Council #19 November Base Update
November 2017
Council #19 LEC Meeting was held on 11/1/2017. We were pleased to see a great turnout. Lots of great questions and suggestions from the attendees. Minutes are posted on the website and have been emailed to the base mailing list.
We’d like to welcome Danni Burk Peterson back to the SEA Benefits Committee. She will bring her knowledge and familiarity with maternity leaves to the Committee, joining LEC Benefits Chairperson Kathy O’Malley and committee member Leanne Canton.
Council Rep. Melinda Jorge and Government Affairs Committee member Jay Styger attended Government Affairs training in LAX in October. ASHSC members David Lake and Timothy Christian-Brookshire attended advanced training as well.
Committee members from all bases participated in a Benefits Training in late October in Seattle. Remember, Annual Enrollment for Benefits has been extended until 11/16/2017 for changes to be effective 1/1/2018. There were some initial glitches with the website but they appear to have been resolved. If you are having difficulty or have questions, Benefits Committee members will be available in the Ready room on the following dates:
- November 8th, 3pm-8pm
- November 9th, 6am-11am
- November 11th, 7am-12pm
- November 12th, 9am-5pm
- November 13th, 7am-12pm
We are well aware that there are continuing problems with JCTE (Crew Access) and with payroll errors. Please go to support.afaalaska.org to report payroll issues, scheduling problems and reserve concerns. Not only does this provide an opportunity for AFA to track trends in order to resolve problems, but it allows us to research each individual situation and respond.
We are finding that many Flight Attendants do not know how to track their hours and pay. Our payroll system is very complex with all the different rates, depending on each situation. The following guidelines may be helpful:
Flight Crew Pay Sheets live forever, unlike Rosters which currently vaporize after 60 days. To see a print out of what you were paid for, look at the Paysheet for the month at issue. You will also find your running sick leave usage and vacation totals in the upper right-hand corner of each sheet.
Save your original line award. Keep a screenshot of every change you make to your awarded line, and in particularly any trips that operate irregularly. Do the same with reserve assignments. This is the material you’ll need to determine whether or not you were paid properly for your flying or reserve duty, and to determine leave eligibility continuing health care benefits and vacation accrual during a leave.
With the start of winter, and the attendance issues, please copy and print or bookmark the following information to assist you in determining your legalities and pay: http://afanewsletters.org/docs/2/Irregular%20Operations.pdf.
We know that this feels like extra work and agree that it shouldn’t be necessary. It will be necessary information in order to file a ticket at support.afaalaska.org, so that we can resolve your issues as quickly as possible. Without supporting documentation, which can be easily attached to a ticket, it is much more difficult and time consuming to resolve individual issues and to track larger problems. Please know that we are working diligently to ensure that each problem is addressed and rectified as quickly as possible.
We’re growing! Our TSN number is increasing from 11 to 12 based on our increased base size. 53 new Flight Attendants from the most recent class are based in Seattle, and 58 from the next class will be in Seattle as well. Welcome to our latest additions to the Seattle base!
Inflight has just promised no Junior Assigning from 12/16-31, thanks to the increased Reserve coverage. They have also asked that you provide as much notice as possible (at least 30 days for a non emergency situation) when applying for a leave of absence.
This is the start of a hectic holiday season, and we wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving!
In Solidarity,
Terry, Jake, Adam, Melinda and Megan
