Council 35 News – February 2020

Membership Meeting April 23 in SFO

Alaska Council 35 and United Council 11 will host a combined membership meeting in preparation of the AFA Board of Directors (BOD) meeting.  The purpose of the meeting will be to discuss the BOD agenda and how members would like AFA leaders to respond to proposed agenda items.  More information such as location and time will follow in a future communication.

What You Need to know About COVID-19

• Alaska’s World – 2/27 Update
• CDC Travelers Information
• CDC Crew Guidance
• AFA International

Updates regarding the COVID-19 (coronavirus) and its progress have been constantly changing.  To stay informed on the latest news and helpful information for crewmembers, please visit:

Recurrent 2020

The Recurrent 2020 training program is still a hot topic for Flight Attendants.  AFA continues to advocate for management to “do the right thing” and create a program that sets F/As up for success.  Many communications have been published by the MEC in the last several weeks and there is more to come. Please stay tuned by visiting the latest news on our website.  If you have any concerns or issues regarding RT 2020 please submit an online support request  for your Council 35 officers to review and investigate.

CSAs and Pro Stands

Professional Standards (PS) should always be the first point of contact whenever Flight Attendants find it difficult to work together.  In the event you find yourself contemplating “turning someone in” to management, please consider Professional Standards as the first step in this process. Part of the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) committee, PS committee members are trained to help facilitate a conflict resolution process between the affected Flight Attendants.  All this is done in a safe and confidential environment, without involving management.  PS can also facilitate conflict resolution with other Alaska Airlines work groups, such as pilots and Tech Ops.  If your issue involves a CSA, unfortunately PS is not an option.  Please bring the issue forward to your base supervisor and/or submit an incident report.  For a confidential consultation, please contact EAP/Professional Standards Committee at sfo.eap@afaalaska.org. 

Scheduling Concerns

Flight Attendants who encounter operational issues while on duty often find themselves frustrated or in disagreement with a scheduler should reach out to the scheduling Manager on Duty (MOD).  If you believe a scheduler has not followed SOP or has not followed contractual guidelines for an assignment, please request to speak to the MOD at the time of the event.  Keep in mind that if you are unable to resolve the conflict at the time of the event, be prepared to “fly in protest” and present the issue to your base scheduling committee for follow up with crew scheduling management.  With more information, scheduling committee members and crew scheduling management can more efficiently research flight attendant inquiries and determine a resolution.  The best way to contact the SFO scheduling committee is by opening on an online support ticket. This portal will allow dialog and provides a convenient place for uploading all supporting docs and screenshots.

Trending Discipline

Positive DOT Drug Test:  

• If you take medications that result in a positive test (ie Adderall for ADHD) be sure your prescriptions are up-to-date.  If you feel the drug test facilitator is not following DOT guidelines for collection, comply to the test, but follow up with an incident report to drug abatement later.  A refusal to submit to a test is the same as a positive result and will result in termination.

CBT:  

• Please remember to do your CBTs on time!  The Council 35 grievance team has filed many grievances as a result of automatic discipline issued for failure to complete CBTs by the deadline.

Commuter:  

• Monthly audits are occurring and Council 35 has seen disciplines for misuse lesson however there are still Flight Attendants that are using it incorrectly.  Please be sure your registered cities are current and comply with guidelines set forth in the commuter program outlined on the FA webpage.

Missing Required Items:  

• Misplacing, losing or forgetting to bring a required item to work will result in discipline. 

Uniform Update

by Lisa Mueller, Uniform Chair
March 18th our new uniforms launch!  We want you to have the smoothest transition possible into the new uniforms.  Be sure you are ready!  Uniforms, coats, shoes, etc. all need to compliant with the new uniform standards March 18th.

Try it on!

• If you haven’t already, try on all of your new uniform pieces as soon as possible! We want to make sure you have everything you need for the March 18th launch.   Wrong size?  Wrong item?  Wrong whatever?  Contact Unisync and let them know ASAP!  Right now they are making it as easy as possible to exchange items.  Send back your items right away to expedite things!

Missing Items

• For those of you who have not received your uniform bottoms (skirts, pants, etc.), they have arrived at the distribution site and are being shipped out now.  If you haven’t received a tracking number regarding your shipment by February 28th, contact Unisync.

Footwear

• Due to production issues and delays associated with the coronavirus, the shoes designed by Luly Yang won’t be arriving until this summer…several months after the new uniform launches.  You can still pre-order the Luly shoes from the company store but be sure you have an alternate compliant uniform shoe option ready to wear on March 18th!  Alaska also partnered with zappos for shoes, which makes it easy to order shoes that Alaska has pre-approved.  Not every shoe can be worn with every uniform option.  Some options can only be worn with the pants or during cold weather months.  Please refer to the uniform guideline for more information.

