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Tell Management: It’s Time To Make it Right!

Master Executive Council (MEC)

  • Our MEC will be approaching management this week to discuss a meaningful remedy to the recent bidding errors and delays.
  • We have heard loud and clear that Flight Attendants expect that any remedy will include an element of compensation in order to hold management accountable.
  • Stand in solidarity and support our MEC by sending management a letter telling them it’s time to make it right!

Now that bids have finally been awarded for June 2022, it is time to focus our attention on addressing management’s continued disregard for our collective bargaining agreement by publishing bid packets that are full of errors and failing to award bids in a contractually compliant manner.  Our Master Executive Council (MEC) has heard loud and clear from our Flight Attendants that you expect management to provide a meaningful remedy to the situation that includes compensation for their continued violation of contractual obligations.  We could not agree with you more and will be approaching management this week to make this request on behalf of all Flight Attendants.

TAKE ACTION: Stand in Solidarity and Let Management Hear Our Voices!

Our MEC needs your support to let management know just how serious we are about holding them accountable.  Take action now and send management a letter telling them that it’s time to make it right!  We’ve made it easy, just click the link below.  A template letter has already been written for you, all you need to do is enter your contact information.

Click here to send management your letter

We must show management that we are tired of their excuses and demand that they hold themselves accountable in the same way they hold Flight Attendants accountable.  Let management know that we stand together in solidarity and tell them it’s time to make it right!

The Saga Continues: June 2022 Bid Awards Delayed

Master Executive Council (MEC)

  • Due to hundreds of errors identified in the June bid packet, our MEC has insisted that management conduct a systemwide rebid.
  • Management sent a communication by company email to all Flight Attendants earlier today with details on the new bidding timeline, which opened today at 9 AM PDT and will now close at 9 AM PDT on Monday, May 16.
  • It is well past time for management to take ownership of their repeated errors, actually fix the problems, and honor our contract!

June 2022 Bid awards will be delayed. 

Errors affecting over 500 positions throughout the system have been identified in the June bid packet, resulting in our MEC demanding a system-wide rebid. The errors include: flights that no longer exist, miscoded DHD Flights, inaccurate TFP, and inaccurate report times. When our AFA PBS Subcommittee discovered these errors and brought them to our MEC’s attention, the MEC called an emergency meeting and met with management to discuss our options.

After carefully considering the feedback following last month’s bidding errors, our MEC unanimously voted for a system-wide rebid to rectify these errors’ impact during bidding. Realizing the value we place on our schedules and the expectation of them being awarded accurately, we felt it necessary to correct these errors before proceeding with bid awards. A rebid will delay awards, trading, and planning for the month of June. While this may be frustrating to some, a rebid allows us all to evaluate the corrected pairings and honor seniority.   

While management continues to tell us they will do better, it is apparent we have very different definitions of “doing better.”  Our MEC made that point abundantly clear to management and explained how angry and frustrated Flight Attendants are with the many failures and the level of incompetence experienced lately. Management has no problem holding Flight Attendants responsible for the most minute concerns, yet they are unwilling to hold themselves accountable for their repeated errors and violating their contractual obligations.  Management doesn’t appear phased by the high attrition rate or rock-bottom morale – it’s almost as if they don’t CARE how their decisions impact us.  But they are now on notice and fully aware that this latest “screw up” has further eroded confidence (if there is any left) in their ability to manage this workgroup. 

Flight Attendants do not need another apology from management. Instead, management should look in the mirror and see the mess staring back at them and begin to make things right. They need to show that they’re willing to walk their talk…and “do the right thing.”

Updates and Information

Bidding Reminders

Top, Down

When bidding, please remember that the program reads your bid from the top, down, starting at line 1.   Each bid line may  impact those below it, but not those above it.   
   

Example:   At line 10 you Prefer Off March 7 & 8.  If honored,  you will not be awarded trips or reserve days touching those dates from Line 11 – 150 (provided your bid is not affected by denial or coverage awards).  Bid lines 1 through 9 would not be affected by this request.

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Bid Groups

Bid Groups should only be used by expert bidders that are requesting very specific schedules.  We frequently see bid protests when members use Bid Groups incorrectly Click here for more information on using Bid Groups.  

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Which Bid will determine my award?

