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Council 35 News – November 2019


Thank you everyone who came out to join our Council 35 Membership Meeting on Nov. 4th!! From Left: Brad Young, Council Representative, Aladrian Hillmon, Vice President, Melissa Osborne, President, James Ikehara, Secretary.

November Update:

Trending Discipline: Commuter Travel

Performance has initiated an investigation of commuter travel for Flight Attendants.  Recent travel audits have revealed that use of the D8Y travel designation has been used for flights other than commuting between registered cities for work.  The investigation has included all bases to include SFO and have resulted in discipline.  For more information please review the commuter policy in §28.G of the JCBA. The policy indicates that only travel between registered cities for work is allowable.  The D8Y listing is not  permitted when dropping a deadhead or picking up out of base if the cities pairings are not the registered cities. The performance team has indicated that the audits will occur monthly so this will be an ongoing investigation. If you have any questions regarding travel while commuting to/from work, please reach out to FCABPS@alaskaair.com or your Council 35 officers.  L-VX Transition Agreement.

480 Reminder 

The JCBA defines the 480 requirement for maintaining certain yearly benefits, and now is the time to make up any hours before the year ends. Flight Attendants with less than 480 total hours will not be eligible for benefits the following calendar year.   As a reminder, L-VX FAs are exempt from the 480 requirement in 2019 to retain benefits for the year 2020. However beginning January 1, 2020, all FAs (including L-VX) will be required to accrue 480 hours to retain benefits in 2021.  For more information please reference the

PPP Collective Block Payout Coming up!

JCBA §21.R outlines the Premium Productivity Program for FAs.  The collective block months will be complete at the end of November, and the payout will be December 20th.  Earlier this month the January information was missing from L-VX FA calculators however the issue has been resolved.  To see your actual accruals, please visit:

Alaskasworld>>Inflight Page>>Administration>>Calculators 

Delta Organizing

On November 1, 2019, AFA  achieved the organizing rights to support and represent Delta Flight Attendants. Council 35 officers are excited to support organization efforts and encourage all members to participate in the process.  For resources and the latest info on DL organization efforts, please visit https://www.deltaafa.org.  
-photo credits: Alaska Councils 15, 18 and 35 in MSP helping Delta FAs with leafletting campaign Nov. 7.

Call Professional Standards first!

Professional Standards (PS) should always be the first contact whenever Flight Attendants find it difficult to work together.  In the event you find yourself contemplating “turning someone in” to management, please consider Professional Standards as the first step in this process. Part of the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) committee, PS committee members are trained to help facilitate a conflict resolution process between the affected Flight Attendants.  All this is done in a safe and confidential environment, without involving management.  PS can also facilitate conflict resolution with other Alaska Airlines work groups, such as pilots and Tech Ops.  For a confidential consultation, please contact EAP/Professional Standards Committee at sfo.eap@afaalaska.org.

Council 35 Advanced Secretary/Treasurer Training with AFA

-by James Ikehara Kevin Creighan, Secretary-Treasurer for AFA International, hosted a 2 day Advanced Secretary-Treasurer training session for local councils in San Francisco on November 14-15. Local council officers from United, Frontier, Air Wisconsin, Spirit, and Alaska were in attendance, in addition to Alaska’s MEC officers Brian Palmer, Vice President, and Linda Christou, Secretary-Treasurer. Both Brian and Linda were guest speakers and shared best practices for budget planning. Council 35 was represented by Melissa Osborne, President, and James Ikehara, Secretary. The training provided a deeper understanding of financial tools as well as matters pertaining to membership data, council elections, conducting meetings, constitutional provisions, parliamentary procedures, Department of Labor regulations, and building power through other AFL-CIO affiliations. 

Next CBT due December 31, 2019

-by James Ikehara
The Annual Compliance Training (ACT) from Legal is due December 31, 2019. Failure to complete the required quarterly trainings by the deadline can result in discipline. To access the training module, open the Cornerstone App on your IMD. After logging in, all uncompleted courses will show on the main page. Remember, it’s always a good idea to take screen shots of your completed courses as backup. If your main screen is blank, you can double check your completed courses by clicking on the 3 dots in the upper right hand corner and choosing the Completed tab which will show all of your completed courses. All non-completed courses will be under the Active tab. If you have any concerns regarding the current trainings contact your SFO supervisor.

