committee appointments

AFA Update – December 20, 2019

December 20, 2019 12:00

In This Edition

MEC Committee Position Appointments

MEC Committee Position Appointments

Master Executive Council (MEC)

At last week’s regular MEC Meeting, the MEC conducted interviews for MEC Committee positions. We would like to thank everyone who expressed interest in the available positions and a willingness to serve. After careful consideration and much deliberation, the six directly elected Local Executive Council (LEC) Presidents have made the following appointments:

Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee

Chairperson	Seth Heiple
Vice Chairperson – Air Quality	Yvette Satterlee
Vice Chairperson – Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP)	Bradley Young
ASAP Alternate Representative	Ronda Ruderman

Benefits Committee

Chairperson

Terry Taylor

Employee Assistance Program (EAP) /Professional Standards Committee

Chairperson	Elizabeth Dillon
Vice Chairperson	Jeanne McCleave

Grievance Committee

Chairperson	Stephanie Adams
Assistant	Bianca Dew
Payroll Representative	Kiara Jenkins

Government Affairs Committee

Chairperson	Krystle Berry
CWA Next Gen Representative	Martin Monteblanco

Hotel Committee

Chairperson	Laura Hinojosa
Vice Chairperson	Jodi Snow

Inflight Service Committee

Chairperson

Stephanie Garnett

Inflight Training Committee

Chairperson	Megan Brown
Committee Member	Steve Vincent
Committee Member	Samuel Clifton
Committee Member	Justin Wetherell

Reserve Committee

Chairperson	Julie Pinson
Vice Chairperson—New Hire & Probation	Jarod McNeill

Retirement Committee

Chairperson

Terry Taylor

Scheduling Committee

Chairperson	Jake Jones
Vice Chairperson—Pairing Construction	Karen Ferrell
Vice Chairperson—Preferential Bidding System (PBS)	Steve Poynter
PBS Subcommittee Member (Alternate Vice Chairperson)	Adam Clarey
PBS Subcommittee Member	Sheri Rochel
PBS Subcommittee Member	Virginia Fritz

Uniform Committee

Chairperson

Todd Scarlett

All appointments are effective January 1, 2020. Terms of appointment coincide with those of the MEC Officers, concluding on December 31, 2022.

[L-AS] Introducing Your MEC Grievance Committee Payroll Representative

May 25, 2018 17:00

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants

Your Master Executive Council (MEC) conducted interviews earlier this month for the new MEC Grievance Committee Payroll Representative position. The MEC would like to thank the candidates who demonstrated willingness to represent our Flight Attendants. After thorough deliberation, the MEC has appointed Kiara Jenkins to the position.

About Kiara

Kiara Jenkins spent her childhood on the island of Guam and, in 2008, graduated from Olympia High School in Olympia, WA. Before pursuing a career as a Flight Attendant, she worked at Starbucks as a supervisor and coached club and high school volleyball for 3 years. She has been ANC, SEA, and LAX-based since joining the Alaska family in 2011. Previously, she served as the Government Affairs Committee Chairperson for Council 18 in LAX. On any given day, Kiara can be found hosting homemade dinners for friends, barbecuing outdoors, or spending quality time with her family.

About The Position

The Payroll Representative works under the umbrella of the MEC Grievance Committee and is responsible for working with management to advocate for Flight Attendant interests in all matters pertaining to Flight Attendant pay. In addition, the Payroll Representative also works closely with the Benefits, Scheduling, and Reserve Committees to handle and assist in the resolution of Flight Attendant pay concerns and issues. Additional information about the position can be found by clicking here.

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

Introducing Your Inflight Training Committee

January 25, 2018 17:00

Your Master Executive Council (MEC) conducted interviews last week for three positons for the new Inflight Training Committee: one chairperson position and two committee member positions. The MEC would like to thank the candidates who demonstrated willingness to represent our Flight Attendants. After thorough deliberation, the MEC has appointed Megan Brown to the chairperson position and Steven Vincent and Samuel Clifton to the committee member positions.

About The Committee Members

Megan Brown, Inflight Training Committee Chairperson

Megan started her Flight Attendant career in 1991. After Flight 261, she decided to get involved with the AFA Employee Assistance Program (EAP). She spent 10 years as the Local EAP Chair/Co-Chair for Council 19 in Seattle. In 2004, she joined the inflight training department where she was an initial instructor and recurrent instructor, which she enjoyed. In 2016, Megan stepped out of the classroom, but continued to support training by performing Probationary Observations and IOEs. She has recently stepped back into the classroom and hopes to support Flight Attendants’ training needs and concerns.

Megan’s greatest accomplishment is her son, Zane. When she’s not flying, she spends her time with her family. She looks forward to learning and supporting her fellow coworkers in her work with AFA.

Steven Vincent, Inflight Training Committee Member

Steven attended initial training in June 1981. He initially became involved with AFA just after probation, starting with involvement on the Safety Committee. He also became the chairperson of the AFA International Aircraft Technical Committee immediately after probation. In this role he worked with Regulatory committees and Aircraft Manufactures. He also provided accident support for the International committee and the member airlines representing AFA Flight Attendants.

In 1983, he joined the training department in preparation for the MD-80 aircraft arrival. He has worked on development and presenting training for the MD-80, 737-400 and Russian extended overwater flying for 727-200, MD-80 and support for ETOPS certification of the 737. He also has conducted Initial training since mid-80s.

Previously, Steve participated in the development and implementation of merger training for pre-merger Jet America Flight Attendants. In Alaska/Virgin America merger, he has supported pre-merger Virgin America Flight Attendants by participating in the blending of emergency procedures, manuals and training for FAM revision cycle 4 in SFO.

