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    You are here: Home / San Francisco – Council 35 / Council 35 Officers

    Your Local Executive Council (LEC) Officers

    Took Office: July 1, 2022
    Term Expires: June 30, 2025
    AFA Election Category III
    Click here to view the certified election results


    Melissa Osborne

    LEC President

    Master Executive Council (MEC) Voting Member
    AFA Board of Directors Member

    Melissa’s first experience in the airline industry began in January 2001 when she was hired by Aloha Airlines. Based in Honolulu, Melissa enjoyed visiting exotic South Pacific destinations as well as domestic locations. Melissa became interested in serving her fellow Aloha Flight Attendants, and joined the AFA Grievance Committee in 2006. She served as support to the Grievance Committee Chairperson which included contract research and participation in arbitration hearings. Sadly her career at Aloha ended abruptly with the unexpected closure of the company in 2008.

    Shortly after Aloha’s demise, Melissa was fortunate enough to be hired by Virgin America in 2008. She and her children moved to San Francisco to help this great new company become an airline people loved. In addition to her flying duties, she served in a variety of roles to include Inflight Instructor, Red Carpet Facilitator, Refresh Design Team, Inflight Team Leader and Air Transportation Supervisor.

    In 2017 Melissa was appointed as the first AFA Local Council President for Virgin America Flight Attendants due to the merger with Alaska Airlines. Shortly after, she was elected as Transitional Local Council President representing San Francisco and Los Angeles, and worked hard to bring Legacy Virgin America Flight Attendants up to the standards that their Alaska counterparts enjoyed. Melissa was re-elected as Council 35 President in 2018, 2019 and 2022 representing San Francisco-based Flight Attendants.

    In 2019 Melissa was sworn in as delegate of the Maricopa Area Labor Federation (MALF) and in 2022 was appointed as Mobilization Chair. Melissa feels passionately about supporting the labor movement in Arizona and being a part of MALF provides her with the opportunity to represent the interests of working people at the state and local level.
    Melissa has been a resident of Phoenix for over 10 years and spends free time with her three grown children, dog and three Persian cats. She enjoys gardening, kayaking, hiking and working on home improvement projects.

    email sfo.lecp@afaalaska.org
    tel (415) 275-1322


    Virginia Fritz

    LEC Vice President

    Virginia has been a San Francisco based flight attendant since 2015 when she started her career at Virgin America. She has always had a passion for aviation since traveling as an unaccompanied minor at 5 years old. Her desire for aviation has led to working on a Zeppelin, being a Gate Agent, and an ATS. When Alaska Airlines bought Virgin America and she became a member of AFA, she jumped at the first opportunity to fight for Flight Attendants by serving as the C35 Scheduling Chairperson beginning 2018. In 2020 she was privileged to be able to join the PBS Committee and assist flight attendants feel confident bidding. She is honored and humbled to be elected to serve as the C35 LEC Vice President in 2022.

    When not advocating for fellow flight attendants, Virginia resides in Los Gatos, CA with her supportive and loving husband as well as their adorable pup, Strudel.

    email sfo.lecvp@afaalaska.org
    tel (408) 489-8200


    James Ikehara

    LEC Secretary

    James has been a San Francisco-based Flight Attendant since 2011 when he started his career with Virgin America. In addition to his flying duties, he participated in various activities with VX’s promo team, and was one of six crew members to certify our A320 ETOPS in Miami with the FAA. In 2017, he was initially selected to certify the A321 aircraft but stepped down to accept the role as transitional local council secretary for Council 35. After being reelected secretary in 2019, he was elected again in 2022, and appreciates all SFO-based FA’s for their encouragement and support. He looks forward to working with our members and LEC officers for the new 3 year term.