Boeing 737 MAX Update:  10/25/2019

-information provided by Brad Young

FAA Statement on Lion Air Flight 610 Accident Report

The FAA’s first priority is always safety. The Indonesian National Transportation Safety Committee’s accident report on Lion Air Flight 610 is a sober reminder to us of the importance of that mission, and we again express our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of those who were lost in that tragic accident. We welcome the recommendations from this report and will carefully consider these and all other recommendations as we continue our review of the proposed changes to the Boeing 737 MAX. The FAA is committed to ensuring that the lessons learned from the losses of Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 will result in an even greater level of safety globally. The FAA continues to review Boeing’s proposed changes to the 737 MAX. As we have previously stated, the aircraft will return to service only after the FAA determines it is safe.

AFA’s response to the Boeing MAX can be found here.

Did You Know? 

No Badge? No Problem!

Recent trends have emerged with SFO-based Flight Attendants forgetting or misplacing their badges while on duty.  If an FA finds themselves without a badge, contact Crew Scheduling for a temporary replacement.  The temp ID will be validated for the duration of the trip and allow the FA to work and get through security without the need for a gate pass, which can be a time consuming process.  For Flight Attendants that discover the missing ID in one of the six Alaska domiciles, base inflight management is available to print the temp badge in the office.  If the discovery occurs in a non-domicile location, please coordinate with the CSA team lead to print the badge provided by Crew Scheduling.  If an FA discovers the missing ID after boarding an A/C or performing duties, please remember to file an ASAP regarding the incident.  Following procedures for this type of incident will protect FAs from potential discipline.  If you have any questions, please reach out to your supervisor or Council 35 officers.

How do I contact Council 35 Officers?

The best way to contact Council 35 officers is via email using a personal email account. The preferred methods of contact are:

  • sfo@afaalaska.org (this is the group contact for all officers-if one officer is flying /unavailable the other officers can respond)
  • Individual officer emails (if information is for a specific officer)
  • Calls/text (only if situation requires urgent attention)

When contacting Council 35 Officers please avoid the following methods:

  • Sending to/from alaskaair.com email (subject to company audits and therefore not private)
  • Officer personal Facebook/social media accounts (not actively monitored for AFA concerns)
  • Excessively lengthy texts (please use email for important information as it’s easier to respond and forward to appropriate resource-texts should be reserved for alerts to an issue that requires a timely response)

Please allow at least 24 business hours for a response to any method of contact (email, phone, text). 

In solidarity,

Melissa, Aladrian, James and Brad

Council 35 News – October 2019

Membership Meeting November 4

Please join us for the next Council 35 membership meeting in SFO. 

Please review this past communication for details.

Management continues to disrespect our contractual language by failing to provide a real-time trading system.  Let them know that enough is enough!  It’s time for management to be accountable, take action to fix Crew Access, and provide a trading system that works for our Flight Attendants!  

Your Master Executive Council (MEC) is asking for you to take action by joining the campaign to let management know that the time for excuses is over.  Select this link to send an email message to management letting them know that it’s time for them to take responsibility, honor their agreements, and fix the problems once and for all.  Let’s flood management’s inboxes with our messages and let them know that we’re tired of apologies and ready for action!TSA Crew Member Self Defense TrainingActive crew members of all domestic scheduled carriers are eligible to attend the TSA Crew Member Self Defense Training Program.  The program provides four-hours of training to prepare active crew members of all domestic scheduled carriers for potential physical altercations both on and off the aircraft.

To register for this no-cost training, search for the training course near you and submit the online registration form. Reporting instructions will be provided upon registration and successful verification of employment.

Upcoming Bay Area dates and location: South San Francisco, CA

  1. November 15, 8 a.m. – 12 p.m.
  2. December 6, 8 a.m. – 12 p.m. 


End of Year Record Improvement

JCBA 32.G.4 defines the year-end record improvement process for Flight Attendants. If a Flight Attendant has no more than 4 attendance points at the end of the year, s/he achieves 480 annual TFP,  and the FA does not accumulate any points for the months of November and December, then her/his point balance will be brought to zero.  The manual adjustment occurs mid-January which will be reflected on FAs attendance point records.  Important note for L-VX FAs:  the 480 TFP qualification for end of year record improvement is not required for the year 2019, however it be for the year 2020.Delinquent Dues  
Based on the latest October report from AFA International, Council 35 has 137members with an account past due and considered in “Bad Standing.”   

