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[pmAS] MEC Grievance Committee Payroll Representative Interviews

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants

Background

The MEC Grievance Committee Payroll Representative is responsible for working with management to resolve Flight Attendant payroll discrepancies.  The Representative works closely with the MEC Grievance Committee Chairperson, Scheduling Committee, and Reserve Committee to gather Flight Attendant payroll concerns and represents the position of the MEC in interactions with management.

Additional Information from the MEC Policy Manual

The following language is contained in Article VII.F.3 (Grievance Committee, Payroll Subcommittee) of the AFA Policy & Procedure Manual

A.  Scope

(i)  The Payroll Subcommittee will work with the company and the Inflight Payroll Department to resolve Flight Attendant pay concerns with management.

(ii)  The Subcommittee will represent and advocate for the MEC position in matters pertaining to Flight Attendant pay

B.  Policy/Responsibilities

(i)  The Payroll Subcommittee shall consist of the MEC Grievance Committee Payroll Representative

(ii)  The Subcommittee shall:

(A)  Review activity claim forms and other Flight Attendant pay claims as needed.

(B)  When pay is correct, provide Flight Attendants with an explanation and applicable contractual citations explaining how the pay is correct.

(C)  Meet with management on a regular basis to discuss, review, and resolve Flight Attendant pay discrepancies.

(D)  Attend and participate in the Scheduling Review Board.

(E)  Meet regularly, but no less than weekly, with the MEC Grievance Committee Chairperson to discuss the needs, interests, and challenges of the subcommittee.

(F)  Meet regularly, but no less than bi-weekly, with the MEC Scheduling Committee Chairperson and MEC Reserve Committee Chairperson to review and provide updates on work of interest to the committee(s) and subcommittee.

Qualifications

  • Robust working knowledge of scheduling, reserve, hours of service, and compensation provisions of the Flight Attendant collective bargaining agreement.
  • Ability to maintain office hours in Seattle during the business week and attend meetings as required.
  • Strong computer skills. Excellent working knowledge of Jeppesen Crew Access (JCA), Google email, osTicket, and Microsoft Office.
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills. Ability to write communications, respond professionally to internal and external e-mail, track issues, prepare reports, and plan meeting agendas and take minutes.
  • Ability to meet deadlines and follow up on assigned tasks.

Duties

  • Provide assistance and guidance to Local Benefits, Grievance, Scheduling, and Reserve Committees in handling Flight Attendant pay concerns and issues. Assist in resolution of issues as needed.
  • Attend meetings with management and represent the AFA position on Flight Attendant pay-related matters.
  • Participate in the Scheduling Review Board process. Participate in Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) meetings when requested.
  • Schedule, plan, and conduct monthly meetings of the committee and other meetings and conference calls as needed.
  • Coordinate with the MEC Scheduling and Reserve Committee Chairpersons to address and resolve open issues.
  • Correspond with the Local Benefits, Grievance, Scheduling, and Reserve Committee Chairpersons and MEC regularly to provide status updates. Prepare and send a monthly activity report to the MEC Grievance Committee Chairperson for inclusion in the monthly committee report to the MEC.

Time Commitment and Flight Pay Loss Reimbursement

  • This position will receive 75 TFP of Flight Pay Loss (FPL) per month in accordance with a letter of agreement with the company, paid with a 5% override at “A” pay.
  • Time commitment is approximately three days per week in Seattle with additional work completed remotely or in the office as necessary. No relocation or accommodation expense is provided for this position.
  • The MEC Grievance Committee Payroll Representative does not bid a line.

Working Relationships

With The MEC Grievance Committee

This position works directly on a day-to-day basis with the MEC Grievance Committee Chairperson and Representative. Frequent interaction with Local Grievance Committee Members.

With Other MEC Committee

Constant interaction with the MEC Committee Chairperson and Local Committee Chairpersons of the Benefits, Scheduling, and Reserve Committees. Frequent interaction with Local Committee Members of each committee.

