA EAP you can find contact information by clicking here.

We hope these resources will assist you with this difficult transition. We encourage you to reach out to these experts as soon as possible.

AFL-CIO: State Specific Resources

As a member union in the AFL-CIO we are pleased to direct you to a useful landing page that will allow you to search for resources by state including:

Resources and benefits to help replace lost wages
Eligibility for emergency paid leave
Housing and food assistance programs
Health insurance and public health services and guidance

https://aflcio.org/covid-19/state-resources

Unemployment Benefits

People who take a leave or experience a reduction in hours through no fault of their own may be eligible to receive unemployment. Eligibility requirements, statutory wait periods and length of time to collect benefits differ by state. However, the scale and scope of these benefits will vary depending on the state where you are based. It is strongly recommended that you review the unemployment filing requirements and determine if your personal circumstances might allow you the choice of filing with your home state or your domicile state. An important piece of any unemployment filing will be the leave paperwork you receive from your airline. If the language contains verbiage that the leave is COVID related, this will be key to securing benefits. Additionally, most airlines have taken the position they will not contest unemployment filings that are COVID related. Make sure you reference COVID as the reason for your leave when filing your unemployment claim.

As part of the COVID-19 Relief Act, Congress increased by $600 the amount of weekly Unemployment Insurance (UI) payments that laid off and furloughed workers can receive through July 31, 2020. If you’re eligible for at least $1 of state unemployment compensation, you get the full $600, according to the Labor Department. The CARES Act also extends the number of weeks of eligibility for long term unemployed people by 13 weeks to the current state term (normally 26 weeks) to a maximum of 39 weeks, temporarily eliminates work-search requirements and minimum work history (under normal rules, only those who have been employed for a year are eligible), and expands the categories of eligible workers.

Online Unemployment Information and Resources:

For more information about the changes the CARES Act made to the unemployment insurance, we recommend this guide put together by our friends at the National Employment Law Project.
Our AFA website contains up to date information, compiled by the legal department, regarding your questions and answers about unemployment: https://www.afacwa.org/increased_unemployment_covid19

Online Government Resources for Help

Information about unemployment insurance and sources of other governmental assistance programs can be found here:

Union Plus

Union Plus is another partner of the AFL-CIO. It is a consumer benefits program for union members and offers specific programs to assist members in times of financial hardship. Visit these websites for additional information:

Union Plus has partnered with Freedom Debt Relief to offer a debt settlement program designed to help union members get out of debt as quickly as possible, for one low monthly program payment.
Access Money Management International, which works with UnionPlus to provide budgeting and credit counseling assistance to union members.
Participants in the Union Plus Mortgage, Credit Card, Personal Loan, or supplemental insurance programs may be eligible for additional hardship assistance. Visit Union Plus Hardship Help for eligibility requirements at https://www.unionplus.org/hardship-help/union-plus-hardship-help-benefits

AFA Dues Payments While on a Leave of Absence

Membership Committee

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.

Payment Options

If you receive an invoice or statement indicating that you owe AFA dues, payment can be made in one of two ways:

Online, by credit card, at http://www.afacwa.org/payment
By mailing a check directly to AFA International Membership Services

More information about payment options can be found on the payment options page of membership services section of the AFA International website. This page also contains information about payment plan options if you have a past due account and are unable to pay your entire balance at once.

Questions?

If you have any questions about payment options for outstanding AFA dues, please contact the AFA International Membership Services Department at (800) 424-2401, extension 707. For other dues-related questions, please contact your Local Membership Committee.

Taking Control of Your Finances During a Loss of Flying

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)/Professional Standards Committee

It is prudent for all Flight Attendants to assess their personal financial positions in anticipation of income reductions. While every Flight Attendant’s situation will vary, below are some general considerations that can help you begin strategizing how best to weather the financial impact of flying cutbacks on your household.

Assess Your Financial Status

Prepare a household budget and cut any non-essential items.
Prepare a list of all creditors and a contact person. Make minimum payments.
Place your money in a bank in which you have no debt.
Attempt to secure a loan early, so you will have a cash flow.
Assess your tax situation. You may be owed a refund or need to file an extension.
Be proactive. Assess your credit card debt. Look into a temporary reduction or abatement in payments.

