Council 35 News – January 2022

January 31, 2022 11:45

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.

Violation	Cases	% Total
Appearance of Sleeping	1	2%
Intentional Flying with COVID	1	2%
Breaking Quarantine/Insubordination	1	2%
Lost IMD	1	2%
Mask Non-compliance	1	2%
Comping Non-Revs	1	2%
Theft from Aircraft	1	2%
Uniform	1	2%
Last Chance Agreement	1	2%
12+ Points	1	2%
Reserve Out of Base	2	4%
Late to Plane/Delay/Missing Required Item	6	11%
CBT Missed Deadline	14	26%
Commuter Policy	21	39%
Total Grievances	54	100%

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

Council 35 – News November

December 8, 2021 13:35

Important Dates

Dec 1-15: Travel Open Enrollment
Dec 31: Dependent Verification
Dec 31: Current Uniform Allotment ends
Dec 31: Annual Compliance Training (ACT) CBT due
Jan 1: Contractual Uniform Allotment added

COVID-19 Points Forgiveness

Per the new agreement with management, Flight Attendants can once again submit for points forgiveness for COVID-19 related absences with corresponding documentation. The time limits for submitting have been suspended. If you’ve had a previous submission denied due to timeliness, please resubmit for points removal. This process is manual, so allow some time for the adjustment to show on the attendance record. To request a points review, visit:

Alaskasworld>>Inflight >>Administration>>Performance>>COVID-19 Absence Reporting Form

Reporting Service Safety Hazards

by Brad Young, Council 35 ASHSC Chair/Council Rep

Please remember to report any safety hazards that you experience while performing the expanded onboard service. This could include examples of increased exposure to passengers (e.g. passenger removing their mask to speak to you, etc.) or other hazards related to service. Please also report any trash stowage concerns or issues (e.g. trash was stowed under the last row, in the LAV or in the O/H bin) due to the lack of dedicated ‘trash cart’ space or lack of galley trash bin space in the aircraft. Please fill out both an FAIR and ASAP report in those events. You can report these hazards through Block2Block and/or ReportIt! by submitting either a FAIR and/or ASAP for each flight on which they occur. It is important to include the terms “COVID-19″ and “service” in your narrative to ensure they are correctly categorized by management. This data will help our AFA representatives (Inflight Service and Safety Committees) to advocate for safe levels of service and/or further reduce onboard service again.

Dependent Verification

If you were in the group of selected employees in the dependent audit, the deadline to provide documentation for dependents receiving health care coverage is 12/31/21.

New Reserve Committee Members

Council 35 is happy to announce and welcome not only one new committee member, but two! Meg Casey and Camile Caldwell have stepped forward to co-chair the Council 35 Reserve Committee and the timing couldn’t be more perfect with all the hiring expected next year. Get to know these wonderful volunteers by reading their bios in their own words:

Meg Casey

Meg grew up as an Army brat and served for several years in the Coast Guard which ultimately led to her love of travel and meeting new people. It was with this in mind that she decided to pursue a career as a flight attendant with Virgin America in 2017 and now she’s not sure why she didn’t become a flight attendant sooner. She has been SFO based since she started flying and has bounced back and forth between reserve and having a line for the last 4 years. Meg knows how tough it can be to be on reserve, especially now, and she wants to serve as an advocate for our SFO reserves. She’s excited to serve in her new role and would like to invite you to reach out with any questions or concerns about reserve life or the reserve portion of the contract. Meg lives in the North Bay, and when she’s not flying, she enjoys hiking, traveling, reading, and trying all the food.

Camile Caldwell

Camile began her Flight Attendant career in October of 2017 with Virgin America, and quickly discovered her love of travel and the airline industry as a whole. She has been on and off reserve for her entire career, adapting to whatever crew scheduling throws her way, and holds a reserve line currently. With the drop off in flying due to COVID she took a voluntary furlough, which only made her realize how much she missed working and, upon returning to work, how much she wanted to get more involved within the FA workgroup. Camile is extremely eager to become a resource for all SFO reserves, work to help them better understand their contract, and be a voice for reserves within the union and to management. Before becoming a Flight Attendant Camile graduated from California Polytechnic State University with a BS in Geology. She currently lives in Sacramento and enjoys spending time with friends and family whenever she can.