    Before starting his aviation career, he worked for Visa’s headquarters in Foster City, CA for almost 21 years and was director of their Executive Briefing Center during his last 12 years. James lives on the Big Island and when his schedule allows, spends his leisure playing the violin and viola with the Bohemian Club orchestra at their San Francisco city club, as well as attends yearly events at the Bohemian Grove in the Russian River.

    email sfo.lecs@afaalaska.org
    tel (415) 289-9011


    Brad Young

    Council Representative

    Brad has been a San Francisco-based Flight Attendant starting in 2010 with Virgin America in its early days of a few planes and a handful of destinations. Since the merger in 2017, he now has years of experience under his belt with the AFA representing over 6,500 Alaska Flight Attendants. Shortly after the Alaska Airlines and Virgin America merger, he was newly appointed local Air Safety, Health & Security Chairperson for the new SFO base.

    Some of Brad’s other key roles are representing Alaska’s Flight Attendants in the following two essential programs–The Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP) and Fatigue Review Board (FRB). Brad is also vice MEC Chairperson of the Air Safety, Health & Security Committee. In 2020/21 he also participated in the Boeing 737 MAX FAA proving runs and participated in delivery of the first MAX jet to Alaska Airlines as working Crew on its delivery flight ‘home’ to SeaTac.

    Brad is eager to continue working with the newly re-elected Council 35 officers Melissa Osborne and James Ikehara and newly elected Vice President, Virginia Fritz. Brad is also continuing in his role representing the San Francisco base after also being re-elected as Council Representative for an additional three year term. He would like to give a big thanks to the local members for their continued support and allowing their voices to be heard.

    email sfo.cr@afaalaska.org
    tel (916) 508-3503


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    February 1st marks the first day of Black History Month in the United States. This tradition dates back to 1925 when Harvard trained-historian Carter G. Woodson first introduced a week-long event to build awareness of the contributions made by Black individuals. Read more about Black History Month, learn about the accomplishments of Black Americans, and find out about events that you can take part in using the resource links below. Join the celebration by wearing your Black History Month AFA Pin during the month of February. If you need a pin, check with your Local Council for more information.
    Twenty-three years ago today, we tragically lost Alaska Airlines Flight 261, flying between Puerto Vallarta and San Francisco, when it went down in the Pacific Ocean between Port Hueneme and Anacapa Island off the coast of Southern California.
    The first set of observations under the Line Operations Safety Audit (LOSA) program begin today (January 27) and will continue through February 28. Similar to the Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP), participation in LOSA is entirely voluntary and identifying information such as Flight Attendant names, dates, and flight numbers are never associated with observation data. If you have any questions about the LOSA program, please don’t hesitate to contact the AFA members of the LOSA Steering Committee.
    Read details from our Negotiating Committee about Session 8 of contract negotiations, including a tentative agreement on Hotels and updates on current progress.
    AFA and management recently agreed to a defined process for when a debrief meeting with management needs to be conducted following an operational safety event. The agreement ensures protections for Flight Attendants while guaranteeing pay, duty day limitations, and AFA representation. Details can be found in the Operational Safety Debriefs Letter of Agreement (LOA).
    Our AFA Scheduling Committee Chairpersons met on Tuesday, January 24 to discuss their ongoing program of work to represent Flight Attendants interests related to lineholder scheduling. The Committee also met with management to receive updates and discuss issues and problems that Flight Attendants are experiencing with scheduling, pairings, and bidding. Your Local Scheduling Committee is available to answer questions, provide clarification, or help to resolve any lineholder scheduling-related issues. Please don’t hesitate to reach out!

