Council #19 Holiday Update
First, on behalf of your Local Council Officers and Committee members, we hope that all of our members had a chance to spend time with family and friends, and to celebrate the holiday season. While it caused some chaos, the snow in Seattle added a festive touch. This has been a very busy year, and at times both chaotic and frustrating. We look forward to the end of 2017, and a fresh start for 2018 .
There have been some major challenges with Crew Access, and with the interface with payroll. We are well aware of the anger and frustration. AFA and Inflight Management, up to and including the VP of Inflight are working on expediting resolution of these problems. We know that for many of you it does not feel like we are “doing anything”. That could not be further from the truth. We have filed grievances that were sustained, meaning that the company acknowledged that the errors and contract violations AFA brought forth that are resulting from Crew Access issues were valid and should be corrected. In many instances, the programming to do so has been delayed due to programming and other priorities. We continue to find this unacceptable.
We spend hours tracking down incorrect pay, missing trips, incorrect trip values, and other errors. We’re happy to do so. If you have an issue, please go to support.afaalaska.org, and open a ticket. The more information you can provide, including screenshots, the better. Should you have to do this? No. However, without this information, we simply cant track down your issues to get you the proper resolution. The Scheduling and Reserve Committees are compiling the top 5 problems from all bases, so that Management and AFA can resolve these ASAP.
Maternity? If you are currently pregnant, or planning to start or add to your family, you’ll be pleased to know that Danni Burk Peterson has returned to our Benefits Committee as a Maternity Specialist. There have been many fairly recent changes and improvements to our Maternity Leave policies and benefits. We’ve scheduled a maternity roundtable from 10-2 on February 8th, in the South Tower of the Sea-Tac Towers (same tower as 13 Coins). We’ll send out text alerts with address information closer to the date. If you plan to attend, please RSVP to benefitsassist@hotmail.com, with “Maternity Roundtable” in the subject line and your name.
We look forward to the New Year. Many changes are coming. Starting in 2018, Virgin America officially becomes Alaska Airlines, and their ITM’s become Alaska Flight Attendant’s. The Joint Collective Bargaining Committee continues to work on a single contract, which will bring the Council #35 members into our group. We welcome them!
Change can be challenging, and we’re sure there will be adjustments along the path to a single carrier. We hope that you feel supported, and free to reach out for assistance during the coming year.
In Solidarity,
Terry, Jake, Adam, Megan & Melinda
