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Representing the Flight Attendants of Alaska + Hawaiian

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Seniority Merger Update – October 27, 2017

The seniority merger process is well underway.  By now, you should have received your Seniority Verification Letter (SVL) at your home address.

If you did not receive it, you may request that a duplicate be sent to you by email.  To do so, send your request to the following email address: seniority@afacwa.org.  Your request must include your Name, Employee Number, Council/Base, and your Email Address.

To help explain where we are in the seniority merger process, we have included a timeline of events.  Note that the next date is November 24, the due date to notify us of any inaccuracies.  That is followed in January 2018, when we will work on the credit for training days and how to resolve same-day seniority dates.

Timeline of Events

Click to enlarge

May 22, 2017 AFA named as union for VX.  Seniority Merger Integration Committee (SMIC) Reps named for both AS & VX
July 19, 2017 SMIC kickoff training at AFA HQ in DC. Request sent to AS HQ for necessary employment data for AS & VX FAs
September 29, 2017 AS HQ provided AS & VX seniority lists that included seniority dates and dates of birth
October 10, 2017 Seniority Verification Letter (SVL) mailed to all FAs home address to confirm pre-merger seniority bidding date and birthdate
November 24, 2017 Deadline to respond to SVL, if inaccuracies exist.
January 2018 SMIC works to resolve any issues with pre-merger seniority bidding date and/or birthdate
January 2018 SMIC determines adjustments for initial training days and method for integrating same day seniority dates
January 2018 SMIC merges AS & VX seniority bidding list and publishes methodology used to merge of the joint list
Future Single Collective Bargaining Agreement ratified and final seniority bidding list published

As we move through the process, we will provide additional updates.

In Solidarity,

Your Seniority Merger Integration Committee – Sandra Morrow (AS), Rolando Teran (VX), Lynne Voigtsberger (VX) and Marie Maxwell (AS)

[AS] Vacation Open Time Trading Will Now Open Tonight

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants

After working to create a technical fix for the vacation trading system, management has advised us that they will be opening vacation open time trading tonight, Thursday, October 26.  Each base will open in hourly increments as shown below.

SAN 7 PM
PDX 8 PM
ANC 9 PM Pacific (8 PM ANC local time)
LAX 10 PM
SEA 11 PM

Further Conversation with Management to Be Had

Your AFA leadership is extremely disappointed and frustrated with the IT failure surrounding the delay in the start vacation open time trading. This is yet another occurrence in a long list of IT-related issues that continue to plague various company-related systems and negatively impact Flight Attendant quality of life.  We plan to have further discussion with management regarding this situation soon and will provide an update after that conversation has taken place.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Lisa Pinkston, Terry Taylor, Mario de’Medici, Melissa Osborne, Tim Green and Brice McGee

AFA Disaster Relief Fund – California Wildfires (Sonoma County)

The AFA Disaster Relief Fund is now open given the Presidential major disaster declaration, and individual assistance has been designated for Sonoma County.

We know that disasters can change lives forever. While we can’t stop destructive events from happening, we can, as a Union, assist our members with their recovery. AFA established the Disaster Relief Fund after September 11th to assist our members whose lives were placed in harms way. AFA members and retirees, whose primary residence is in the counties listed at www.afacwa.org/drf are eligible for $200.00 from the AFA-CWA Disaster Relief Fund. It is a gift made possible by the generosity of your fellow union sisters and brothers with AFA.

If you would like to apply for AFA-CWA Disaster Relief Funds, visit www.afacwa.org/drf and download the Disaster Relief Fund Application. There are multiple ways of submitting your application including:

  • Fax it to the International AFA EAP Department at 202-434-1411
  • Mail it to AFA-CWA EAP Department, 6th Floor, 501 Third Street NW, Washington D.C. 20001-2797.
  • Email the application information to lfoster@afanet.org
  • Phone in the necessary information to 1-800-424-2406.

If you wish to make a contribution either by check or electronic payment, please visit www.afacwa.org/drf for more information on donating.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Lisa Pinkston, Terry Taylor, Mario de’Medici, Melissa Osborne, Tim Green and Brice McGee

Alaska Airlines and Virgin America Flight Attendant Preliminary Seniority Lists

The following preliminary seniority lists were received from the Company and were used by the Seniority Merger Integration Committee to generate the Seniority Verification Letters (SVL) mailed on October 10, 2017. Posting of these lists satisfy the requirements of Section X.C.2.d of the AFA-CWA Constitution & Bylaws.

