AFA Alaska

Representing the Flight Attendants of Alaska + Hawaiian

Click here to report an issue to AFA
Menu
  • Local Councils
    • Anchorage (Council 30)
      • Officers
      • Committees
    • Honolulu (Council 43)
    • Los Angeles (Council 18/pmAS)
      • Officers
      • Committees
      • Los Angeles (Council 47/pmHA)
        • Officers
      • Portland (Council 39)
        • Officers
        • Committees
      • San Diego (Council 15)
        • Officers
        • Committees
        • Seattle (Council 19)
          • Officers
          • Committees
        • San Francisco (Council 35)
          • Officers
          • Committees

        • More About Local Councils >>
        Close
      • Master Executive Council
        • Officers
        • Close
      • Committees
          • Air Safety, Health, & Security (ASHSC)
            • Air Quality
          • Benefits
          • Communications
          • Employee Assistance Program & Professional Standards
          • Government Affairs
          • Grievance
          • Hotel
          • Human Rights & Equity
          • Inflight Service
          • Inflight Training
          • Membership
          • Reserve
          • Retirement
          • Scheduling
            • Pairing Construction
            • Preferential Bidding System (PBS)
          • Uniform

        • More About Committees >>
        Close
      • Contract
          • Contract Home
            • 2025 Alaska TA2 (Ratified)
            • 2018 Alaska JCBA
            • 2020 Hawaiian Contract
            • Ask Contract Questions
          • Contract Resources
          • Alaska Contract Negotiations (2022-2025)
        • Close
      • Resources
          • What To Do If You Encounter Contaminated Cabin Air
          • Issues & Campaigns
          • Newsroom
            • AFA News Now
          • Event Calendar
          • Membership Services
          • New Members
          • About
          • Links
          Close
        • Merger
          • Joint Negotiating Committee
          • Close
        • Contact Us
        You are here: Home / Latest News / [AS] Open Time Negotiations Update – June 1, 2017

        [AS] Open Time Negotiations Update – June 1, 2017

        June 1, 2017 09:00

        For release to pre-merger AS councils only

        Open Time Tentative Agreement reached

        Your Negotiating Committee recently reached an agreement in concept with Alaska Airlines management regarding a new Open Time system. As a reminder, the Master Executive Council (MEC) ended the Open Time Trial last July (see “Open Time Trial Cancellation” for additional background). The MEC’s decision was based on overwhelming membership feedback from the Open Time satisfaction surveys and pursuant to Collective Bargaining Agreement §12.F.9 [Exchange of Sequences: Open Time Trial]. The parties have been negotiating a potential successor Open Time system ever since AFA provided notice to management of the cancellation last summer.

        The Negotiating Committee presented a draft full text Open Time Tentative Agreement (TA) for the MEC’s consideration two weeks ago. The MEC was impressed with many elements of the proposed new Open Time system, which is in many ways a fusion of the 2012-2015 “Back to Book” Open Time system and the current system. Some highlights of the proposed Open Time system include incorporating the beloved “day for day or greater” trading of Back to Book with the ability to drop into Open Time much like the current system.

        The MEC unanimously voted against releasing the Open Time TA due to a lack of implementation guarantees

        Despite the Negotiating Committee’s best efforts, management would not agree to implementation guarantees. The MEC and the Negotiating Committee held a special conference call meeting last week to discuss our concerns with a lack of such guarantees. After much consideration, the MEC has unanimously voted against releasing the Open Time TA for membership ratification.

        The MEC has heard loud and clear that you expect meaningful and specific implementation guarantees. Therefore, the MEC is sending the Negotiating Committee back to the table to achieve implementation guarantees, and management has been informed of our expectations. Management acknowledged receipt and is planning to meet with Jeppesen in the coming week or so to discuss options.

        What is “Back to Book”?

        The “Back to Book” Open Time system is the trading system outlined in the 2006-2010 Flight Attendant Agreement as modified by the 2011 AFA Arbitration Award No. 6-99-2-18-11 “Withholding Open Time.” This modified trading system was in place 2012-2015. The contractual language associated with this system is found in CBA §12.F [Exchange of Sequences – Back to Book: Open Time Trading]. The “Back to Book” Section 12 Exchange of Sequences follows the regular Section 12 and precedes Section 13 Uniforms in your contract. The arbitration award follows LOA 6 Contract Implementation Schedule and precedes the index.

        Where is “Back to Book”?

        Flight Attendants have been inquiring where is the “Back to Book” Open Time system. Management has been citing “IT limitations” as the reason for why reverting “Back to Book” is still delayed: “If reverting, the timeline for rolling back will be dictated by IT limitations” (§12.F.9.a [Exchange of Sequences: Open Time Trial]). Management says that Jeppesen has not had the resources to program “Back to Book” due to all available resources being allocated to implementation of the new crew tracking and trip trading system. However, the next scheduled update to the trading system places Alaska onto the “main branch” of the program, which is more or less the stock version.

        Therefore, it seems obvious to AFA that IT limitations can no longer be used as an excuse for why “Back to Book” is delayed. We will be filing a contractual grievance disputing the “Back to Book” implementation delay in the coming days.

        AFA will provide an update once management formally responds to the grievance and has an opportunity to meet with Jeppesen to consider implementation guarantees. After all the disappointments with extremely delayed implementation timelines and a disastrously executed transition to the new trip trading system, it’s time to make a stand!