Paying membership dues is a condition of employment which is defined in §28 of the JCBA. Delinquency will place a member in “Bad Standing” and the member will not be able to attend Union Meetings or participate in any voting activities, including officer elections and voting on TAs. After several months of attempting to collect delinquent dues, a member will be placed at “Standing 5,” which is the designation for the final stage of delinquency and AFA will request discharge of employment for non-payment of dues. To ensure AFA membership stays current members in Standing 3 should either bring account up-to-date or commit to a promissory note payment plan to avoid being advanced to Standing 5 and possible termination.  To confirm the exact amount needed to make your account current, use the following link to contact an AFA representative:
https://www.afacwa.org/ contact_membership_services
To make a payment:https://secure.unasecure.net/ afanet/dues_payment.cfm
For more information about promissory notes:https://www.afacwa.org/ payment_options
For those members that have not made accounts current, Council 35 will be sending individual emails as a reminder with specific account information.  For more information regarding dues, please contact James Ikehara or Aladrian Hillmon. 

The Company Knows What About Me?

When Grievance Committee Members represent a Flight Attendant in an investigatory meeting, the Flight Attendant is often surprised by the depth of information that is easily accessible to management. Not a comprehensive list, however some of the evidence brought forward during an investigation are in the form of the following:

  • All non-revenue travel history online and offline via ID90 and MyIDTravel
  • Date non-revenue/commuter listings were created
  • Date non-revenue tickets were purchased
  • Eligible family members-date/destination of travel and date  listings were created
  • Guest passes-date/destination of travel and date listings were created
  • Date/destination a Flight Attendant travels using paid revenue tickets on Alaska and other carriers
  • All correspondence and email content on alaskaair.com email accounts, including messages that have been deleted
  • All stored data and usage history of an inflight mobile device (IMD), including any internet browsing history and apps downloaded
  • Location of an IMD (or last known location if powered off), even if not connected to the internet
  • All schedule changes on Crew Access including when a trip is advertised/un-advertised; all comments posted on trip giveaways and trades; record of all trades and attempted trades
  • The location from where a Flight Attendant accesses Alaskasworld.com and/or Crew Access (using the IP address)
  • Hotel surveillance camera records and key card room access detail
  • Access records, including timestamps, for employee parking lot card readers, company badge readers, KCM barcode scans, and SIDA badge readers
  • Surveillance camera records for company buildings, company leased space, employee parking lots, and other airport property
  • Public social media accounts

Information provided courtesy of the MEC Grievance Committee.

New Human Rights Committee

Council 35 is happy to announce the appointment of Ryan Pittinger as Chair of the newly created Human Rights Committee (HRC).  Ryan attended a training event in LAS in September which was the launch of the new committee by AFA International.  Ryan is excited to get this new committee up and running and wrote a small description of his experience.  Please read his letter to Council 35 members to understand his passion for the ground-breaking role.

Committee Chairs and Members Needed

The following Council 35 committees have vacancies in both the chair and member positions:

If you are interested in volunteering, please have a look at the position duties and responsibilities and reach out to your Council 35 officers at SFO@afaalaska.org.

Open Enrollment Base Sits

Open enrollment for Alaska Airlines benefits elections started last week on October 23.  Enrollment will be open through November 13, 2019.  Council 35 will be hosting a base sit in the SFO village November 10-12. Please stop by for information regarding this year’s options.  Light refreshments will be provided.  Please look for another communication with more details in the next week.

FAQs

How do I contact Council 35 Officers?

The best way to contact Council 35 officers is via email using a personal email account. The preferred methods of contact are:

  • sfo@afaalaska.org (this is the group contact for all officers-if one officer is flying /unavailable the other officers can respond)
  • Individual officer emails (if information is for a specific officer)
  • Calls/text (if situation requires more urgent attention)

When contacting Council 35 Officers please avoid the following methods:

  • Sending to/from alaskaair.com email (subject to company audits and therefore not private)
  • Officer personal Facebook/social media accounts (not actively monitored for AFA concerns)
  • Excessively lengthy texts (please use email for important information as it’s easier to respond and forward to appropriate resource-texts should be reserved for alerts to an issue that requires a timely response)

Please allow at least 24 business hours for a response to any method of contact (email, phone, text).  

In solidarity,

Melissa, Aladrian, James and Brad

Council 35 News-September 2019

Membership Meeting November 4

Mark your calendar and plan to attend the Council 35 Membership Meeting in SFO.  All members in good standing are encouraged to attend to meet officers and committee chairs and get updates on the latest concerns facing SFO based Flight Attendants.  Special guest Karen Ferrell, AFA Pairing Analyst will be present to answer questions regarding pairing construction in SFO.

  • Date: 11/4/19
  • Location:  Terminal 2 Tunnel Conference Room (map)
  • Time: 1100-1300
  • Who: C35 members in good standing (dues up-to-date)

Supplement Insurance Enrollment Still Available 

If you missed the September 16-18 session with the National Group Protection (NGP) representative JoAnn Levandoski, Flight Attendants have one more chance to sign up if you are traveling through PDX. JoAnn will be in PDX on October 13th-15th to enroll or make changes to your existing coverage. For more information on on policies and options please visit the NGP website.

