Important Dates
- September 30 (Today!): Q3 CBT
- October 2: SFO Benefits Meeting
- October 2-16: Vacation Bidding Round 2
Reminder: SFO Benefits Meeting October 2
The SFO International Benefits Center, in conjunction with United Council 11 and Alaska Council 35, is sponsoring an online and phone session for Flight Attendants that have been impacted by the effects of COVID-19. Topics to be discussed include unemployment benefits, health care, job placement services and community resources.
To sign up for the next session on Friday, October 2nd, this link will take you to the online form. If you have specific questions you would like addressed, please ensure you complete the last item on the form. Should you need to contact SFO’s Business Center directly, they can be reached at 650-821-5242, or via email.A comprehensive brochure published by the SFO Benefits and Career Center which will help answer questions about the variety of services available.
CWA Database Crash: A message from AFA International
During this past week, the database at the AFA Membership Services Department experienced a significant technical disruption. While we are able to extract some member data, the problem limits our ability to access detailed information regarding your account. For example, if you need to pay outstanding dues, we are able to tell you the outstanding balance, but not the applicable month it covers. You would then be able to make payment by check or credit card (afacwa.org/payment).
If you have questions, you will find much information online (afacwa.org/membership). If you need to contact us, please use the following link: https://www.afacwa.org/contact_membership_services.
In advance, we thank you for your patience as all responses will be delayed as we perform the necessary changes to our database. If your question requires research into your membership account, we anticipate the response may be no sooner than November 1.
Trending Performance Investigations and Disciplines
CBT
Discipline for failing to complete quarterly CBTs are continue to trend. Flight Attendants returning from leave are given 60 days to complete CBTs. The Council 35 Grievance Committee has been successful in assisting FAs dispute discipline when evidence of technical difficulties exist. Being busy and forgetting to complete the CBT has not been accepted as extenuating circumstances to miss a CBT deadline and the discipline will remain. If more than one CBT deadline is missed, discipline will progress to higher steps on the discipline scale (ie 2 missed CBTs in 18 month period will escalate to a Written Warning).
Reserve Violations
Reserves that spend their reserve days out-of-base or not remaining within airport during airport standby continue to be investigated. Violations of the reserve proximity requirements will result in termination on the first offense. Please see JCBA§11 for rules regarding reserve availability periods.
Farewell to EO Flight Attendants
Council 35 officers would like to wish SFO Early Out (EO) Flight Attendants a fond farewell. On behalf of the SFO membership we would like to thank you for your years of service and for making the decision to retire to alleviate furloughs due to COVID-19. Best wishes to you and your family and best of luck in your next life adventure.
COVID-19 Safety Concerns Onboard
As reported in our September 9 Updates, service continues to put Flight Attendants at risk. Please continue to report any safety hazards that you experience while performing the expanded onboard service. This could include instances of increased exposure to passengers (e.g. passenger removing their mask to speak to you, etc.) or other hazards related to service. You can report these hazards through ReportIt! by submitting either a FAIR and/or ASAP for each flight on which they occur. Include the terms “COVID-19″ and “service” in your narrative to ensure they are correctly categorized by management. This data will help our AFA representatives to advocate for safe levels of service.
#ReliefNow
Flight Attendants should continue to pressure Congress to put in place #ReliefNow. Make the calls to your state’s Representatives and Senators:
SENATE: 888-848-4824
HOUSE: 888-907-9365
Sample Script:
“Hello, I am a constituent calling to ask my Senator/Representative to save my job as an essential worker and airline employee. An overwhelming majority of Congress supports an extension to the Payroll Support Program for aviation workers to avoid massive job loss in October and also to ensure there’s no cancellation of service to small communities. We need a COVID-19 relief package with our payroll support passed TODAY. Our jobs are on the line right now and millions are hurting without this relief! Keep us connected to our jobs, paychecks, & healthcare. We are counting on you. Thank you.”
You can also find local office information by looking up your Representative and Senators at house.gov and senate.gov. Visit the #ReliefNow page to find a mobilization event near you.
Contacting SFO 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