The system will always award from your Current Bid if anything is entered.    If you bid using your Default Bid, please ensure there are no accidental entries on your Current Bid.  

While we encourage you to become familiar with WebApp. We are aware that some members may use both versions during the learning phase.  When switching between Classbid (older) and WebApp (newer) versions of PBS, remember that the last bid submitted will be used by the system to award your schedule. 

Questions?
Please reach out to the AFA PBS Committee at​pbs@afaalaska.org. 

T Mobile Sim and IMD Usage

You should have received via UPS a T-Mobile Sim card, it was sent to your address on file with the company. if you have not updated your address since you moved please do so in Peoplesoft.

The Sim comes in a big padded envelope with instructions on how to change it out along with a little metal tool that’s easy to miss. This process takes maybe 5 minutes at the most to do. Make sure you change your SIM card out as soon as you receive it. If you have not received one, please reach out to base management,

 Most of you know that T-Mobile offers 1 hour of free internet on flights for their customers, Keep in mind the IMD is company property. if you add a personal Apple ID to your work device you have now given the company access to your personal information, they can check your IMD at anytime remotely for Apps that have been added, conversations via text or 3rd party apps, Photos, Videos ETC ETC.

Advice from your Local AFA Officers, use your IMD for work ONLY, People have been called into meetings and disciplined for content found on the device and usage of their devices both on personal time and during work hours that is not work related. 

Sunset of ClassBid

ClassBid, the older version of our PBS bidding program will no longer be supported by NavBlue after the March 2022 bid period (for April schedules). 

WebApp, also known as the newer version of the program (https://asapbs.navblue.aero/webapp) has been available to all Flight Attendants for several years now.  If you are still unfamiliar with the newer version, you may wish to start reviewing the online training materials sooner rather later.  The program is accessible outside of the bid period, so you may log-in and practice using the system under your Default Bid. 

​

Your local AFA Scheduling, and Reserve Committee’s will be hosting Base Sits during the bid period over the next few months. Dates for February and March are listed below, April dates will be published in time for bidding.  Base Sits are intended to help you fine tune your knowledge and ask questions one-on-one.  Please bring the tablet, laptop or mobile device you normally bid on. Computers are available in SAN. If you would like a more formal approach, the AFA PBS Committee will be hosting another round of virtual on-line classes in March and April.  Virtual Training will be on Microsoft Teams.  You must be​logged into your AAG account to attend.  Please review the training materials available on-line prior to attending a virtual class or a base sit.  

SAN Crew Room

  • Feb 8  10AM to 3PM
  • Feb 9 10AM to 3PM 
  • March 5 6AM to 11AM 
  • March 6 10AM – 3PM
  • March 7 6AM – 11AM
  • March 8 10AM – 3PM
  • March 9 10AM – 3PM

Virtual Training – Online Class

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Available WebApp Training Resources

WebApp Quick Reference Guide

WebApp Tutorial Video 

Q&A from WebApp Virtual Trainings (May – July 2021)

WebApp Program Guide

Basic Line Bidding Video

Basic Reserve Bidding Video 

Additional WebApp Videos 

401K Matching

Are you losing out on free money? The company match for your 401K is 7.5%. We have noticed there are many people still at 7%, make sure you sign into your Vanguard.com account and increase yours to at least 7.5% if you are able so that you are getting the full company match.

CBT Due Date: February 10, 2022

The Annual Compliance Training (ACT) CBT due date has been extended to February 10, 2022.   Please ensure you have completed this required training.  It was initially due late last year.   Please see Bulletin 2022-0013 for more information. Failure to complete your CBT by this date will result in steps of discipline.

Personal Emails for AFA Updates

With Negotiations on the Horizon, it’s very important to stay current with AFA newsletters and updates. Make sure you have your Personal Email on file with AFA. We do not use the company email. to Register your personal email click here: https://afanewsletters.org/subscribe/

Council 35 News – January 2022

Important Dates

  • Jan 31:Temporary NavBlue Outage at 06:00 PST for 2 Hours for Programming Update
  • Feb 5-9: PBS Base Sits SFO Village
  • Feb 10: ACT CBT Due

SFO Employee COVID Testing

Information provided by FlySFO

As a result of new CA State legislation, one of SFO’s COVID-19 testing sites will now accept insurance (including Kaiser) and has set up a dedicated Employee Testing portal for all Airport workers. Links to the portal for employee registration at this site offering molecular testing is below. Advance registration is required via the Employee Portal. Employees who are symptomatic or are known to be in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 should use Worksite Labs if possible.

