Important Dates Coming Up
- Hawaii Travel Declaration Forms (online only): September 1
- 2021 Vacation Bidding Opens: September 4
Payroll Support Program Extension
Although Congress has technically recessed for now, work to extend the Payroll Support Program (PSP) continues in earnest during the recess. If PSP were to be extended at any point and involuntary furloughs subsequently prohibited, AFA and management would meet and confer over any necessary changes to furlough mitigations and involuntary furloughs pursuant to the October 2020 Involuntary Furlough Mitigations Letter of Agreement. Realistically, that would likely lead to discussion regarding voluntary leave programs similar to those offered over the last five months. Want to help ensure PSP continues? Volunteers for the AFA phone bank are needed! Please contact your Council 35 officers for more information.
IVF in SFO
With 119 Flight Attendants involuntarily furloughed (IVF), SFO is second behind SEA in the number of FAs affected by the IVF. However SFO is the largest Alaska base to have been relocated to a new domicile. On behalf of your Council 35 officers, we are sad to see you go. Please reach out if you have any questions or need support while adjusting to the change and moving to a new base. To ensure you get all the AFA information you need for your new base, it is recommended that FAs update their newsletter preference online.
California Wildfires
Our hearts go out to SFO Flight Attendants that have been impacted by the California Wildfires. For support and more information please refer to the August 22 communication. SFO EAP is available to support those affected by the Wildfires: eap.sfo@afaalaska.org. If you wish to donate to those affected or would like to apply for financial assistance, please visit:
No OAL Travel on Leave
As reported in the July 2020 Newsletter, AFA has been advocating for employee use of OAL travel benefits during one of the many staffing leaves. Unfortunately your Council 35 officers are sorry to report that AFA was not successful in persuading the company to reconsider their position on OAL travel.
Stay Informed
Although Flight Attendants are not required to read company emails and bulletins while on leave, it is recommended that FAs keep current with all the latest information while on leave during this time of constant change. Additionally it’s important to ensure the personal email address on file with AFA is up-to-date. To change your contact information, please visit the AFA website to update email and/or mailing address.
Membership Dues While on Leave
As a reminder, Article II.C.1.b of the AFA Constitution & Bylaws require that AFA dues continue to be paid during any leave of absence less than 90 days. If you currently pay your dues through payroll deduction, dues payments will continue to be deducted as long as you continue to receive a paycheck with sufficient funds for all other payroll deductions plus your AFA dues. If you are no longer receiving a paycheck or your paycheck does not cover all of your payroll deductions, AFA dues will not be deducted and you will instead receive an invoice from AFA International Membership Services. Members can pay dues online or submit invoice payment via mail. Please contact membership services for specific account information.
EAP is Here to Help
These are extremely difficult and stressful times. Please remember that the SFO Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Committee is always available as a support resource. For help, please contact sfo.eap@afaalaska.org.
How do I contact Council 35 Officers?
Using a personal email address, the preferred methods of contact are:
- Open an Online Support Request ticket
- Officer group email sfo@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 35 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)
Please allow at least one business day for a response to any method of contact (email, phone, text).
Stay healthy and safe!
In solidarity,
Melissa, Aladrian, James and Brad
Melissa Osborne, LEC President • Melissa.osborne@afaalaska.org • 415-275-1322
Aladrian Hillmon, LEC Vice President • Aladrian.hillmon@afaalaska.org • 415-991-3791
James Ikehara, LEC Secretary • James.ikehara@afaalaska.org • 415-289-9011
Bradley Young, Council Representative • Bradley.young@afaalaska.org • 916-508-3503
