Final Notice for Outstanding Dues Payment
by James Ikehara, Council 35 Secretary
There are several Flight Attendants in jeopardy of being terminated by January 31 for failure to correct their outstanding dues obligation. Final notices were sent on January 16, informing the Flight Attendant if the amount owed is not received by January 31, the company will move forward with termination, without the ability to dispute the discipline via the grievance process. This process is outlined in the JCBA §26.D.
Flight Attendants have one last supplemental income opportunity to help meet their dues obligation by using today’s PBP payout. Please note that payment needs to be received by AFA International before January 31, 2020, 2pm Eastern Time, in order for the payment to be successfully credited to the account.
To make a payment:
Have you recently moved or need to update your email address? Use the Change of Address link on the AFA-CWA website to make any changes and keep up to date with information regarding all union activities.
Preparing for RT 2020
We get it…it’s a mess. If you have any concerns or want to share about your Recurrent Training 2020 experience, please contact your Council 35 Officers for assistance. We are here to support you while preparing for the changes to the program and want to help alleviate any stress or trepidation Flight Attendants may be experiencing with the prospect of attending RT 2020. There have been many communications sent by both AFA and management regarding this issue and more is to come. AFA continues to strongly advocate for management to “do the right thing” and create a program that sets F/As up for success, not failure. Please stay tuned for more info as changes to the program are happening frequently. To review AFA publications regarding RT 2020, please visit the latest news on our website.
Understanding 480 for 2020
Welcome to a new year of benefits! As a reminder, L-VX F/As are no longer exempt from the 480 TFP requirement to maintain benefits for the following year (2021). Please familiarize yourself with the provisions that require the 480 TFP minimum in the JCBA:
- §13.D.6 Uniforms
- §16.L.4 Vacation
- §22.B.1-4 Eligibility for Insurance
- §32.G.4 Attendance
- §32 Addendum #26 Record Improvement
Calculators found on the Inflight Webpage can be useful for tracking yearly progress for attaining the 480 requirement. To navigate to the calculators: Alaskasworld>>Inflight Page>>Administration>>Calculators.
Trending SFO Disciplines
The Grievance Committee has seen the following trending issues in cases for discipline following a performance investigation:
- 10-hour rule violation on reserve
- Layover/hotel incidents
- Commuter policy
- Insubordination
- Holiday Sick Leave
If you have any questions about discipline and the performance investigation process, please contact your Council 35 Officers.
Reserve and the 10-Hour Rule
As a reminder, reserves that enter an on-call/availability period (RAP) are considered for potential duty at that time and the countdown for drinking abstinence would be 10 hours prior. For example: a reserve that goes on-call at midnight, would need to stop alcohol consumption before 1400 the day prior. This is also true if a reserve self-assigns a trip that has a scheduled show-time later than RAP start time. For example: a reserve that goes on-call at midnight, but has self-assigned a trip that has a show time of 0900, will still need to refrain from consuming alcohol before 1400 the day prior. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to reach out to the SFO Reserve Committee.
Commuter Policy FAQs
The Grievance Committee has represented many Flight Attendants flagged for investigation as a result of the commuter policy audit. Management has indicated that they will no longer be giving “grace” for unintentional misuse. Please familiarize yourself with the policy, which can be found on the Inflight Webpage: Alaskasworld>>Inflight Page>>Administration>>Commuter Form Instructions. The 3-month audit has identified common errors in commuter boarding priority usage. Please be aware that using D8Y listings is not permitted in the following situations:
- Commuting from a non-registered city as a result of dropping a DHD either before or after a pairing
- Commuting from a non-registered city as a result of picking up out of base
- Different cities other than officially registered cities unless part of an approved connection within FLY and required due to route structure or flight loads
- Commuting to/from base with registered cities but no trips on F/A’s schedule
- Partial OAL routing to/from base (i.e. commute part of the way on another airline and pick up an AS flight in a connecting city)
Honor System for Trading Trips
The Scheduling and EAP/Professional Standards (PS) Committees are still hearing about Flight Attendants “stealing” trips or giving away trips to F/As that don’t want them. Please be aware of your trading habits and do the courtesy of ensuring the other F/A is in agreement with the transaction. Your Council 35 officers and Scheduling Committee recommend that explicit details be included in the trade request. To initiate a trade, be sure to read and comply with all the conditions requested by the trade post. It is frustrating and disappointing that the current trading system does not allow for a more fail-safe trading procedure, however until that issue is resolved, please “do the right thing” and respect your fellow Flight Attendants whenever transacting a trade. If you find yourself with an unwanted trade, please reach out to EAP/PS for assistance. The company has taken the position to not participate in resolving any disputes regarding trips trades and will refer F/As to EAP/PS for assistance.