Location: Adjacent to the Long-Term Parking Lot and Cell Phone Waiting Lot by San Bruno Avenue

Testing Offered: Drive-Thru Only, RT-PCR with results in 12 or 24 hours

Employee Testing Hours: Daily 0700-1900 

Note: Operating hours and location are subject to change. 


Sunsetting of NavBlue Classbid After the March 5-12, 2002 Bid Period

by Virginia Fritz, Scheduling Committee Chair

NavBlue is sunsetting the old Classbid interface and FAs will need to use the updated WebApp interface for the March 5-12 bid period. Base Sits for SFO are scheduled on the dates below, and will be held in the SFO Village.  

  • Feb 5th 0900-1700
  • Feb 6th 1000-1800
  • Feb 7th 0700-1800
  • Feb 8th 0700-1700
  • Feb 9th 0900-1700 

Representatives from our Scheduling, Benefits, and Reserve committees will be on hand to assist and answer any questions. If you are unable to attend any of these sessions, please contact pbs.qa@alaskaair.com for assistance. WebApp virtual training dates are expected to be announced next month.

To get the most out of your time with a trainer at a Base Sit, you should have some familiarity with WebApp. If you have not already done so, please review the links below.  We strongly suggest beginning with the WebApp Tutorial.

Pairing Update for March 2022

by Virginia Fritz, Scheduling Committee Chair, PBS Subcommittee Member

The company has been trying to find ways to mitigate their operational risk of cancellations due to crew staffing shortages. They have found that the average sick call on a 4 day can take 2 or 3 reserve flight attendants to staff because of reserve legalities and days-on availability. This has led the company to significantly reduce 4 days in all bases for March. 

We have let crew planning know that we are very unhappy with this as it relates to the SFO base, and stressed that the quality of pairings is an issue, not quantity. If you have any feedback please reach out to sfo.scheduling@afaalaska.org so that we can relay any feedback to management.

Many in our base rely on longer trips. There are some tips to try and create your own longer pairings should you want to attempt it. You can attach one trip to another by adding a base turn (JCBA 8.T) to the beginning or end of another trip. A base turn isn’t necessarily a ‘turn’ but is “two (2) sequences combined in the same duty period that contain no less than one hour and forty-five minutes (1:45) block-to-block between the last flight of the previous sequence and the first flight of the subsequent sequence. The scheduled ‘base turn duty period’ cannot exceed fourteen (14) hours on duty according to CFRs.” Additionally, some trips have a SIP (JCBA 12.G),(a Sequence Interruption Point [SIP] will be any arrival of the aircraft at the Sequence Home Domicile). You can pick up a trip out of open time that in its entirety may not be legal to add, but with a SIP in base could create a legal combination. With many of the pairings we have, these tools may not always be applicable but we wanted to make sure that this information was available to you should you want and be able to use it.

Inflight Service Committee (ISC) Reminders

by Raymond Ramirez, ISC Chair

Create Success

Please help your fellow crew members by returning items to their originally catered galley positions.

Current Substitutions

Canned OJ replaces boxes-please pour.  SEA will cater Fruit & Cheese with 2 slices each of cheddar and Beechers due to a shortage of Brie cheese.          

F/A Feedback

Your comments have brought back mixer drawers to the FC beverage cart–coming March 02.  Current focus: carafes and lids are missing on many flights so please use B2B to report. THANK YOU!

Service

Feb 07, will see the reinstatement of many service items.  This service increase will be monitored and adjusted as necessary in partnership with AFA leadership.  Please reach out to your AFA SFO Inflight Service Committee, Raymond Ramirez (chair), Matt Voges and Renee Waggener with your service comments. 

Grievance Summary 2021

The following chart summarizes grievances filed for SFO for the year 2021.  This does not represent all of the performance meetings (investigations) that occurred and mitigated disciplines from Grievance Reps with management.  These numbers strictly represent grievances filed after discipline had been issued.  Of grievances filed, 3 of them were mitigated through the grievance process which resulted in either disciplines reduced and/or dropped.