New Gate Numbering System at SFO Starts October 16

SFO will migrate to a new alpha-numeric gate numbering system across all terminals on October 16. The gates we currently use, 50-59, will change to D1-D18. The following link provided by the airport explains the methodology behind the new numbering system.

Welcome Class 2019-5


On September 25, 78 trainees graduated to become Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants.  Council 35 would like to extend a warm welcome to the 10 FAs joining SFO on October 1.  If you need any assistance with your transition to SFO, please feel free to reach out to the SFO Reserve Committee or SFO Officers with questions. 

Committee Opening: Benefits

Council 35 is still seeking a committee chair for the Benefits Committee.  If you are interested please reach to officers at sfo@afaalaska.org.

Council 35 Government Affairs DC Visit

Government Affairs committee members from AFA Alaska attended an AFA International sponsored “fly in” to our nation’s capitol.  GA committee members from all AFA carriers were able to visit key locations ]in Washington DC to lobby AFA issues with key government officials.   Council 35 chair, Rodolfo Garcia, writes his experience in this summary

Photo credits:  Council 35 GA Chair Rodolfo Garcia and AFA International President Sara Nelson.

Crew Scheduling Issues

Very often Flight Attendants who encounter operational issues while on duty and find themselves frustrated or in disagreement with a scheduler should reach out to the scheduling Manager on Duty (MOD).  If you believe a scheduler has not followed SOP or has not followed contractual guidelines for an assignment, please request to speak to the MOD at the time of the event.    Keep in mind that if you are unable to resolve the conflict at the time of the event, be prepared to “fly in protest” and present the issue to your base scheduling committee for follow up with crew scheduling management.  With more information, scheduling committee members and crew scheduling management can more efficiently research flight attendant inquiries and determine a resolution. 

Trip Trades and Swaps

Council 35 Officers have seen an increase in complaints regarding unwanted trip trades initiated by Flight Attendants. There appears to be a lack of consideration of published trip preferences. As a result, we would like to provide guidance for those posting trades to avoid further disagreements.

Be specific and provide a clear description of the type of desired trip.  Some examples:

  • “trade for a high credit”
  • “minimum 7 TFP”
  • “2 legs only on the same day”
  • “no A position”
  • Provide number and indicate “must text first”
  • Post as “grab” rather than trade

When a trade or swap is made accidentally, FAs are expected to sort out the disagreement respectfully.  The problem arises when one or both of the FAs are unable to agree on a solution.  Very often, if the trade was part of a series of trades and the original trip or trips are no longer available, it is difficult to reach a resolution.  This is particularly challenging with L-VX FAs who are accustomed to a bidding system that required approvals for all trades.

Management has taken the position that they will not interfere with, or participate in, any remedies for trading errors.  They believe that understanding the system is the FA’s responsibility and expects that courtesy will be offered to fellow Flight Attendants.  EAP/Professional Standards is available to help facilitate an amicable resolution between parties however requests to compel management to change their position on a remedy have not been successful.

Trending Discipline: Sick Leave Abuse Investigations Still Ongoing

When calling in sick, whether protected under FMLA or normal sick, the company’s expectation is that the Flight Attendant is taking the time to recover from an illness which is preventing them from being able to work.  If evidence is discovered that shows a Flight Attendant using sick leave that doesn’t appear to be recovering, the company will investigate. Recent investigations have included travel audits, scheduling requests and social media posts that the company believes may contradict a Flight Attendant’s alleged sick status.  From the company’s perspective, calling in sick for any other reason than sick, is considered time card fraud.  In all cases, the investigations concluded in termination when proof of illness is not substantiated by evidence (i.e. hospital/doctor/medical receipts) and when conflicting evidence of apparent wellness is presented. This is true for both sick leave and FMLA.  Sadly most cases brought forward to management for investigation have been provided by other Flight Attendants.  If you have any questions, please reach out to your Council 35 officers for assistance.  

FAQs 

How do I contact Council 35 Officers?
The best way to contact Council 35 officers is via email using a personal email account. The preferred methods of contact are:

  • sfo@afaalaska.org (this is the group contact for all officers-if one officer is flying /unavailable the other officers can respond)
  • Individual officer emails (if information is for a specific officer)
  • Calls/text (if situation requires more urgent attention)

When contacting Council 35 Officers please avoid the following methods:

  • Sending to/from alaskaair.com email (subject to company audits and therefore not private)
  • Officer personal Facebook/social media accounts (not actively monitored for AFA concerns)
  • Excessively lengthy texts (please use email for important information as it’s easier to respond and forward to appropriate resource-texts should be reserved for alerts to an issue that requires a timely response)

Please allow at least 24 business hours for a response to any method of contact (email, phone, text).  