With The Master Executive Council

This position reports to the Master Executive Council through the MEC Grievance Committee Chairperson. The MEC executive sponsor for the committee is the MEC President.

With Alaska Airlines Management

Constant interaction with inflight management, particularly the Manager of Crew Pay (Debbie Bakke), Supervisor of Crew Pay (Michele Carcalean), Director of Inflight Crew Scheduling (Denia Pisia), Crew Pay Analysts, and Inflight Crew Scheduling Duty Managers.

Expressing Interest and Interview Scheduling

  • The MEC will hold interviews during the May MEC meeting on Wednesday, May 16. No trip drops or scheduling adjustments are available to attend the interviews.
  • Interviews will be at the AFA Alaska MEC office in Seattle.
  • Submit a declaration of interest and resume to MEC Secretary-Treasurer Linda Christou at linda.christou@afaalaska.org no later than 5 PM Pacific Time on Friday, May 4, 2018. Linda will be able to provide additional information regarding transportation and booking of flights if necessary.

In Solidarity,

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

Transition Training

As part of the merger between Alaska Airlines and Virgin America, Flight Attendants from both pre-merger airlines will need to be trained to work on the aircraft of the other pre-merger airline in order for crews to be able to fully integrate.

Transition training will take place regardless of whether or not the pending joint collective bargaining agreement (JCBA) is ratified.  All Flight Attendants, both pre-merger Alaska and pre-merger Virgin America, will be qualified to work both Boeing and Airbus aircraft by the end of 2018.  If the JCBA is ratified, all Flight Attendants will be able to fly on both aircraft types once full integration takes place (currently scheduled for the March 2019 bid period).  If the JCBA is not ratified, pre-merger AS and VX Flight Attendants will continue to re-certify on both aircraft types during recurrent training each year starting in 2019, but will not be able to serve as a working crew member on the other pre-merger fleet of aircraft until a JCBA is ratified.

Airbus Transition Training

For Pre-Merger Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants

Airbus transition training will take place between July and November 2018.  Pre-merger Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants will attend two, 8-hour days of transition training in either ANC, SEA, PDX, or LAX.  SAN F/As may bid into any location that has scheduled training sessions.  Similar to recurrent training, there will also be a 4-hour computer based training (CBT) that needs to be completed before attending class.

AFA and management have signed a letter of agreement pertaining to Airbus transition training, which you can view by clicking here.

Bidding

Pre-merger Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants will bid for transition training between April 21 and May 4; awards will be posted by May 10.  All available training dates will be available for bid during this process.  Bids will be awarded in seniority order.  If you do not submit a transition training bid, you will be assigned a training date by management.

Boeing Transition Training

For Pre-Merger Virgin America Flight Attendants

Boeing transition training will take place between July and October 2018.  Pre-merger Virgin America Flight Attendants will attend two, 8-hour days of transition training in either SFO or LAX.  Similar to recurrent training, there will also be a 4-hour computer based training (CBT) that needs to be completed before attending class.

Bidding

Pre-merger Virgin America Flight Attendants will bid for transition training one month at a time.  Bids will be awarded in seniority order; if not enough Flight Attendants bid for the available training dates in a given month, FLICA will assign the dates in inverse seniority order until all classes for the month are full.

Management will be communicating specifics on when bidding will occur and when awards will be posted for each month.

Questions?

Management will be putting out more information about transition training within the next several weeks.  If you have additional questions, please contact your Local Council Officers.

In Solidarity,

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

JNC Update – Top FAQ and Voting Reminder

Your Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) has put together the following compilation of the more frequently asked questions that have been submitted to the JNC blog in order to help ensure that the most accurate information is available.

Most Frequently Asked Questions & Answers

Q.  Is it true there is a pay “difference” or two different pay rates?

A.  There is no difference in pay, but there are two different pay scales because there are two different systems: One in TFP and one in BLOCK HOURS.

