Important Dates and Information
SAN LAX SFO Membership Meeting May 6
The next membership meeting for Council 15 members will be Thursday May 6, 2021 on Zoom. The purpose will be to discuss the AFA Board of Director’s Meeting scheduled for May 13, 2021. This meeting will be a combined council meeting and open to all Council 15, 18 and 35 members in good standing (up-to-date on dues). If you have any agenda items to discuss or specific questions please submit to SAN@afaalaska.org by May 5th, 2021.
Performance Investigations and Disciplines
CBT
Discipline for failing to complete quarterly CBTs are continuing to trend. Flight Attendants returning from leave are given 60 days to complete CBTs. The Council 15 Grievance Committee has been successful in assisting FAs dispute discipline when evidence of technical difficulties exist. Being busy and forgetting to complete the CBT has not been accepted as extenuating circumstances to miss a CBT deadline and the discipline will remain. If more than one CBT deadline is missed, discipline will progress to higher steps on the discipline scale (i.e. 2 missed CBTs in 18 month period will escalate to a Written Warning).
Commuter Violations
Monthly audits are occurring, and Council 15 has seen disciplines for misuse lessen however there are still Flight Attendants that are using it incorrectly. Please be sure your registered cities are current and comply with guidelines set forth in the commuter program outlined on the FA webpage.
Grievance vs. Gripe
Not all concerns brought forward to AFA can be resolved by the union. Knowing the difference between a Grievance and a Gripe is key to understanding how we can assist you.
Grievance
A grievance is a formal challenge to management that our contract has been violated or that unjust discipline has been issued.
Example: “Charter flying was awarded out of seniority order.” We have specific contract language citing how Charter Bids will be awarded, therefore, this could be a grievance.
Prior to filing a grievance, your local union reps will attempt to resolve the concern with management, if that proves to be unsuccessful, a formal grievance may be filed.
Gripe
A Gripe is a complaint that is not a contractual violation.
Example: “It’s not fair that I was flown into a day off”. It may not seem fair, but it is contractual, therefore this would be considered a gripe. Or “I thought I had the day off because my flight canceled, why did I get a no show? This isn’t fair! Our contract states that you must report as scheduled if no contact is made with crew schedulingfor canceled flying, therefore this would be considered a gripe.
Occasionally we hear from members that are upset because they were unaware of contractual language or a company policy that has been violated. It’s everyone’s responsibility to know our work rules. Not knowing the rules doesn’t prevent management from issuing discipline.
Your SAN union reps are always available to help determine when a complaint is a gripe or a grievance. We are always willing to assist you with contract interpretation.
Please ensure that you have our contact information saved in your phone. You never know when you may need to reach out to us.
Employee Stock Purchase Plan
Enrollment is open for the Alaska Air Group Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP). The plan allows you to purchase company stock at a 15% discount from the fair market value on the offering date or purchase date, whichever is less.
To take advantage of this opportunity, you must enroll by 11:59 pm Eastern Time (U.S.) on April 20, 2021.
| • | If you’re already enrolled, no action is needed. You will be automatically re-enrolled at the rate you specified, or if you like, you can change your contribution rate now. |
| • | If you enroll or change your contribution rate, you must specify a contribution rate between 1%-10%. |
| • | If you want to learn more, view the ESPP Prospectus under Benefits/Pay on Alaska’s World or On Your Horizon. |
You must have a Schwab One® brokerage account in order to enroll. Use the “Open an Account” button to open your account or to link an existing Schwab One account to Equity Award Center®.
Please open your account as soon as possible because late enrollment requests cannot be processed.
Please see your Alaska email for more information.
Scholarship Opportunities
AFA Scholarship
The Association of Flight Attendant Scholarship Fund is intended to provide financial assistance to dependents of our active members who will be attending a college or university. Applications must be postmarked by April 10, and sent to the following address:
AFA Scholarship Fund
P.O. Box 56
Hartwood, VA 22471-0056
For more detailed information, visit the AFA website.
CWA Joe Beirne Scholarship
The Joe Beirne Scholarship offered by CWA is available to AFA Members as well as dependents. The deadline for applications is April 30. For more detailed information, visit the CWA website.
How Do I contact Officers
Using your personal email address (not Alaska), the preferred methods of contact are:
- Open an Online Support Request ticket
- Officer group email SAN@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 15 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)
In Solidarity,
Brice, Melanie, JR