2019 Allotment Rollovers and 2020 Allotments

• Flight Attendants should receive the allotment rollover by April 8, 2020.

Luggage

• Be sure to switch to your new luggage!  If you are still carrying Virgin America branded luggage and haven’t received the replacement luggage, contact your supervisor.

Special Circumstances?

• Be sure to contact your supervisor as soon as possible if you have any special circumstances such being out on leave, maternity uniform concerns, delayed uniform shipments, etc.  Your supervisor can help ensure any special circumstances or concerns are documented and ensure the smoothest transition possible.

Helpful Uniform Links

• Uniform Policy Guide
• Alaska’s Uniform page
• Shoe guidelines
• Luly Yang shoes
• Alaska at Zappos
• Contact Unisync:  1.833.525.2752 or alaskaservice@unisyncgroup.com

In their own words…

On February 4, Council 35 had four new committee members attend Committee 101, the AFA training program for first time committee members.  Your Council 35 officers are happy to introduce the following new members:

Shonna Schroedl – Hotel Committee

Shonna began flying for Alaska Airlines in Fall of 2017, fulfilling her life-long goal of working as a flight attendant.  Prior to coming on board with AAG, Shonna worked for 20+ years in meeting and event management.  Shonna was fortunate to be able to work in a variety of meaningful positions with international organizations in high tech and sports.  As a meeting manager, Shonna planned, organized and implemented meetings in locations around the world.  Her work included hotel sourcing, site selection and contraction negotiation. She was the Portland Venue Coordinator for the 1999 and 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cup, hosting many national teams and international government officials and VIPs.  Shonna resides in Happy Valley, Oregon with her husband and children.  She is proud that she and her husband have gotten 3 out of 4 children to adulthood, with one still in elementary school.  Her youngest son, Adin was just named to the US Paralympics Swimming team for 2020.  Shonna volunteers on several boards – she is one of 8 Adult Commissioners for US Soccer Federation,  and serves on the Order of the O – the alumni athletes board for University of Oregon.

Andrew Gonzalez – Reserve Committee

Andrew has been flying at Alaska since January 2018. He was raised in New York City, where he attended Columbia University and obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in History. Prior to joining Alaska, Andrew flew for Norwegian Air Shuttle from June 2016 – January 2018, where he primarily flew international flights to Europe on the 787 Dreamliner. After serving 18 months on reserve in Seattle, Andrew felt compelled to assist reserves in San Francisco as they maneuvered the new terrain of reserve life. Given his prior experiences working with lawyers during his time in college, he figured his understanding of legalese and contracts would help in navigating the nuances of our contractual language. In his role as reserve committee member, Andrew wants to make himself available and assist new flight attendants with their transition to reserve life at Alaska. Starting out can be very intimidating, but having someone to turn to can help alleviate some of the stress.

Mariana Pappageorge – Air Safety, Health & Security Committee

Mariana started her aviation career with Virgin America in October of 2013. During her time with Virgin America, she was an Inflight Team Leader and Air Transportation Supervisor. In addition to flying, she participated in various promotional events with the Promo Team and helped with the certification of the A321 Neo aircraft as a cadre crew member. Aiding the merge of Alaska Airlines and Virgin America, Mariana was on a special assignment in the cabin safety department and was a part of manual merging and assisting in the day to day operation and safety in the flying world.  Mariana is very proud to be Greek and is an avid Bay Area sports fan.  

Amanda Sawicki – Air Safety, Health & Security Committee

Amanda is originally from Colorado and found flying around 4 years ago through a family friend. She inspired Amanda to give it a shot and she never looked back. On her days off you can find her borrowing a friend’s dog for a hike or commuting to visit scattered friends and family. During sits at the airport she is often laughing at comedians online or talking herself through a Duolingo lesson. Amanda is excited to learn more and to help support our inflight team.

Committee Openings

Committee member openings in the following committees:

Benefits

Human Rights (chair)

Retirement

Scheduling

Members interested in these positions may submit a letter of interest to your Council 35 officers. 

How do I contact Council 35 Officers?

The best way to contact Council 35 officers is via email using a personal email account. The preferred methods of contact are:

• sfo@afaalaska.org (this is the group contact for all officers-if one officer is flying /unavailable the other officers can respond)
• Individual officer emails (if information is for a specific officer)
• Open an online support ticket
• Calls/text (if situation requires more urgent attention)

When contacting Council 35 Officers please avoid the following methods:

• Sending to/from alaskaair.com 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).  

In solidarity,

Melissa, Aladrian, James and Brad