ViolationCases% Total
Appearance of Sleeping12%
Intentional Flying with COVID12%
Breaking Quarantine/Insubordination12%
Lost IMD12%
Mask Non-compliance12%
Comping Non-Revs12%
Theft from Aircraft12%
Uniform12%
Last Chance Agreement12%
12+ Points12%
Reserve Out of Base24%
Late to Plane/Delay/Missing Required Item611%
CBT Missed Deadline1426%
Commuter Policy2139%
Total Grievances54100%

Calling in Sick and Wellness Calls

As everyone knows, thanks to the many reminders from management, sick leave usage is at an all time high.  Considering there’s a world-wide pandemic occurring this is not surprising.  One way management has taken steps to attempt to curb sick leave usage is to carefully monitor sick calls.  Many of the “suspect” cases are brought to the performance team for investigation from Crew Scheduling.  When an FA calls in sick and offers more information than what is needed, this often will trigger a “red flag” and get passed along for an investigation.  Best practice is to say only what is necessary to crew scheduling when calling in to report an absence.  “Hi this is FA (name)  Peoplesoft number (1234567) calling in sick for (trip number or reserve day).”  Nothing more is needed.  If schedulers are asking for more information, you are not required to divulge any health information.  

The same guidance is also true for Wellness calls.  Management has a process in place to follow up with Flight Attendants when they reach certain absence point levels.  Normally each discipline level triggers a wellness call and/or email from base supervisors. Wellness calls with management do not require a response, however it is recommended that the FA provide a confirmation of the message.  In recent investigations with FAs with high point levels, one of the questions from the performance supervisor is “did you receive the wellness calls from base leadership?  And did you respond?”  Best practice would be to respond via email only to any wellness calls and/or emails to avoid having a conversation with management without Union representation.

Member Question: How to use sick family

Flight Attendants can use sick leave to tend to a serious or emergency health condition of a family member.  If you report sick for a qualified family member and do not have enough sick leave to cover the entire sequence or reserve day(s), the absence(s) will be converted to a Management Drop and attendance points will be assessed at a half-point per day. To see your sick leave balance log into Rainmaker for the most current balance. If you need time away from work to care for a sick family member and you do not have sufficient sick leave available, contact an Inflight Supervisor to request a Management Drop. For more information please review Bulletin 2021-0059.

Membership Links for Payment or Personal Contact Updates

by James Ikehara, Secretary and Membership Committee Chair

If you are coming back from a leave of absence and need to catch up on dues payments, this link will take you directly to AFA’s Membership Services website to schedule an on-line payment. Should you need to update your personal contact information (e.g., address, phone number, email, etc.), use this link.

Fly safe and stay healthy!

Melissa, James and Brad

Melissa Osborne, LEC President •  Melissa.osborne@afaalaska.org • 415-275-1322
James Ikehara, LEC Secretary •  James.ikehara@afaalaska.org  • 415-289-9011
Bradley Young, Council Representative • Bradley.young@afaalaska.org • 916-508-3503

AFA Special Update – October 2, 2020

AFA Special Update – October 2, 2020

In This Edition

  • November 2020 Staffing and Scheduling
  • #ExtendPSP #ReliefNow

November 2020 Staffing and Scheduling

Master Executive Council

Very time-sensitive information to report here! At AFA’s request, management has sent an email (“Base Transfers – November”) to Company email addresses, sent another email to involuntarily furloughed (IVF’d) Flight Attendants’ respective personal email addresses on file with the Company, and posted an alert and Informational Bulletin 2020-0096 on the World of Inflight (AAG SSO login required).

Involuntary Furlough Update

See the emailed version of this special update sent to personal email addresses on file with AFA Alaska for the latest developments regarding involuntary furloughs.

Vacancy Bids (Base Transfers)

Inflight is anticipating that vacancy bids (i.e. base transfers) will be awarded in all six domiciles for November. The base transfer bidding window will be extremely shortened, with bids closing on Monday morning. Base transfer forms can be located on the World of Inflight -> Schedule & Bidding -> Line Bidding -> Base Transfer Request Form (AAG SSO login required). Vacancy bids (base transfer requests) must be submitted by Monday, October 5th at 0900 PT.