Have a question for SFO Reserve? Both Meg and Camile can be reached at sfo.reserve@afaalaska.org.

Year End Reminders

Uniform Allotment-Use it or Lose it

In January 2022 a new set of funds will be allotted to all Flight Attendant that meet the criteria (JCBA §13.D.6), however none of the funds from this year will roll-over (JCBA §13.D.1). If you want to make any last minute orders (even for backordered items), now is the time to do it.

Record Improvement

JCBA § 32.G.4. Flight Attendants meeting the following conditions will have attendance points reduced to zero:

4 or less attendance points at the end of the year
achieves 480 TFP for the year
does not accumulate any attendance points for the months of November and December

The manual adjustment occurs mid-January which will be reflected on FAs attendance point records.

480

Flight Attendants must achieve 480 TFP for the year to maintain the following benefits:

Uniforms §13.D.6
Vacation §16.L.4
Health Insurance §33.B.1-4
Attendance year-end record improvement §32.G.4

To see your TFP accruals for the year, please visit:

Alaskasworld>>Inflight Page>>Administration>>Calculators

We’re Here to Help: Online Support Center

The best way to contact us for support is by submitting an online support ticket. By selecting the type of concern you have, the best rep for your situation can assist you. The online support ticket system is for AFA use (not management) and is confidential, so please use a personal email address to open a request. Direct emails and contact info can also be found on the SFO C ommittee Page.

Want More News?
The Alaska MEC (of which Council 35 is a part) is proud to announce a new communication strategy called “AFA Alaska News Now,” which can be found on popular social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Additionally a recap of the news will be published in an “AFA Alaska News In Review” weekly digest. Don’t like social media? No problem! “AFA Alaska News in Review” will be sent to personal email addresses on file, so those of you who do not have social media and do not check the AFA Alaska websites regularly will still receive the information. Use this link if you need to make a change or update to your personal email address.

Happy Holidays and Fly Safe!

In solidarity,

Melissa, James and Brad

Recent Changes to COVID-19 Policies – Part 4

November 24, 2021 09:00

Recent Changes to COVID-19 Policies – Part 4

Master Executive Council (MEC) and Grievance Committee

Click here for Part 1 >

Click here for Part 2 >

Click here for Part 3 >

In This Update

No §32 Attendance Policy Points for Workplace Exposure Quarantines
Grievance No. 36-99-2-241-21 “Violation of §32 Attendance Policy/COVID-19” Withdrawn
Reports of Bullying and Harassment

No More §32 Attendance Policy Points for Workplace Exposure Quarantines

In Inflight Bulletin 2021-0071 (AAG SSO required), Alaska Airlines management updated Company policy with regard to Section 32 Attendance Policy points assessed for unvaccinated and “prefer not to state” Flight Attendants on a Company-directed COVID-19 workplace exposure quarantine.

A few facts:

Management began implementing a policy to assess attendance points to such Flight Attendants effective August 30, 2021.
AFA pushed back and reached an agreement with management by the end of September to retroactively forgive points assessed under that policy change.
Management once again implemented a policy to assess attendance points to such Flight Attendants effective October 1, 2021.
AFA preemptively filed Grievance No. 36-99-2-241-21 “Violation of §32 Attendance Policy/COVID-19” on September 30, 2021, in anticipation of the policy change.
In the early days of October, MEC President Jeff Peterson brought forward concerns to management that assessing attendance points to unvaccinated employees who also have approved accommodations on file is discriminatory and therefore very likely illegal. This is because the accrual of attendance points can lead to discipline and potentially termination, and there is disparate treatment compared to vaccinated employees who do not receive attendance points for the same circumstances. Management was “looking into it.”
Buried under the heading “COVID-19 Vaccination Points” in the November 1^st Bulletin Bundle, management quietly announced a revised policy retroactive to October 1^st that rescinds the previous attempts to assess attendance points to such Flight Attendants.

Coincidence? Absolutely not! Not one word from management about AFA’s advocacy here, but we’re going to take credit for this one.

Grievance No. 36-99-2-241-21 “Violation of §32 Attendance Policy/COVID-19” Withdrawn

AFA has subsequently withdrawn Grievance No. 36-99-2-241-21 “Violation of §32 Attendance Policy/COVID-19” because management’s policy change resolved the contractual dispute.

AFA will continue to pursue a remedy for Grievance No. 36-99-2-230-21 “Violation of §16 Sick Leave/On the Job” because of the disparate treatment of unvaccinated and “prefer not to state” Flight Attendants, who are forced to use sick leave for a Company-directed COVID-19 workplace exposure quarantine.

Reports of Bullying and Harassment

Several Flight Attendants have contacted MEC leadership to report that they have felt bullied due to their COVID-19 vaccination status and/or their opinion about the Company’s COVID-19 policies. This goes both ways—we have received emails from both vaccinated and unvaccinated Flight Attendants. In general, the perceived bullying is not specific to an individual but rather to the groups of vaccinated or unvaccinated Flight Attendants. We wanted to take a minute to remind everyone that we are, first and foremost, all Flight Attendants. Our job is tougher than ever right now, and we need to be respectful of each other, both on the line and on social media.

Many Flight Attendants have applied for and received valid religious or medical exemptions to the vaccination mandate. Alaska Airlines management creates, controls, and monitors the process for applying for and approving or denying such exemption requests. This process is mandated by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to prevent religious discrimination and by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to prevent discrimination due to a medical condition. No Flight Attendant should be bullied or made uncomfortable because of exercising or not exercising their rights under the law. Since vaccination status in these cases is tied to a legally protected class, these laws prohibit discrimination and pervasive harassment against such individuals.

On the flip side, some vaccinated Flight Attendants report being bullied about voicing their questions, concerns, frustrations, and general opinions about working conditions: specifically, management’s accommodations process and testing protocol. Federal courts have upheld employees’ rights to openly discuss such concerns. For example, employees are legally allowed to state that they believe the accommodations process is too easy to manipulate or that management should place all employees with approved exemptions on unpaid leaves. Similarly, other employees may express support for the existing process.

These are potentially divisive issues with passionate opinions on both sides, but we need to be kind to each other regardless. We may vehemently disagree with someone, but that does not mean a discussion about it—even if legally protected—is welcome or is not hurtful. Life during the pandemic has been extremely rough, but with less than a year to go to contract negotiations, we need to look out for one another now more than ever and to find strength in our solidarity.

Council 35 News – September 2021

October 1, 2021 12:44

Important Dates

September 30: Last day of COVID Points Forgiveness-today!
October 1: Vacation Round 2 opens
October 15: Last day to submit vaccination record for $200
October 18: Vacation Round 2 closes
October 25: Vacation Round 2 Awards posted
Various dates (see below): How-To Series

Hotel and Reserve Committee Opportunities

Council 35 has chair openings in the Hotel and Reserve Committees. Please review the duties and responsibilities of each position which can be found on our website. If you are interested in volunteering, please submit a letter expressing your interest to sfo@afalaska.org.

How-To Series Starts October 1st

Council 35 is happy to announce a new learning series to help Flight Attendants navigate a variety of scheduling and reserve activities. In collaboration with Inflight Base Managers Cierra Lewis and Benito Pasia-Garcia, our very own Virginia Fritz, SFO Scheduling Chair, is hosting these events along with PDX Reserve Chair, Anthony Eskander. Each event will include a short lesson about a scheduling or reserve topic followed by live Q&A. These short live events will be held throughout the month of October via Teams. Can’t make the event you want? No problem! All live events will be recorded and posted for FAs unable to attend. To view live events, past recordings or more information, visit the How-To website on Alaskasworld. Schedule and details can be found in the following links:

