Grievance LOA
The new VX Grievance Procedure Letter of Agreement (LOA) has been a great benefit to Virgin America and Council 35 has already filed 12 grievances on behalf of VX Flight Attendants—three have been contractual, five terminations and four disciplinary cases. Additionally, Council 35 officers have been in attendance for more than 40 meetings as official representation since taking office in April. In many cases, the need for a grievance was avoided due to diligent advocacy.
Contractual Grievances Filed
Grievance No. 36-35-2-2-17: A Flight Attendant was forced to attend a disciplinary meeting prior to a trip that resulted in an adjustment of report time. This was a violation of Section I.A.1.b Lineholder Investigatory or Work Performance Meetings which clearly defines when meetings may take place. This grievance was sustained (granted).
Grievance No. 36-35-2-9-17: A Flight Attendant was denied AFA representation and offered representation by someone outside of AFA leadership. This was a violation of Section I.A.1.a Failure to Provide Union Representation which clearly states that all Flight Attendants will be given the opportunity to obtain appropriate AFA Union representation for any investigatory/disciplinary meetings with management. This grievance is pending.
Grievance No. 36-35-2-10-17: Two Flight Attendants were denied due process when they were prevented from exercising their right to the grievance process. This grievance cited two violations of the LOA. The first was a violation of Section I.A.1 Failure to Provide Notification and the second was a violation of Section I.A.2 Denial of the Grievance Process. This grievance is pending.
Disciplinary Grievances Filed
To date, nine grievances have been filed on behalf of Flight Attendants disputing discipline that was issued (for privacy, details of the grievances cannot be revealed). In most cases Flight Attendants and AFA believed that the discipline issued was too harsh for the violation, treatment was considered disparate (not equal or fair) and several were filed by teammates that were terminated. Labor relations sustained one grievance prior to the hearing, several are still pending a hearing date and/or decision from management, and one was denied and sent to System Board (arbitration). One termination grievance was sustained due to failure of management to adhere to established timelines, which resulted in the Flight Attendant returning to work fully restored.
Please stay tuned for more updates on the progress of currently filed grievances. If you have any questions about the grievance process, please review the LOA that defines the process as well as the July 5 Council 35 News that defines “at will” vs. “just cause” employment relationships. If you need assistance or have questions regarding a potential grievance, please reach out to your Council 35 officers for assistance. You can reach us at vx@afaalaska.org.
In Solidarity,
Your Council 35 Officers – Melissa & James