Revised Bidding Timeline

The PBS bidding timeline for November is being pushed by one day to October 6-11. However, this will not affect the posting or trading timelines. Details as follows:

  • Oct. 5 – Vacancy bids (base transfer requests) close 0900 PT
  • Oct. 6 – PBS bids open 0900 PT
  • Oct. 11 – PBS bids close 0900 PT
  • Oct. 13 – PBS awards complete by 0900 PT
  • Oct. 14 – PBS bid protest complete and schedules final by 0900 PT
  • Oct. 14 – Schedules posted in JCTE as scheduled
  • Oct. 15 – FA to FA trading as scheduled
  • Oct. 16 – Open Time as scheduled
  • Oct. 17 – Out of domicile as scheduled

#ExtendPSP #ReliefNow

Government Affairs

Republicans Blocked Payroll Support Program Extension Act From Moving Forward

Watch President Sara Nelson’s October 2nd video update >

Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Flight Attendant champion and honorary AFA member issued a statement after Republicans blocked H.R. 8504, the Payroll Support Program Extension Act, from moving forward. Click here for more >

TAKE ACTION!

Call Congress

SENATE: 888-848-4824
HOUSE: 888-907-9365

“Hello, I am a constituent calling to tell my (Senator/Representative) that aviation workers are out of time. Furloughs have begun and we only have days to reverse course. We need a clean extension of the Payroll Support Program NOW. Without an extension of this successful jobs program, there is no backstop for layoffs. This is just the start. Inaction is not an option. We are out of time. #ExtendPSP now. Get it done. Thank you.”

Write Congress

Send a letter to your Representative and two Senators: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/save-aviation-jobs

Tweet Congress (and add pictures of you in uniform to each!)

We’ve made it easy to Tweet at your lawmakers. Click here to get started. 

Or, you can copy and paste the following Tweets into your Twitter. 

  • Massive layoffs have begun for Flight Attendants & aviation workers. We only have a few days to reverse course. Extend the Payroll Support Program NOW, [tag your Senators/Representative]! Pass #ReliefNow to save my job & healthcare! #ExtendPSP
  • I’m one of thousands of furloughed Flight Attendants who needs [tag your Senators/Representative] to act to extend the Payroll Support Program TODAY. We need #ReliefNow! #ExtendPSP
  • Tell your personal story using the hashtags #ReliefNow and #ExtendPSP

If you do not know your Senators or Representatives’ Twitter handles you can find them here! Don’t have Twitter, set up an account today to take action. Here’s how >

Pre-Merger Alaska MEC Committee Interviews—September 2025

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants In accordance with Article VI.C of the AFA Alaska MEC Policy and Procedure Manual, the terms of office for the MEC Committee Chairpersons and other MEC-level positions align with those of the MEC Officers. Since the current term for the MEC Officers will conclude on December 31, […]

Merged MEC Committee Chairperson Interviews—September 2025

This message is for both pre-merger Alaska and Hawaiian Flight Attendants The integration of our Master Executive Councils (MECs) is progressing steadily. Our first group of committees successfully merged on June 1, and we are now prepared to merge additional committees as we move forward. The next group of committees is scheduled to merge on […]

Understanding JCBA Negotiations

Joint Collective Bargaining Agreement (JCBA) negotiations are different from the usual Section 6 talks. Instead of updating one agreement, we’re working on merging two existing contracts into a single contract. Our Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) will be reaching out with focused surveys to hear your thoughts on specific sections, aiming to blend the best of both carriers.

Special Post IT Incident Debrief Next Week

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants This Week’s Monthly Scheduling Committee Meeting Canceled Due to Sunday’s IT outage and the subsequent ground stop, management has decided to cancel this Tuesday’s monthly Scheduling Committee meeting. This decision was made so their efforts could be focused on operational recovery activities to restore normal operations. Our […]

Seniority Merger Integration Committee (SMIC) FAQs

As we shared last week, Seniority Verification Letters (SVLs) have been mailed out and have arrived at many Flight Attendants’ mailing addresses on file with the company. To help answer questions about the seniority verification process, the Seniority Merger Integration Committee (SMIC) has put together a few questions and answers to help shed more light on […]

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