TFP is a pay rate based on distance while BLOCK HOURS pay rates are based on flight time.  The conversion rate is 1.13 TFP = 1 BLOCK HOUR

The JNC has developed additional resources that help provide greater explanation into the difference between TFP and Block Hours.  You can find these resources here:

Q.  Does the Red Circle LOA carry over into Bidding Seniority?

A.  The additional service credit does not count toward bidding for monthly schedules, Flight Attendant domiciles or vacation.  It determines the initial rate of pay (if the TA is ratified) that a Flight Attendant will be held at until their occupational seniority catches up with them.

All Bidding is based on occupational (Flight Attendant service) seniority.

Q.  Why can L-VX Flight Attendants vote without paying dues and L-AS Flight Attendants have to be current?

A.  AFA International policy is that members at carriers without a first contract do not pay dues. L-VX Flight Attendants do not have a first contract – their Work Rules are not contractual, were not bargained over, are not enforceable, and can be changed by management.

Article XI.A.10 [Dues & Assessments: Dues-Active Members] of the AFA Constitution & Bylaws state that Flight Attendants at carriers without a first contract (e.g. Virgin America) do not pay dues until there is a ratified first agreement.

Q.  If we vote this down will it keep Alaska from redeploying the Fleet?

A.  It is important to remember that no base “owns” particular flying or routes. Crew Planning can move network flying around the system and has consistently done so over the years.  The same is true of the aircraft.  Airbus and Boeing aircraft can be shifted around the network.  Can it be done as efficiently with two separate groups of Flight Attendants as opposed to one combined group?  No.  However, the pilot group will be combined.  Other carriers have combined despite pre-merger Flight Attendant groups remaining separate (United and American Flight Attendant groups are slated to combine this October).

Q.  In the Summary of the Tentative Agreement (TA) that was sent with the voting information, why are the percentage increases over the life of the TA different for each pay step and the smallest for those at the top of the scale?

A.  The pay step percentage increases over the life of the TA include increases due to Flight Attendants “moving through the scale” (i.e. advancing from one pay step to the next – Year 10 → Year 11 → Year 12, etc.).   This adds several dollars to a Flight Attendant’s pay rate in addition to the annual percentage increases to the entire pay scale (4.5%, 1.5%, 1.5%, 2.5%).

Flight Attendants who are at the highest pay rate, or “topped out”, receive the percentage increases to the entire pay scale (4.5%, 1.5%, 1.5%, 2.5%), but do not have additional steps.  The compounded rate of all the percentage increases equals 10.35%.

Flight Attendants who are at the top pay step do receive the Longevity Premium at the appropriate years of service and that has not been included in the percentage increase calculation.

Q.  What was the change with PPP and vacation?

A.  If ratified the current QPP program will change to the PPP program. The new program would be based on five total blocks:

A single combined block of 8 months: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Sep, Oct, Nov, payout is $1100- worked TFP must be 40.0 TFP more than your combined PBS bid awards (Plus 40.0 TFP can be achieved in any combination of months).

Four individual blocks: Jun, Jul, Aug, Dec, payout is $350 for each month- worked TFP must be 5.0 TFP more than your PBS bid for each month.

Unlike the current QPP program, vacation is included towards achieving your totals.

More information can be found in the JNC Blog post regarding the Productivity Premium Program (PPP).

Voting Reminders

As a reminder, voting ends on Tuesday, April 3 at 9 AM Pacific time.

If you have not received your voting instructions and activation code or are having difficulty voting, please contact the AFA Ballot Helpline.  The reach the Helpline, call (800) 424-2401 and choose option 1, then enter extension 706.

Flight Attendants who have dues or membership issues should call AFA Membership Services at (800) 424-2401 and choose option 7.

AFA Membership Services Closed on Friday, March 30

Please note that AFA International Membership Services will be closed on Friday, March 30 for the Good Friday holiday.  Messages left on the Ballot Helpline or Membership Services voicemails will be returned the next business day.

AFA Membership Services will resume normal operating hours on Monday, April 2.  Normal operating hours are 9:30 AM to 5 PM Eastern time.