        In Solidarity,

        Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Melissa Osborne, Tim Green and Brice McGee

        Your Negotiating Committee – MEC President Jeffrey Peterson, Kristy Stratton, Lisa Pinkston, Christina Frees and AFA Senior Staff Attorney Kimberley Chaput

        Print Friendly, PDF & Email

        Filed Under: Latest News, Negotiations Tagged With: 2017, Back to Book, History of Open Time, negotiations, Open Time, OT

        Need Help?

        Have an issue or concern to report to AFA?  Click here to access the AFA Alaska online support center.

        Latest News

        • AFA News in Review – July 11, 2025
        • Grievance Win For Flight Attendants: Reinforcing Our Contractual Rights Under Sections 8.M and 8.D
        • Navigating Uncertainty During Terrorism Alerts
        • AFA News in Review – July 4, 2025
        • Management’s Planned Hawaiian Airlines Seattle Flight Attendant Domicile
        • AFA News in Review – June 27, 2025
        • Scheduling Committee Meeting Recap – June 2025
        • Take Action Now: Stop Cuts and Giveaway to Billionaires
        • When Screen Time Becomes Too Much
        • Reserve Committee Meeting Recap – 2nd Quarter 2025

        Grievance Win For Flight Attendants: Reinforcing Our Contractual Rights Under Sections 8.M and 8.D

        July 11, 2025

        This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants A recent arbitration ruling has brought a significant victory that strengthens our rights under Sections 8.M and 8.D of our Collective Bargaining Agreement. This decision flows from Grievance 36-99-2-38-24 (Violation of §8.M) and Grievance Settlement 36-99-2-458-22 (Violation of §8.D Check In and Release). What does this mean […]

        Navigating Uncertainty During Terrorism Alerts

        July 11, 2025

        As Flight Attendants, we are trained to stay calm in emergencies and act swiftly to protect our passengers and crew. But when terrorism alerts are raised—whether at home or abroad—the anxiety that comes with being away from your loved ones can feel overwhelming. It’s completely natural to feel unsettled or vulnerable in times like these. […]

        Management’s Planned Hawaiian Airlines Seattle Flight Attendant Domicile

        June 30, 2025

        Today, management announced plans to establish Hawaiian Airlines’ 787 Pilot and Flight Attendant bases in Seattle by early 2026. This move aims to enhance operational efficiencies for Alaska Airlines as it expands its international presence in the Seattle area. According to the terms of the Merger Transition Protocol Letter of Agreement, the Company is allowed to […]

        Scheduling Committee Meeting Recap – June 2025

        June 26, 2025

        This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants On Tuesday, June 24, our AFA Scheduling Committee Chairpersons/Representatives met to discuss their ongoing work to represent our Flight Attendants and push for improvements in our workplace. Representing you at the meeting were Heather Reier (ANC), Rita Tillou (SEA), Melodie Anderes (PDX), Virginia Fritz (SFO), Kanako Yamado […]

        Take Action Now: Stop Cuts and Giveaway to Billionaires

        June 26, 2025

        It’s time to take action! The Senate is currently reviewing its version of the federal budget already passed in the House. There are seriously harmful cuts to benefits and rights we count on as workers. Below is a brief summary of their plans to cut from programs we count on to fund and supercharge a massive […]

        Recent Posts

        • AFA News in Review – July 11, 2025
        • Grievance Win For Flight Attendants: Reinforcing Our Contractual Rights Under Sections 8.M and 8.D
        • Navigating Uncertainty During Terrorism Alerts
        • AFA News in Review – July 4, 2025
        • Management’s Planned Hawaiian Airlines Seattle Flight Attendant Domicile
        • AFA News in Review – June 27, 2025
        • Scheduling Committee Meeting Recap – June 2025
        • Take Action Now: Stop Cuts and Giveaway to Billionaires
        • When Screen Time Becomes Too Much
        • Reserve Committee Meeting Recap – 2nd Quarter 2025
        • AFA News in Review – June 20, 2025
        • Joint Contract Negotiations Session 4 – June 2025
        • Mahalo From Your AFA Hawaiian Communications Committee
        • Human Rights & Equity Committee Meeting Recap – 2nd Quarter 2025
        • AFA News in Review – June 13, 2025

        Local Councils

        • Anchorage
        • Honolulu
        • Los Angeles (pre-merger Alaska)
        • Los Angeles (pre-merger Hawaiian)
        • Portland
        • San Diego
        • San Francisco
        • Seattle

        Master Executive Council

        • MEC

        Negotiations

        • Contract 2022 Home
        • Negotiations News
        • TA2 Information

        Contract

        • Contract Home

        Committees

        • Air Safety, Health, & Security
        • Benefits
        • Communications
        • EAP/Professional Standards
        • Government Affairs
        • Grievance
        • Hotel
        • Human Rights
        • Inflight Service
        • Mobilization
        • Reserve
        • Retirement
        • Scheduling
        • Uniform

        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 Message from the MEC President Mobilization Committee Negotiations Pairing Construction Preferential Bidding System (PBS) Press Releases Reserve Committee Retirement Committee Scheduling Committee Uniform Committee
        • Email
        • Facebook
        • Instagram
        • YouTube

        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

        Connect With AFA

        • Contact Us
        • Online Support Center
        • AFA International
        • CWA
        • AFA Alaska Social Media Guidelines
        • AFA-CWA Mutual Respect Policy

        Copyright © 2013-2025 Alaska Airlines Master Executive Council, Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO