Bernstein v. Virgin America Ruling
Since the ruling was announced (06/30/2022) Council 15 LEC Officers have been inundated with questions related to the potential impact to our base. At this point, we do not believe any decisions have been made. I personally feel the company has created unneeded panic before there is even a plan going forward.
Please review the following communications from AFA and look for updates as more information becomes available.
AFA News Now – Supreme Court Ruling on Bernstein v. Virgin America
Alaska MEC (06/30/2022)
“In our opinion, management’s various communications are largely speculative and suggest that somehow safety provisions and meal and rest breaks cannot coexist. Arguably, the meal & rest requirements are applicable only to CA-based FAs working for a CA-based airline solely on intra-CA flights (e.g., SFO-LAX but not SFO-JFK).Rather than focus on practical solutions, management simply continues to gripe about having to comply with this law. As the 9thCircuit Court of Appeals already told them more than a year ago, there are many ways to comply with this law.”
Meal and Rest- Don’t Exempt, Negotiate
AFA International (05/27/2022)
“Instead of meaningfully seeking to address the provisions of the law, airline executives have argued the most onerous outcomes of applied law. For example, one argument the industry makes is that this law will require augmenting crew on long haul flights. They mount this argument despite the fact that the case is limited to California-based flight attendants flying in California. The court did not address the applicability of meal and rest provisions to long-haul flying, which primarily would take place outside of California and therefore may not even fall under this law.”
AFA stands ready to work out a solution with management that is compliant with the law and is a mutually agreeable path forward for all stakeholders.
SAN Mobilization Chair Selected for Negotiations
We would like to thank those who expressed interest for the San Diego Mobilization Chair. Both candidates showed passion, knowledge, and drive and we were excited to have such strong candidates. With that being said, Samantha Wolff has been selected and accepted the position. She will attend training at the beginning of August with the other local mobilization chairs. More opportunities to get involved with the committee will be announced later this summer.
Samantha began her career as a flight attendant flying for Virgin America in 2011. She quickly upgraded to Inflight Team Leader which was the airline’s purser position, and flew as the ITL until the merger with Alaska Airlines in 2018.
She has a bachelor’s degree in fine art and is a painter, sculptor and photographer. She also has a background as a legal assistant. She and her husband, who is an Alaska captain and ALPA volunteer, are empty nesters for his 2 adult sons and they currently live in San Diego with their 3 rescue cats.
She is a passionate union advocate and although this is her first volunteer position with AFA, she is dedicated to provide our union members with timely information during membership surveys, contract negotiations and voting.
Email Verification
With negotiations quickly approaching, we want to make sure all emails are up to date. If you are using a company email address, please be sure to update it to a personal email address by clicking here. AFA does not send communications to the Company provided email. Over the next few weeks we will be reaching out to anyone with a company email address on file to make sure a personal address is listed or we will purge your information from the AFA data base.
Negotiations Survey Coming Soon
Get Ready for Our Negotiations Survey—Update Your Contact Information Now!
In just a few months, our Negotiating Committee will be conducting a Negotiations Survey of all Flight Attendants. The survey results will be used to help our Negotiating Committee prepare our Opening Proposal. When it’s ready to launch, the survey will be sent out to all Flight Attendants using the contact information on file with AFA. If your contact information has recently changed, update it as soon as possible so you can receive your invitation to complete the survey. Read more about our Negotiations Survey here.
Local Committee Updates
We have made some changes and additions to a couple of the committees
Reserve Committee
We want to welcome Rebecca Garcia as the New Reserve Chair and thank Joe Coneglio for his time as Reserve Chair.
New to Reserve? Familiarize yourself with Reserve [Section 11] & Hours of Service [Section 8] of the Contract and the Reserve Survival Guide. It may be found on your IMD. Search “Reserve” or go to ASFA Supplemental> Collective Bargaining Agreement> AFA Alaska Reserve Survival Guide.
If you believe you have received an illegal assignment, don’t hesitate to contact our local Reserve Committee. They have been helping members work through their concerns. When a contractual violation is identified- they can assist you.
Read more about the Reserve Committee here.
Uniform Committee
We want to welcome Jesus Perina Jr. “JP” as the New Reserve Chair and thank Denise Sheldon for her time as Uniform Chair and wish her well in her retirement from Alaska.
Don’t hesitate to contact our local Uniform Committee. They can assist you with any questions or concerns.
Read more about the Uniform Committee here.
A full list of Local Committees can be found here.
Questions and Concerns
Contact information for Council 15 committee members can be found on our website. You can also open an online support ticket and the appropriate rep will respond.
In Solidarity,
Brice McGee, President
Melanie Buker, Vice President
Stephen Couckuyt, Secretary