In Solidarity,

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

Custom Uniforms: Let Management Know What You Think!

Just over two months ago, Alaska’s new Luly Yang-designed custom uniforms were unveiled at a company event in Seattle.  Since then, a group of wear testers (including many members of the AFA Uniform and Air Safety, Health, & Security Committees) have been wearing the new pieces on the job.  Wear testers have been providing regular feedback regarding every aspect of the uniform from how much stretch and give the pieces have to how well the pieces hold up to washing and drying.

Whether you’ve had the chance to see a wear tester with the custom uniform in person or you’ve only seen pictures online, your AFA Uniform Committee wants to make sure that you’ve had the chance to let management and the design team know what you think about the custom uniform.  Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts about the custom uniform, both positive and negative, by using the online uniform feedback survey (click here to access).  Not all of the pieces currently being wear tested will make it to the final uniform program; your feedback is critical to let management know what you want to see included.  The online feedback site will close on Thursday, March 22, so you only have a short time left to ensure your voice is heard!

If you have any other questions about the custom uniform or the wear test, please contact your Local Uniform Committee.

In Solidarity,

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

[pmAS] Follow Up to April Bid Re-Award

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants

On Tuesday, March 13, AFA released information about the April bid re-award that recently took place.  The initial need for a re-award came about after several bid protests were filed based on the original April line awards.  After further investigation, the protests were found to be valid and the error occurred due to programming in the new web app user interface of Navblue PBS.  The programming error affected the bids of 22 Flight Attendants which required that action be taken to properly honor those bids. Resolving the bid protests was bound to have an impact on the previously awarded lines of Flight Attendants beyond those who initially filed bid protests.

After Navblue corrected the necessary programming but prior to running the bid re-awards, Crew Planning and the PBS Committee had the need to perform some administrative work in PBS to ensure that Flight Attendant bids properly reflected those that were originally entered prior to bids closing on March 10th.  Performing this work required that PBS be switched back into the normal bid entry mode so that the necessary work could be done.  The system does not contain the ability to be switched into a “maintenance” or “offline” mode where administrators can work in the system while preventing Flight Attendants from also making entries.  As a result of this, it was also possible for Flight Attendants to log in to the system and make bid entries during the period of time that the administrators were in the system verifying the integrity of original bids.

Section 10.J.4 of the Flight Attendant collective bargaining agreement states that a Flight Attendant must submit her/his bid by 9 AM Pacific time on the 10th of the month prior to the bid period.  Management’s failure to have PBS properly programmed to prevent additional bid entries while the administrators were working in the system has resulted in a clear contractual violation.  At no time did AFA agree to an exception or waiver to this contractual provision.

The MEC had substantial discussion regarding what transpired, including the possibility of requesting that a full re-bid be conducted for the month of April.  The option of a full re-bid was determined to be unfeasible as it would have had a greater negative impact on Flight Attendants, especially those who would be unable to participate in the re-bid (on vacation, etc.) as well as those who had planned their schedules around the F/A-to-F/A and Open Time trading timeline.

AFA will be pursuing resolution to the contractual violation through the grievance process and every other avenue at our disposal.  The MEC Grievance Committee has already filed grievance number 36-99-2-116-18 addressing management’s failure to comply with the contractual bidding timeline.  We will also be calling for a meeting with inflight management to have additional conversation about the new Navblue PBS user interface, the associated programming errors, and the necessary steps that need to be taken to prevent reoccurrence of a similar situation.

In Solidarity,

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

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 […]

Hawaiian Seattle Domicile Council 43 and Council 47 Meeting Recap

The Negotiating Committee continues to advocate for clear and consistent guidelines regarding moving expenses and reimbursement for Flight Attendants. Despite management’s refusal to participate in recent meetings, the committee remains committed to addressing members’ concerns and ensuring contractual compliance. As the grievance process moves forward, Flight Attendants are encouraged to document their interactions and stay engaged in upcoming opportunities to seek clarification from management.

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