In This Edition (October 22, 2019)
- Open Time Negotiations October 9 & 10 Recap
- Send Your Message to Management: Fix Crew Access NOW!
- Block or Better vs. TFP—and Other Concerns
Open Time Negotiations – October 9 & 10 Recap
Your AFA Alaska Negotiating Committee resumed Open Time negotiations with management on October 9 & 10 in Seattle. The Master Executive Council (MEC) pulled the Open Time Tentative Agreement (TA) in May of this year over concerns that AFA and management had different interpretations of how a day would open and close for Open Time trading. The parties are re-negotiating Open Time trading rules to replace the Open Time Trial, which was officially actually canceled by AFA back in the summer of 2016. The Open Time Trial trading rules remain place today.
The parties made a lot of progress during the two-day session. In order to maintain the momentum of that session, the negotiating teams are meeting today (October 22) in Seattle.
Send Your Message to Management: Fix Crew Access NOW!
Regardless of the progress on Open Time negotiations, any possible changes to contractual trading language will mean nothing without a real-time, stable trading system that management is obligated to provide. Your AFA Master Executive Council (MEC) is calling upon all Flight Attendants to stand together and let management know that we are tired of the excuses and ready for management to act!
As of today, only 25% of Alaska Flight Attendants have submitted letters to management demanding that immediate programming fixes be made to Crew Access. That means that on a 4-person crew, only one Flight Attendant has taken action to stand up and fight back. Spread the word and share the campaign and the link above with your flying partners and fellow Flight Attendants. We must stand together and speak with one overwhelmingly loud voice to ensure that management hears our message—that they need to honor their obligations and fix Crew Access NOW!
Block or Better vs. TFP—and Other Concerns
Legacy Virgin America (L-VX) Flight Attendants have brought forward concerns that at least some contractual pay provisions may not be as generous as the related pay provisions in the now-defunct L-VX Work Rules. The chatter about “Block or Better” vs. TFP is just one example of several. All educational materials out there at the moment—including pay calculators—are grassroots efforts and have not been vetted for accuracy and are not endorsed by AFA leadership.
We are just one year away from serving notice to engage in Section 6 negotiations. Discussion and debate about potential negotiations topics is not only expected but also beneficial—as long as the conversation remains respectful and factual. Be aware that management often gains access to the “secret” social media venues, so we recommend that Flight Attendants refrain from discussing negotiations “wish list” items on social media due to the potentially negative strategic impact.
AFA Alaska will publish a series of educational articles covering some of the topics being talked about on the line, such as “Block hours vs. TFP” and “Block or better vs. block delay.” See the “Coming Soon” section for a more comprehensive list.
Coming Soon
Stay tuned for the following AFA negotiations special updates (order of release subject to change):
- Open Time Negotiations – October 21 Recap
- Block hours vs. TFP
- Block or Better vs. Block Delay
- Incentive Pay vs. Productivity Premium Program (PPP)
- Inflight Team Leader (ITL) Pay vs. “A” Pay
- Section 6 Negotiations Overview
- Negotiating for Our Future