Air, Safety, Health & Security (ASHSC)
By Brad Young, ASHSC Chairperson and Council Representative
Boeing MRTs
MRTs will be added to Boeing since we will be losing the pin-backed name tags with our new uniform. They will be under the jumpseat like Airbus and Inflight and Engineering know it needs to be accomplished before the new uniform launches on 3/18/20.
Airbus Assist Handle
The ASHSC Chair and Vice Chair will be meeting in the hanger with the company on January 23rd to assess a subway strap type assist handle the company is proposing. It attaches to the L1 & R1 aft assist handles which the Company made unusable with the forward screen placement on Aura interiors. The original strap type handle proposed was so long that we were concerned it would get caught in the door or allow the F/A to swing out of the A/C while pulling the manual inflation handle. We do not have time line for adding these yet, but once approved and procured installation should happen fairly quickly.
A Joint Message from the Council 35 Hotel and Scheduling Committee
By James Bozanich, Hotel Chair andVirginia Fritz, Scheduling Chair
Now that the new year is upon us, we wanted to bring a couple items to your attention and let you know what recourse you have when things don’t exactly go as planned in regards to your overnight. As scheduling and hotel issues often share some overlap, this is a joint PSA between the Hotel and Scheduling Committee.
When rooms are not available upon check-in:
Please let Crew Scheduling know when you arrive and rooms are not ready. Keeping in touch with Crew Scheduling allows them to correct the situation more quickly. Once you have gotten your rooms please call Crew Scheduling to let them know as well. These calls record the length of your delay. Please email sfo.scheduling@afaalaska.org to let them know the time stamps of the delay as well the pairing and date affected. We will then reach out to crew scheduling to attempt to ask for additional compensation for your delay.
When company provided transportation is late:
When transportation is not provided within thirty-five minutes (:35) from block-in or within ten minutes (:10) of the scheduled departure time from the hotel, Flight Attendants will be reimbursed for the actual expenses incurred for transportation to or from the airport. This is laid out under Section 34.B of our contract.
The procedures to document and seek transportation:
- Call Crew Scheduling to notify of delayed transportation.
- Scheduling will first attempt to coordinate with API to find alternate transportation (including API to order an Uber for the crew).
- If that does not work, or in an extreme transportation delay, the Inflight MOD will skip the step above and use a business Uber or Lyft account to transport the crew. NOTE: the business Uber or Lyft is subject to availability and the priority for those accounts are FAs that are sick online or need transportation for testing
- If crew opts for their own transportation when delayed longer than contractual agreement, they will be reimbursed for any expenses incurred
Although there is a scheduling process in place to arrange alternative transportation, organizing your own transportation may be the quicker option in certain situations. However, scheduling MUST be notified first so that it can be documented. Please note that if you choose to organize your own transport, you will need to pay upfront and then submit for an expense reimbursement through PeopleSoft: Alaska’s World >> Benefits/Pay >>PeopleSoft Login >> Expense Reimbursement >> Expense Reimbursement (Add: for new expense reports). No expense report is necessary if the company arranges alternative transportation for you.
Don’t Miss Out on Free Money!
by Aladrian Hillmon, VP and Interim Benefits/Retirement Chair
Vanguard Group offers a Bi-annual retirement meeting in SEA to update the various Employee Union Retirement committees on the progress of our retirement plan.
During the meeting in November it was brought to our attention that 1200 of our flight attendants either aren’t enrolled in our retirement plan. This means they are not eligible to receive the 7.5% company match.
It is important to understand that company will match your contributions dollar for dollar up to 7.5%. Essentially that can be seen as “free money” added to your retirement the Alaska. Those funds have the potential to add up to a significant amount over the course of your career at Alaska.
We urge each of you to go onto Alaska’s World and read up on the retirement options that are available to everyone of us. Your Council 35 Officers would hate to see any of our members not take advantage of this investment. Please remember, this is an opportunity to invest in yourselves and your futures.
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)
- 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