October 1: Personal and Management Drops
October 4:  Bidding Strategies for your Seniority
October 13:  Splitting and Advertising Reserve Days
October 14:  Trading Reserve Days
October 15:  Posting and Shifting Reserve Days and Understanding Coverage
October 15:  TO and Non-TO Days and Open Time
October 26:  Lineholder’s Picking up Reserve Days
October 28:  Precancellations

COVID MOU Sunsets

The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) negotiated to remove points for COVID related absences will sunset today, September 30. AFA requested that management extend the MOU however the suggestion was not accepted and management will discontinue the COVID points forgiveness program as planned. Please be sure to submit for COVID related absences according the guidelines in the MOU. Flight Attendants returning from leave on October 1 have 14 days to submit documentation. Additionally, any FA that has a continuous absence that begins in September but carries over into October will also be considered for point forgiveness if reported in a timely manner. Please review the COVID Points Forgiveness MOU for more information. Reminder to CA based Flight Attendants: Please review the State Laws Part 3 communication for information on CA COVID laws.

Call to Action: Possible Government Shutdown

Transportation is one of the many industries that will be affected by a government shutdown. Join other AFA members and let your state’s representatives know that avoiding the shutdown is important to Flight Attendants. For more information and how this impacts our jobs, please read No More Shutdowns and take part in this important mobilization effort.

Save the Date: California Local Council Membership Meeting

The next membership meeting for Council 35 members will be Thursday, November 18, 2021 at 1100 via Zoom. The purpose will be to discuss news and events happening in California bases at Alaska. This meeting will be a combined council meeting and open to all Council 35 (SFO), 18 (LAX) and 15 (SAN) members in good standing (up-to-date on dues). Agenda, time and registration details will be sent in a separate communication.

AFA Membership Dues – Update

by LEC Secretary and Membership Chair, James Ikehara
Approximately 300 Council 35 members are in arrears with their monthly AFA dues based on the September 2021 report from AFA International’s Membership Services department. Although the amount of months in arrears vary widely, a member that is only one month late ($50) can fall into a “Bad Standing” status if the amount owed is more than 90 days delinquent; there are approximately 102 members that fall into this category. A delinquency may have been caused by the following

A type of leave of absence you incurred in the past and were not coordinating enough sick leave or vacation to cover your dues
You flew low TFP’s in any given month and there was not enough money for an auto-deduction
When you are on any type of leave and you are completely off payroll (not coordinating any sick leave or vacation time) you are obligated to pay the first 3 months during your leave according to the AFA-CWA, Constitution & Bylaws. Once the 3 months have been fulfilled you have met your obligation and you do not owe union dues until you return to work.

If your delinquency is not corrected, the following is the progression of steps taken for non-payment based on AFA International’s bylaws:

Standing 2 (S2) – this letter indicates you are now in bad standing and this is the first stage of the AFA-CWA delinquency process. A flight attendant goes into S2 when you have ONE or more dues billings that are over 90 days old and remain unpaid.
Standing 3 (S3) – this letter indicates that the FA remains delinquent after receiving the initial “Bad Standing” warning letter. You now receive your S-3 letter via certified mail return receipt (if AFA International has an incorrect address on file, the LEC President or Secretary will put it into your co-mail file at work and it is treated as if it was sent via certified mail). Nonpayment could result in discharge per our FA Collective Bargaining Agreement, Section 26 C & D.
Standing 4 (S4) – this is a pending status which means your International Membership Services department is researching your account for you.
Standing 5 (S5) – this is your final warning and this becomes very serious. After receiving your S-2 and S-3 letters for nonpayment, our International AFA office in Washington, D.C. sends a letter to Alaska Airlines requesting discharge for nonpayment and a copy of this letter is also sent to your LEC President.

If you have received a text or email from me, or a letter from AFA International’s Membership Services department about your dues, it is important you contact AFA-CWA Membership Services by calling them directly at 844-232-2228, extension 3 (Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm Eastern), or by submitting an online inquiry via this link to verify the amount owed on your account. If you were on any type of leave, ensure you note the dates of your leave in the comments section and they will investigate and make the necessary changes. Debit and credit card payments can be made via this link.