In solidarity,

Melissa, Aladrian, James and Brad

Melissa Osborne, LEC President •  Melissa.osborne@afaalaska.org • 415-275-1322
Aladrian Hillmon, LEC Vice President • Aladrian.hillmon@afaalaska.org •  415-991-3791
James Ikehara, LEC Secretary •  James.ikehara@afaalaska.org  • 415-289-9011
Bradley Young, Council Representative • Bradley.young@afaalaska.org • 916-508-3503

Council 35 (SFO) Special Election Results

The following AFA Flight Attendants were elected to Local Council Officer positions representing the Flight Attendants based in San Francisco:

LEC President:  Melissa Osborne
LEC Vice President: Aladrian Hillmon
LEC Secretary: James Ikehara

View the certified election results here

These officers will serve a term of office starting immediately and concluding on June 30, 2019.

The Master Executive Council (MEC) congratulates the newly elected officers and we sincerely thank all those who stepped forward to run in the election.

In Solidarity,

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

Stay In The Loop: Manage Your AFA Newsletter Subscription

As a reminder, AFA representation for Legacy Virgin America (L-VX) Flight Attendants will shift on August 1.  LAX-based Flight Attendants will move to AFA Council 18, the currently established Local Council that represents Legacy Alaska (L-AS) Flight Attendants based at LAX. Going forward, AFA Council 35 will only represent SFO-based Flight Attendants.

The AFA newsletter system allows Flight Attendants to manage their own account and subscribe to the AFA Local Council(s) of her/his choosing.  L-VX Flight Attendants who are LAX-based might wish to subscribe to Council 18 AFA email newsletters to ensure that they receive correct Local Council emails and up-to-date information.  Additionally, the manage subscription function can be used to make changes in the event of a base transfer.

How To Manage Your Subscription

To manage your subscription, click “manage your subscription” link at the bottom of your email. To ensure security, this is the only way to access the subscription management page.

Once on the subscription management page, check the box for the AFA Local Council(s) you would like to subscribe to emails from.  At the bottom of the page are fields to update personal subscription information (name, email address, airline, base, and employee/PeopleSoft number). After making changes, click the blue “submit” button at the bottom of the page to save any changes.

Questions?

If you have any questions or need assistance with your AFA newsletter subscription, please contact your LEC Officers.  If LAX-based, email lax@afaalaska.org; if SFO-based, email sfo@afaalaska.org.

AFA News in Review – September 19, 2025

In This Edition Celebrating Hispanic-Latinx Heritage Month Originally posted September 15, 2025 Join us in celebrating Hispanic-Latinx Heritage Month from September 15 to October 15, a time dedicated to honoring the vibrant cultures and significant contributions of Hispanic-Latinx Americans. Discover the history, participate in special events, and grab your commemorative Hispanic-Latinx Heritage Month AFA Pin […]

Pre-Merger Alaska MEC Committee Election Results

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants During this week’s MEC Meeting, our MEC held interviews for the first group of pre-merger Alaska MEC Committee positions to be elected for the upcoming MEC Officer term. We want to thank everyone who expressed interest in the available positions and their willingness to serve. After careful […]

Merged MEC Committee Chairperson Election Results

This message is for both pre-merger Alaska and Hawaiian Flight Attendants During this week’s MEC Meeting, our MEC held interviews for the next group of merged MEC Committee Chairpersons. We want to thank everyone who expressed interest in the available positions and their willingness to serve. After careful consideration and deliberation, the following candidates have […]

Election Notice: Alaska + Hawaiian MEC Officer Elections

The term of office for our current Alaska + Hawaiian Master Executive Council (MEC) Officers will conclude on December 31, 2025. The voting members of the MEC (LEC Presidents) will elect new MEC Officers at the November Regular MEC meeting. This communication serves as notice of the election in accordance with the MEC Policy and Procedure Manual. […]

SEA Domicile Negotiations – September 2025 Update #2

This message is for pre-merger Hawaiian Flight Attendants Negotiations Update Our SEA Domicile Negotiating Committee met with the company on September 11 to review their response to our September 5 proposal.  We feel that it is important to acknowledge the challenges within our company as Alaska management is struggling to understand our Collective Bargaining Agreement […]

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