    Latest News

    • Celebrating Black History Month
    • Never Forget: Honoring Alaska Airlines Flight 261—January 31, 2000
    • LOSA Observations Are Underway
    • AFA Alaska News in Review – January 27, 2023
    • Operational Safety Debriefs
    • Scheduling Committee Meeting Recap – January 2023
    • AFA Alaska News in Review – January 20, 2023
    • AFA Disaster Relief Fund – California Severe Storms
    • AFA Alaska News in Review – January 13, 2023
    • January 2023 MEC Meeting Recap

    Celebrating Black History Month

    February 1, 2023 Leave a Comment

    Human Rights Committee February 1st marks the first day of Black History Month in the United States.  The celebration has a long tradition that can be traced back to 1925 when Harvard trained-historian Carter G. Woodson introduced “Negro History Week”, which sought to raise awareness of the contributions made by Black individuals to society and the […]

    Never Forget: Honoring Alaska Airlines Flight 261—January 31, 2000

    January 31, 2023 Leave a Comment

    Master Executive Council (MEC) Twenty-three years ago today, we tragically lost Alaska Airlines Flight 261, flying between Puerto Vallarta and San Francisco, when it went down in the Pacific Ocean between Port Hueneme and Anacapa Island off the coast of Southern California. We will never forget Flight Attendants Kristin Mills, Craig Pulanco and Allison Shanks; […]

    LOSA Observations Are Underway

    January 27, 2023 Leave a Comment

    Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC) As previously communicated, AFA and management agreed to conduct a Line Operations Safety Audit (LOSA) to help improve safety for Flight Attendants, other crewmembers, and passengers.  The LOSA program is jointly administered by AFA and management as outlined in the Inflight Line Operations Safety Audit (LOSA) Program letter of agreement. The […]

    Operational Safety Debriefs

    January 26, 2023

    Master Executive Council (MEC) In 2019, AFA filed grievance number 36-99-2-170-19, which alleged management’s violation of section 19.A of the collective bargaining agreement. The violation was related to an incident where management conducted a debrief meeting with Flight Attendants while they were still on duty following a slide deployment incident. As there was no contractual […]

    Scheduling Committee Meeting Recap – January 2023

    January 25, 2023

    Scheduling Committee On Tuesday, January 24, our AFA Scheduling Committee Chairpersons met to discuss their ongoing work to represent our Flight Attendants and push for improvements in our workplace. Representing you at the meeting were Heather Reier (ANC), Rita Tillou (SEA), Melodie Anderes (PDX), Jaqui Bellenie (SFO), Natalie Codd (LAX), and Kitty Cohen (SAN). Also […]

    Response to the November 18th Inflight Town Hall Webcast

    November 18, 2022 By Jeffrey Peterson (MEC President)

    California meal & rest breaks Management’s continued scare tactics and speculative “what-if’s” as put forward during the Inflight Town Hall webcast today regarding California meal & rest breaks are unnecessary and extremely disappointing. Although it is true there are some challenging aspects of compliance with California meal & rest break laws for commercial aviation, AFA […]

    ALPA Alaska Approves Tentative Agreement for Pilot Ratification

    September 23, 2022 By Jeffrey Peterson (MEC President)

    Master Executive Council (MEC) President Jeffrey Peterson The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) Alaska Airlines leadership recently announced they approved a tentative agreement (TA) with Alaska Airlines management for pilot ratification. Click here for the Alaska Airlines Pilots TA Quick Guide (September 2022) > At a quick glance, the TA contains impressive improvements to scope, […]

    Masks Are No Longer Required in Airports or Onboard

    April 18, 2022 By Jeffrey Peterson (MEC President)

    The CDC and TSA report the federal mask mandate is no longer in effect after today’s court ruling. Additionally, Alaska Airlines management just announced via multiple channels that the mask mandate is lifted effective immediately on all aircraft.

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    Recent Posts

    • Celebrating Black History Month
    • Never Forget: Honoring Alaska Airlines Flight 261—January 31, 2000
    • LOSA Observations Are Underway
    • AFA Alaska News in Review – January 27, 2023
    • Operational Safety Debriefs
    • Scheduling Committee Meeting Recap – January 2023
    • AFA Alaska News in Review – January 20, 2023
    • AFA Disaster Relief Fund – California Severe Storms
    • AFA Alaska News in Review – January 13, 2023
    • January 2023 MEC Meeting Recap

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