Alaska Airlines Flight Attendant Preliminary Seniority List > (password protected)

Virgin America Flight Attendant Preliminary Seniority List > (password protected)

(Password is located here in the emailed version of this communication.)

Due to the sensitive nature of this information, both lists are password protected. Please do not share or repost the password.

If you have any questions, contact the Seniority Merger Integration Committee at seniority@afacwa.org.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Lisa Pinkston, Terry Taylor, Mario de’Medici, Melissa Osborne, Tim Green and Brice McGee

Your Seniority Merger Integration Committee – Sandra Morrow, Rolando Teran, Lynne Voigtsberger and Marie Maxwell

Association of Flight Attendants 2017 Merger Negotiations Survey for Pre-merger Alaska Airlines and Pre-merger Virgin America Flight Attendants

Your AFA Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) has developed this survey to solicit feedback regarding your expectations for merger negotiations. Your participation is extremely important. Providing your union leaders with your input and support will better help us to represent you at the bargaining table.

Keep in mind that merger negotiations are a different process than regular negotiations. These talks are not under the jurisdiction of the National Mediation Board or Section 6 of the Railway Labor Act, and neither management nor AFA believes the entire contract is open for discussion. Therefore, discussions are focusing on transitioning the Virgin America Flight Attendants to the Alaska contract and on a very short list of potential improvements to the Alaska contract that will benefit Flight Attendants from both groups.

The survey is now open to all Alaska Airlines and Virgin America Flight Attendants and will close on Friday, October 13, 2017, at 9am Pacific Time.

(Survey link is located here in the emailed version of this communication.)

For security reasons, the survey link will be included only in the emailed version of this communication and distributed to personal email addresses on file in the AFA Newsletter Sending System. The survey link will not be available on the afaalaska.org website nor on social media, and AFA requests that you do not repost the link.

If you have any questions or if you need the survey link sent to you, email the Joint Negotiating Committee from a personal email address. If you have a requesting a survey link, please provide the following for verification purposes: your name, employee number and current domicile.

In Solidarity,

Your Joint Negotiating Committee – MEC President Jeffrey Peterson, Jennifer Wise MacColl, Jamie Cogen, Lindsey Steele and AFA Senior Staff Negotiator Paula Mastrangelo

Human Rights & Equity Committee Meeting Recap – 1st Quarter 2026

On Wednesday, March 25, our AFA Human Rights & Equity Committee Chairpersons met to discuss their ongoing activism to raise awareness and create positive change within our workplace and community. Your representatives attending the meeting included Louise Borras (LAX-pmAS), Bruni Agosto-Pinal (LAX-pmHA), Aaron Miller (PDX), Nyachan Chuar (ANC), and Yan Yan Teague (SEA). MEC Human […]

Pre-Merger Hawaiian Inflight Service Committee Update – March 2026

Editor’s Note: Our MEC Inflight Service Committee now represents both pre-merger airlines, but management still makes service decisions that affect each group of Flight Attendants differently. This update covers changes for both Hawaiian- and Alaska-branded flying, but is specific to aircraft flown by pre-merger Hawaiian Airlines crews. As the work of the merger progresses, we […]

Joint Contract Negotiations Session 13 – March 2026

Our JNC met this week for three days of collective bargaining with management. The JNC focused on clarifying questions about moving expenses and presented a proposal for Sick Leave, using feedback from Flight Attendants to guide improvements. The Committee is working to incorporate the strongest elements from both contracts to ensure better support for all members.

Scheduling Committee Meeting Recap – March 2026

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants On Tuesday, March 24, our pre-merger Alaska AFA Scheduling Committee Chairpersons and Representatives met virtually to discuss their ongoing work to represent our Flight Attendants and push for improvements in our workplace. Representing you at the meeting were Rebekah Olds (ANC), Rita Tillou (SEA), Melodie Anderes (PDX), […]

Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee Meeting Recap – March 2026

On Thursday, March 19, our AFA Local Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC) 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 Bradley Young (SFO), Carin Merritt (LAX pmAS), David Lake (SEA pmAS), Deb Wallstrom (ANC), Eva Gatus […]

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