In this new role, Steve hopes to represent the entire membership as we merge to become one Flight Attendant group.

Samuel Clifton, Inflight Training Committee Member

Sam has been with Virgin America since May 2007 as an Inflight Team Leader and Inflight Instructor, mainly teaching recurrent training but has also taught several new hire training classes.

Prior to working at Virgin America, Sam worked at American Trans Air (ATA) from 1989 through 2007. While at ATA, he was a Flight Attendant and also taught recurrent training throughout the system. He was an active member of AFA and served on the LEC Informational Committee during contract negotiations.

From 1986-1989 Sam served in the United States Air Force as a C-5 Aircraft Crew Chief.

Sam has always had the aviation bug! When not working he enjoys being at home in the Bay Area taking his miniature Australian Shepherd for walks on the Bay Trail. Something interesting about Sam is he has a small collection of vintage Barbies ranging from 1959-1968.

He is extremely excited to be serving on the Inflight Training Committee and hopes to be a strong voice for his fellow instructors.

About The Inflight Training Committee

The Inflight Training Committee is an MEC-level committee responsible for working with management to advocate for Flight Attendant interests in all matters pertaining to Flight Attendant training programs and to represent the unique needs and interests of Flight Attendants who are involved in Flight Attendant Initial and/or Recurrent Training and training-related special projects. Additional information about the Inflight Training Committee can be found at http://afaalaska.org/inflighttraining.

In Solidarity,

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

Introducing Your MEC Inflight Service Committee Chairperson

April 14, 2016 18:00

Your Master Executive Council (MEC) conducted interviews this week for the position of MEC Inflight Service Committee Chairperson. We would like to thank the eight candidates who expressed a willingness to serve and interviewed for the position. After thorough consideration, the MEC has appointed Stephanie Garnett to the position.

Stephanie is a Seattle-based flight attendant and she has just completed her 17^th year with Alaska Airlines. Previously she was a stewardess for Pan American.

Stephanie is a graduate of Washington State University with a degree in mathematics. She has been a member of the Inflight Service Committee in Seattle for about 10 years and has also served on the Air Safety, Health, and Security Committee in Seattle for the last 4 years.

As a part her committee work, Stephanie has had the opportunity to work on some interesting projects including creating the packing for the universal juice drawer, working on the universal aisle cart packing and most recently researching the Space Bins. She is also a SOAR award winner.

Stephanie has been married to her husband Dan for almost 45 years. They have two sons who are married and have given them five grandchildren. Dan and Stephanie have recently adopted 2 kittens to fill their empty nest.

In her role as MEC Inflight Service Committee Chairperson, Stephanie will work closely with the Local Inflight Service Committee Chairpersons and inflight management to represent and advocate for Flight Attendants in all areas related to onboard sales and service. Her term of appointment is concurrent with the term of the MEC Officers and she reports directly to the MEC.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Satterlee, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow and Stephen Couckuyt

Introducing the AFA Pairing Analyst

March 12, 2015 20:00

At a meeting held last week, your Master Executive Council (MEC) interviewed candidates for the position of MEC Scheduling Committee Vice Chairperson for Pairing Construction, commonly referred to as the AFA Pairing Analyst. In total, nine candidates interviewed for the position (three Seattle-based Flight Attendants, three Portland-based Flight attendants, two Anchorage-based Flight Attendants, and one Los Angeles-based Flight Attendant). The MEC would like to thank those candidates for stepping forward in the spirit of Union service. After much discussion, the MEC has appointed Sherrijon Gaspard to the position.

About Sherrijon

A passion for helping people has been a driving force in Sherrijon’s life for as long as she can remember. This dedication to service has been apparent at Alaska Airlines, where she has been a Flight Attendant since 1998. Her commitment to helping people does not stop when the plane hits the ground and the cabin door opens. She has been creative and resourceful in generating new ideas and solutions applicable to both the inflight department as well as the Union serving on various committees (Reserve Committee, PBS Committee, Inflight Service Committee, Hiring & Recruitment).

As part of her dedication to improvement, in 2006, Sherrijon decided to pursue an MBA at Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business Management. At Pepperdine, she honed her innate ability for hospitality, team building and enhancing the customer experience and added developing and implementing integrated marketing and client satisfaction programs to her skill set. After earning her MBA in 2009, she founded Eos Ventures, a small business consulting firm and launched Vina Sympatica™ Sparkling Wines.

Now in her new position as Pairing Analyst, Sherrijon is ready to once again dedicate time to AFA and use her keen eye for detail and strong organizational skills to help ensure fair yet equal pairings and improved Flight Attendant quality of life while also paying close attention to management’s cost concerns and contractual obligations.

Thank You To Jeff Stein

The MEC would like to thank outgoing Pairing Analyst and Portland-based Flight Attendant Jeff Stein for his service to our Flight Attendants. For years, Jeff worked hard to improve Flight Attendant quality of life by advocating for better pairings and more efficient flying. Please join us in wishing Jeff well in his future pursuits.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Gesch, Becky Strachan, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow, Stephen Couckuyt and MEC Scheduling Committee Chairperson Jake Jones

In This Edition

MEC Committee Position Appointments

Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee

Benefits Committee

Employee Assistance Program (EAP) /Professional Standards Committee

Grievance Committee

Government Affairs Committee

Hotel Committee

Inflight Service Committee

Inflight Training Committee

Reserve Committee

Retirement Committee

Scheduling Committee

Uniform Committee

About Kiara

About The Position

About The Committee Members

Megan Brown, Inflight Training Committee Chairperson

Steven Vincent, Inflight Training Committee Member

Samuel Clifton, Inflight Training Committee Member

About The Inflight Training Committee

About Sherrijon

Thank You To Jeff Stein

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