AFA Alaska

Association of Flight Attendants-CWA Alaska Airlines Master Executive Council

Click here to report an issue to AFA
You are here: Home / Negotiations / Contract 2014 Negotiations Blog / Q&A: Did We Lose VJA in TA2 and Are We Only Subject to JA under TA2?

Q&A: Did We Lose VJA in TA2 and Are We Only Subject to JA under TA2?

Q:  I’ve been seeing a lot of talk about no more VJA in TA2, just JA.  Is the Premium Open Time that is seen in TA2 actually the same as our current VJA?  Or what’s the difference?
A:  The concept is essentially the same with both VJA and Premium OT.  There will still be trips offered with a premium under TA2.  It is structured a bit differently than VJA under current book.  There will be a premium paid on a trip a FA volunteers to fly on a day off when the Company is needing to cover flights.  Under current book, if you submit your form before 9AM the day prior, the forms are processed in seniority order in accordance with your preferences.  If your notice is submitted after 9AM the day prior, they are processed on a first come first served basis.  You do not see the trips available today, but rather you submit a form for something you would be willing to fly if it comes up.  You also can’t indicate a positions preference other than “A” or not “A”.  There are other preferences on the form as well such as no all nighter, no Canada or Mexico.  Under TA2, CS will place the trips into OT with the premium indicated and they will be picked up from OT on a first come first served basis.  The Company will publish notification on the FA Web Page to indicate they are offering trips in OT with premiums.  All trips will be seen and you can decide to pick it up or not based on the trip and the premium placed on it.  Premium OT will have a minimum of 1.5x, but they can increase that premium.  Here is the actual language on Premium OT.  Section 9.E.  

E. PREMIUM OPEN TIME (OT)

Crew Scheduling may declare periods of premium pay for OT and designate individual sequences as premium pay sequences. Once posted, it may not be revoked. However, if the sequence is assigned to a Reserve, the premium will not apply.

  1. The Company will publish notification of Premium OT on the Flight Attendant webpage.

  2. A Flight Attendant who picks up Premium OT will receive a minimum premium of one and one-half times (1.5x) the applicable rate of pay.

  3. Premium OT trips may be traded; however, the premium pay will not follow the sequence. The Premium OT sequence will be converted to a regular sequence upon being traded and will be paid at straight time if flown. The same sequence may be converted back to Premium OT only if Crew Scheduling once again designates the sequence as Premium OT while the sequence is in Open Time.

  4. A Flight Attendant who is on a Premium OT trip which changes when s/he arrives at the airport will be guaranteed no less than the number of TFP originally scheduled. S/he will be paid the premium attached to the originally-scheduled Premium OT sequence and paid that rate on all flights flown including surface deadhead in the revised sequence. If the revised sequence is worth less TFP than the originally-scheduled Premium OT sequence, the Flight Attendant will also be compensated the TFP value of the difference between the two paid at straight time. 

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Celebrating Black History Month

Leave a Comment

Human Rights Committee February 1st marks the first day of Black History Month in the United States.  The celebration has a long tradition that can be traced back to 1925 when Harvard trained-historian Carter G. Woodson introduced “Negro History Week”, which sought to raise awareness of the contributions made by Black individuals to society and the […]

Never Forget: Honoring Alaska Airlines Flight 261—January 31, 2000

Leave a Comment

Master Executive Council (MEC) Twenty-three years ago today, we tragically lost Alaska Airlines Flight 261, flying between Puerto Vallarta and San Francisco, when it went down in the Pacific Ocean between Port Hueneme and Anacapa Island off the coast of Southern California. We will never forget Flight Attendants Kristin Mills, Craig Pulanco and Allison Shanks; […]

LOSA Observations Are Underway

Leave a Comment

Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC) As previously communicated, AFA and management agreed to conduct a Line Operations Safety Audit (LOSA) to help improve safety for Flight Attendants, other crewmembers, and passengers.  The LOSA program is jointly administered by AFA and management as outlined in the Inflight Line Operations Safety Audit (LOSA) Program letter of agreement. The […]

Operational Safety Debriefs

Master Executive Council (MEC) In 2019, AFA filed grievance number 36-99-2-170-19, which alleged management’s violation of section 19.A of the collective bargaining agreement. The violation was related to an incident where management conducted a debrief meeting with Flight Attendants while they were still on duty following a slide deployment incident. As there was no contractual […]

Scheduling Committee Meeting Recap – January 2023

Scheduling Committee On Tuesday, January 24, our AFA Scheduling Committee Chairpersons 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), Jaqui Bellenie (SFO), Natalie Codd (LAX), and Kitty Cohen (SAN). Also […]

Response to the November 18th Inflight Town Hall Webcast

By

California meal & rest breaks Management’s continued scare tactics and speculative “what-if’s” as put forward during the Inflight Town Hall webcast today regarding California meal & rest breaks are unnecessary and extremely disappointing. Although it is true there are some challenging aspects of compliance with California meal & rest break laws for commercial aviation, AFA […]

ALPA Alaska Approves Tentative Agreement for Pilot Ratification

By

Master Executive Council (MEC) President Jeffrey Peterson The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) Alaska Airlines leadership recently announced they approved a tentative agreement (TA) with Alaska Airlines management for pilot ratification. Click here for the Alaska Airlines Pilots TA Quick Guide (September 2022) > At a quick glance, the TA contains impressive improvements to scope, […]

RSS Negotiations News

Recent Posts

News By Month

News By Category

AFA Alaska News Now Air Quality Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC) Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) 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 Committee Industry News Inflight Service Committee Inflight Training Committee JNC Blog Latest News Local Councils Master Executive Council (MEC) 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?

The best way to stay connected with up-to-date AFA Alaska news and information is through a subscription to AFA Alaska emails!  Click the button below to sign up.  Already a subscriber?  You can make changes to your email by clicking below!
Sign Up