Contact Your Creditors

You must communicate with your creditors before any payments become delinquent, and the sooner the better. You can negotiate a lower repayment schedule before you run out of money. Be professional, but assertive. Creditors are easier to work with if they know ahead of time that there’s a problem. Also, it shows ‘good faith’ that you are concerned about your debts and intend to pay.

The goal is to make the amount of money you’ve saved last as long as possible. Pay what you can on a regular basis, even if it is less than expected. Partial payments may keep collection agents away. Follow-up all telephone conversations with a letter and keep documentation. Even in the worst-case scenario, it takes a long time for collections, repossessions and evictions to occur. Contact credit counselors who can help you sort out your financial affairs. Be sure to remember to contact the creditors that are automatically payroll deducted.

Even if you can’t pay creditors the amount they want, make your best effort to pay something regularly. This holds arrears as low as possible and lets the creditor know that you are doing all you can. Partial payment may keep your account from being turned over to a collection agency.

Put your payments in order of importance: this will help you pay first things first when money is short. Generally, your most important payment will be the mortgage or rent payment, followed by utilities, health insurance and car payments.

And after the initial contact, it’s important that you keep in contact with creditors – every two weeks or so. This reassures the creditor, shows a responsible attitude toward your obligation and may keep the creditor from ‘hounding’ you.

Prepare a Household Budget

A budget helps you see where you spend your money and where you can save. Your budgeted expenses should include:

Fixed expenses, including: mortgage, rent, taxes, insurance, loans, installment payments, credit card payments and any other monthly payments.
Monthly expenses, including: food, gas, repairs, dues, recreation, prescriptions.
Future expenses, including: income/property tax and any other outstanding debts.

Your budgeted income should include:

Any remaining income
State disability insurance benefits
Workers’ compensation checks
Savings
Social Security
Unemployment compensation
Other pension funds

Your assets may include:

Cash value of insurance policies
Equity in your home
Prepaid burial or funeral policy
Resale value of vehicles (including boats and snowmobiles)

Now you are ready to adjust your expenses, negotiate with creditors and use assets in the most effective way possible.

Questions?

Contact your Local Employee Assistance Program (EAP)/Professional Standards Committee or call (949) 470-0493.

April 30, 2020 19:32

Pick up Your Fabric Masks in SFO

Flight Attendants interested in wearing the Alaska issued fabric mask may now pick them up in the SFO Village. Distribution of masks occur in the SFO Village by supervisors from 0500-1500 daily and after hours by CSA supervisors. Flight Attendants will receive two (2) masks each and must sign for them; you may also email the SFO supervisors to coordinate pick-up through V-file. You may also wear their own fabric masks provided they are neutral in color and without any pattern. AFA continues to advocate that passengers be required to wear masks, so stay tuned for more updates on the progress of this requirement.

Reserve Buddy

New to reserve? Not sure how it works? The SFO Reserve Committee has opened up the Reserve Buddy system to provide support to Flight Attendants finding themselves on reserve again, or on reserve for the first time under the current JCBA. If you would like to request a Reserve Buddy, who can help you navigate reserve life, please complete the form below.

Reserve Resources:

Leave Updates

Over 3,000 Flight Attendants are on some version of leave as of today’s publication. Management has indicated that this will continue for the next several months, so it is recommended that FAs continue to monitor company emails and bulletins for more information regarding future leaves. For June, leaves will be offered in 30, 60 and 90 day increments. For more information about the leaves being offered, please visit the Alaska AFA Leaves page on Alaskasworld.

New June Bidding Timeline

Similar to the May bid timeline shift, June’s bid will be delayed by one week. The new June bidding timeline, including the SAL/LBO bidding, is shown below. As a reminder, the SAL/LBO bidding is completed through Alaskasworld:

Staffing Adjustment Leave/LBO Bidding Timeline (Inflight Page):

4/30/20: June SAL/LBO bidding begins 0900
5/07/20: June SAL/LBO bidding ends 1500

June 2020 Schedule Bidding Timeline SFO (NavBlue):

5/12/20: June bid opens 0900
5/17/20: June bid closes 0900
5/20/20: June bid awards published 0900
5/20/20: June bid protest opens 0900
5/21/20: June bid protest closes 0900
5/21/20: June final award
5/21/20: 5-day trading unlocked 1700
5/22/20: SFO FA to FA trading 0900
5/23/20: SFO open time 0900

EAP and Other Resources

Flight Attendants in need of support during these unpredictable times are encouraged to reach out to the SFO EAP Committee and available resources for support. AFA has a coordinated many resources and groups to provide assistance and guidance to members in need. Additionally, Alaska Airlines provides employees with Active Support, which offers free confidential counseling to employees facing a variety of personal challenges.

California Resources

For Flight Attendants on leave that plan on applying for California Unemployment Insurance, please reference the April 25 communication regarding California state resources

How do I contact Council 35 Officers?

The best way to contact Council 35 officers is via email using a personal email account. The preferred methods of contact are:

sfo@afaalaska.org (this is the group contact for all officers-if one officer is flying /unavailable the 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).

Fly safe and stay healthy!

In solidarity,

Melissa, Aladrian, James, and Brad

April 25, 2020 17:00

In This Edition

Reserve Resources
AFA EAP Support Services – Updated 4/22

Reserve Resources

Reserve Committee

With the significant increase in the number of Flight Attendants who will be holding a reserve schedule in May, our AFA Reserve Committee would like to ensure that you are aware of the resources available to help understand the contractual rights and obligations associated with reserve duty. The following resources may be accessed electronically using the links below:

Reserve 101 Quick Reference Guide
Reserve Survival Guide (AAG sign-on required)

Questions?

In addition to the printed resources above, Reserve Committee Members are available in your Local Council to answer questions, clarify contractual language, or provide other support related to reserve duty. You can find contact information on the Reserve Committee page of the AFA Alaska website.

AFA EAP Support Services – Updated 4/22

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)/Professional Standards Committee

AFA EAP has put together several resources to help Flight Attendants manage their personal mental health and wellness during the COVID-19 outbreak. All services are available in either a telephone or online format. For a complete list of support services being offered, schedules, and access information, please click here.

April 23, 2020 21:22

Council 19 April Base Update 2

SEA Reserve Buddy Program

Due to the unprecedented number of traditional line-holders who are now holding reserve lines, the Council 19 Reserve Committee will be offering reserve buddies to those who might desire extra support as they navigate the reserve system for the first time in years.

A reserve buddy is an AFA representative who is knowledgeable about reserve issues and has volunteered to be contactable via text/email/phone to answer questions you may have about the contract, reserve trading and reserve life in general. They are a fabulous resource and we hope having a reserve buddy will provide greater peace of mind to those who have not been on reserve recently.

If you would like a reserve buddy simply e-mail conner.gallagher@afaalaska.org and one will be assigned to you. In your email please include:

1. Name

2. Base

3. Peoplesoft number

4. Your personal e-mail (please, no @alaskaair.com emails)

5. Your phone number

As an additional resource check out the Reserve 101 Quick Reference Guide. You will also find the Reserve Survival Guide on the IMD: Goodreader, ASFASupplmental, Collective Bargaining Agreement, AFA Alaska Reserve Survival Guide 2020 or on the Inflight webpage.

Election Information

MAIL DATE: 4-28-20

Voting Notice and Voting Guide are mailed containing your personal 16-digit activation code

POLLS OPEN: 5-1-20 12:00 PM ET

Polls Open and voting begins

POLLS CLOSE: 5-22-20 3:00 PM ET

Polls close and the election count takes place.

Are you eligible to vote?

Ballots will be mailed to the address you have on file with AFA, you can update your address online.

Union Dues

Please make sure you are dues current to be eligible to vote in the upcoming local officer election. Flight Attendants are required to pay dues every month unless they are on an unpaid leave beyond the first 90 days of dues obligation. If you are on an unpaid leave beyond the first 90 days dues obligation please read below if you wish to vote in the upcoming election. If there isn’t enough money on your 20^th paycheck to auto deduct dues, they must be manually paid online or by mail. Past month’s dues owed will not be taken out of a future 20^th paycheck.

The C&B considers those on an unpaid leave of absence active with AFA during the 90-day period: Article II C.1.b(1) & (2). Active members are entitled to all the rights and privileges of the Union including the right to vote. Article II C.1.a. The C&B allows a member to remain active after the 90-days dues obligation. Remaining active requires the Flight Attendant to notify AFA of their desire to remain active beyond the 90-days and continue to pay dues.

This is the only way a Flight Attendant beyond the 90-day dues obligation can vote and participate in AFA activities.

Each of us has an obligation to ensure that our AFA dues payments are current and up-to-date. Section 26 of our collective bargaining agreement outlines the requirement for each of us to pay dues as a condition of employment. If you receive a notice that dues are past due, it is important to remedy the past due amount immediately. Failure to remedy a past due amount may result in termination of employment.

If you receive a statement indicating that you owe dues, the easiest way to make a payment is through the AFA Membership Services website. You can also contact the Membership Services Department to discuss options for a payment plan if you are unable to pay the owed amount immediately. More information about payment options can be found here.

After Polls Have Opened

If you have not received your Voting Instructions for this ballot please contact the AFA Ballot Helpline at 1-800-424-2401 EXT 706 (press 1 then 706). If the call is not answered please leave a message. All calls received by 5 pm ET will be returned the same day.

The AFA Ballot Helpline can provide you with a new 16-digit activation code. This will allow you to enter the voting system and cast your vote. The 16-digit code will be sent via email along with instructions for voting via the internet or telephone.

When calling to obtain a new 16-digit activation code please verify your email address and current status with AFA. If you must leave a message, please make sure you leave your name, airline, employee ID & telephone number along with your email address. The email should be in your inbox however be sure to check your spam/junk folder just in case.

Go to the AFA-CWA elections page for more information.

In Solidarity,

Terry, Jake, Adam, Megan and Melinda

April 20, 2020 12:00

In This Edition

Flight Attendant Addiction Support (FAAS) Program
Cornerstone App Replacement
Vacation While on a Staffing Adjustment Leave of Absence
AFA EAP Support Services – Week of April 20
Union Plus – Bachelor’s Degree Completion Program

Flight Attendant Addiction Support (FAAS) Program

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)/Professional Standards Committee

The Flight Attendant Addiction Support Program (FAAS) is a program that allows Flight Attendants who deal with substance use problems and dependency the ability to obtain appropriate treatment without the threat of automatic termination. The program is several years in the making and has been a joint effort between AFA Alaska EAP, AFA International EAP, and Alaska Airlines management. The FAAS Program became available for use as of March 1, 2020 and is available to all non-probationary Flight Attendants.

Under the FAAS Program, there are three pathways for seeking support and treatment:

Proactive Self-Referral
Proactive Self-Disclosure/Reactive Self-Referral
Violation of DOT regulations or Company Drug and Alcohol policy

More information about these pathways, conditions for participation, effect on employment status, options for payment of treatment, and recovery support can be found in the FAAS Program Manual. You can access the manual on the Inflight website under Administration > FA Addiction Support Program > FAAS Program Manual or on the IMD in GoodReader > ASFASupplemental > FAAS Program.

Note: The MEC would like to thank MEC EAP Committee Chairperson Elizabeth Dillon, Vice Chairperson Jeanne McCleave, and SAN LEC Vice President/EAP Committee Chairperson Melanie Buker for their enduring efforts in seeing this program through to realization.

Questions?

If you have any questions about the FAAS Program, please contact your Local EAP Committee.

Cornerstone App Replacement

Inflight Training Committee

On March 30, management announced that the Cornerstone app would be replaced with the new Cornerstone Learn app. The replacement of the Cornerstone app is a welcome announcement given the ongoing technical issues and challenges that the app has presented to our Flight Attendants. Management has indicated that the new Cornerstone Learn app has greater reliability than the legacy Cornerstone app and should be easier for Flight Attendants to use. Though AFA representatives have had the opportunity to briefly test the new app, there were several technical issues identified and we are skeptical that the new platform will resolve all of the outstanding issues that Flight Attendants experienced with the old app.

Sync Your Training Before April 30

In bulletin #2020-0024 (AAG sign-on required), published on March 30, management provided notification that the legacy Cornerstone app will no longer be supported after April 30. If you have started or completed any training using the download feature in the legacy Cornerstone app, you must ensure that you sync the Cornerstone app on your IMD so that your progress is transferred to the new Cornerstone Learn platform. You can find more information about how to sync in the bulletin under the “New Mobile Learning App” heading.

Questions?

If you have questions about the new Cornerstone Learn app or how to ensure that your training is synced in preparation for the transition, please contact Inflight Training management directly at inflight.training@alaskaair.com.

Vacation While on a Staffing Adjustment Leave of Absence

Master Executive Council (MEC)

If you’re taking an upcoming staffing leave of absence and have vacation days that are scheduled during your leave, those vacation days will be removed from your roster and replaced with the coding for your leave of absence. The MEC would like to ensure that you are aware of the options that you have to either move or be paid out for your vacation days, which are as follows:

Trade Your Days With Vacation Open Time. Identify available days in vacation open time and email F/A Crew Pay (fa.crewpay@alaskaair.com) to let them know the days that you’d like to trade into. F/A Crew Pay will process the change. Vacation open time can be viewed on the Inflight website under Schedule & Bidding > Vacation Trading > Vacation Open Time. The calendar will display the number of open slots on each day for your base.
Request That Your Vacation Be Paid Out Now. If you would like your vacation to be paid out now, complete and submit a Vacation Payout Form. The form is located on the Inflight website under Administration > Pay & Benefits > Vacation Payout Form. As long as the form is submitted 7 or more days prior to pay day, your vacation will be paid out on your next available check.
Do Nothing and Be Paid Out Later. If you do not trade your vacation days or request that they be paid out now, they will be paid out automatically on February 5, 2021.

Questions?

If you have questions about any of the above options or need assistance, please contact your LEC Officers.

AFA EAP Support Services – Week of April 20

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)/Professional Standards Committee

Questions?

If you have any questions about available EAP support services, please contact your Local EAP Committee.

Union Plus – Bachelor’s Degree Completion Program

AFA International

Because of the current economic and health uncertainty facing many union members, students who enroll in the Union Plus Bachelor’s Degree Completion Program, in partnership with Central State University, in the summer 2020 term will complete their entire degree for free.

There will be no out-of-pocket cost for tuition, fees, or e-books until graduation, not just the summer term. Students may enroll part-time, but continuous enrollment is required. Students must complete the FAFSA and the financial aid process.

Summer classes begin May 18, 2020.

Unemployed, furloughed or laid off union members and their extended families are still eligible to enroll in the Bachelor’s Degree Completion Program.

Questions?

You can learn more by calling 888-897-9671 or get started online at https://bachelorsdegree.unionplus.org.

April 17, 2020 20:00

The drastic changes to April flying have resulted in an unprecedented number of ongoing systemwide disruptions to Flight Attendant schedules: pre-cancellations, flight time changes (“re-times”), flight routing changes, et cetera. Flight Attendants are often given revised flying with completely different flight numbers and/or flight routing and initial report times that are many hours earlier than their original report time.

Crew Access notifications

Multiple ‘bundled’ notifications

Multiple ‘bundled’ Crew Access notifications have made the situation even more confusing. Flight Attendants are being inadvertently stuck with unwanted alternative assignments because they acknowledged a Crew Access notification for pay protection. However, they later realize that same “good news” notification was bundled with other notifications for undesirable alternate assignments such as re-times reporting way earlier than originally scheduled. Acknowledging Crew Access notifications is “all” or “nothing.” Consequently, AFA filed a contractual grievance on this issue yesterday.

Confusing contractual citations

Additionally, AFA has become aware that Crew Access notifications have included confusing references to what appear to be contractual citations that are not related to our contract. AFA has confirmed these citations are from the pilot contract, and we have addressed this concern with management. Pilot crew schedulers have been advised by management to stop including the contractual references in the notifications effective immediately.

Disputing re-times and reassignments

AFA filed Grievance No. 36-99-2-45-17 “Violation of §10.S Pre-Cancellation and Schedule Changes” regarding re-times between 15 and 21 minutes back in June 2017 (click here for the July 2017 Grievance Report >). Management sustained the grievance (meaning they agreed the contract was violated) shortly thereafter in July 2017. However, AFA and management disagreed with the remedy (i.e. the “fix”) for the violation, and we have been in negotiations over the remedy since then.

Unfortunately, other developments and shifting priorities continually complicated our efforts: ongoing Crew Access violations, payroll issues, a merger, Open Time negotiations, Recurrent Training and management leadership changes all along the way. We know this sounds like AFA leadership is making excuses, but we want to be transparent about how long we’ve known about the issue, and why it’s still not resolved.

In the meantime, AFA also added several other contractual disputes related to reassignments to the Alternate Dispute Resolution (i.e. pre-grievance) process. The parties have continued to negotiate over a long-term remedy to all the reassignment-related disputes, including re-times. We had been making more progress towards a mutually acceptable solution lately…but then the COVID-19 pandemic happened. The parties will continue to work towards a long-term resolution to the disputes, but AFA and management agree that Flight Attendants need at least a temporary solution in place now.

COVID-19 Schedule Changes Letter of Agreement

Starting tonight at midnight Pacific Time, AFA and management have agreed to temporarily administer all Flight Attendant schedule changes that occur in advance of the day of departure of a sequence just like pre-cancellations under Section 10.S [Pre-Cancellations] with the exception of §10.S.1.c (re: cancellations reported between 8pm and midnight the day prior). This would include flight time changes (i.e. re-times), flight routing changes, etc. This temporary letter of agreement is not a permanent change to contract and will be in effect through the end of May.

Click here for the COVID-19 Schedule Changes LOA (04/17/2020-05/31/2020) >

Summary of provisions

Re-times, flight routing changes and other schedule changes that occur in advance of the day of departure of a sequence will be treated just like pre-cancellations except under §10.S.1c. All scheduling obligations and scheduling and pay protection options pursuant to §10.S except for §10.S.1.c apply to pre-cancellations as well as re-times, flight routing changes, et cetera. This includes but is not limited to the following:
- The Company may offer an alternate assignment to open positions that may include multiple sequences on the same day(s) as the original assignment. The Flight Attendant may (1) accept the alternate assignment or (2) decline the alternate assignment and waive pay protection.
- However, if the alternate assignment contains a check-in that is more than two hours earlier and/or a release time that is more than two hours later than the original assignment (“footprint + 2 hours”), then the Flight Attendant may decline and agree to call Crew Scheduling between 6 PM and 8 PM local domicile time the night prior to the day of departure of the original assignment.
- If the Flight Attendant calls back Crew Scheduling between 6 PM and 8 PM local domicile time the night prior to the day of departure of the original sequence, then the alternate assignment offered must operate within the check-in and release times (“exact footprint”) at domicile of the original sequence. If no such alternate assignment exists, then the Flight Attendant will be pay protected and relieved of further scheduling obligation.
“I didn’t mean to acknowledge the Crew Access scheduling notification and/or I don’t want the new assignment” provision
- A Flight Attendant who acknowledges a Crew Access notification for an unwanted schedule change occurring in advance of the day of departure of the sequence may re-establish her/his scheduling obligations and scheduling and pay protection options under §10.S [Pre-Cancellations].
- The Flight Attendant must call Crew Scheduling prior to 6 PM local domicile time on the day prior to the day of departure of the sequence in order to be eligible for this provision.
Extension of the “Pre-Cancellations Due To COVID-19 Schedule Changes” LOA (executed 3/28/2020) through May 31, 2020
- Please do not call Crew Scheduling until the day prior to the day of departure of the sequence.
- You may waive pay protection and be relieved of further scheduling obligation by emailing Crew Scheduling (“CrewSked FADesk” <CrewSked.FADesk@alaskaair.com>) no later than one day prior to the date of departure of the sequence.

We know that is a lot of information for one update. The Master Executive Council (MEC) hopes this temporary LOA will provide at least some short-term relief to all the confusion and disruption caused by the COVID-19 schedule changes. As your direct representative on the MEC, your LEC President is available to answer questions that you have about the LOA or the information above. You can find contact information for your LEC President by clicking here.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Matt Cook, Terry Taylor, Mario de’Medici, Melissa Osborne, Tim Green and Brice McGee

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AFA EAP Support Services – Week of April 20

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Union Plus – Bachelor’s Degree Completion Program

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Crew Access notifications

Multiple ‘bundled’ notifications

Confusing contractual citations

Disputing re-times and reassignments

COVID-19 Schedule Changes Letter of Agreement

Click here for the COVID-19 Schedule Changes LOA (04/17/2020-05/31/2020) >

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