If you need to complete a Dues Check Off (DCO) form to ensure your dues are automatically deducted from your account, you can access the form here. After printing and signing the DCO, mail it to the Washington, D.C. address at the bottom of the form. Please note the following: the paycheck you receive on the 20th of each month (Advice Date) pays you for all of your flying for the previous month. However, the AFA dues that are payroll deducted from this check pays for the month it was deducted (i.e., the $50 deduction for October 20th will be for October dues, not for the previous month). For those returning to work from one of the mitigated leaves of absence, your dues may not be deducted since you were not active in the previous month.

If you are not able to pay your balance in full, payment options are available and can be coordinated with the Membership Services office. We are here to offer assistance in ways of paying your obligation so it is very important that we work together to ensure that Section 26 C, D & E of our Collective Bargaining Agreement are not applied for non-payment of dues which could result in termination once you have reached a Standing 5 status. We want to ensure the status of your AFA membership stays current and appreciate your prompt attention to correct this issue.

In solidarity,

Melissa, James and Brad

August Updates and Information

August 26, 2021 14:00

Covid Vaccination Concerns

Being AFA Officers we have a duty to fairly represent all our members regardless of personal beliefs, we will continue to represent our entire membership. We have heard from members who want us to advocate for mandatory vaccinations and members who want us to advocate for voluntary vaccinations. This is a complex issue with strong opinions on both sides. It’s just not possible to advocate for both at the same time. That being said, AFA Alaska has advocated for neither position. We have, however, continued to inform management regarding the varying opinions of our membership and their concerns.

The reality is the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has very clearly stated that companies are well within their legal rights to implement a vaccination requirement as long as they offer accommodations for religious or medical exemptions—provided such accommodations do not pose an undue burden on the company. There is no freedom protected by law that is violated in doing so, but nonetheless, we understand the concerns from many of our members about the perceived violation of their personal liberties and their bodies.

If the company does decide to mandate the vaccine, that decision will trigger discussions between the union and management. We can not impose anything on the company, we can only negotiate.

Grievance vs Gripe

Not all concerns brought forward to AFA can be resolved by the union. Knowing the difference between a Grievance and a Gripe is key to understanding how we can assist you.

Grievance

A grievance is a formal challenge to management that our contract has been violated or that unjust discipline has been issued. Example: “Charter flying was awarded out of seniority order.” We have specific contract language citing how Charter Bids will be awarded, therefore, this could be a grievance.

Prior to filing a grievance, your local union reps will attempt to resolve the concern with management, if that proves to be unsuccessful, a formal grievance may be filed.

Gripe

A Gripe is a complaint that is not a contractual violation.

Example: “It’s not fair that I was flown into a day off”. It may not seem fair, but it is contractual, therefore this would be considered a gripe. Or “I thought I had the day off because my flight canceled, why did I get a no show? This isn’t fair! Our contract states that you must report as scheduled if no contact is made with crew scheduling for canceled flying, therefore this would be considered a gripe.

Occasionally we hear from members that are upset because they were unaware of contractual language or a company policy that has been violated. It’s everyone’s responsibility to know our work rules. Not knowing the rules doesn’t prevent management from issuing discipline.

Your SAN union reps are always available to help determine when a complaint is a gripe or a grievance. We are always willing to assist you with contract interpretation. SAN@afaalaska.org

Please ensure that you have our contact information saved on your phone. You never know when you may need to reach out to us.

Performance Investigations and Disciplines

CBT

Discipline for failing to complete quarterly CBTs is continuing to trend. Flight Attendants returning from leave are given 60 days to complete CBTs. The Council 15 Grievance Committee has been successful in assisting FAs dispute discipline when evidence of technical difficulties exists. Being busy and forgetting to complete the CBT has not been accepted as extenuating circumstances to miss a CBT deadline and the discipline will remain. If more than one CBT deadline is missed, discipline will progress to higher steps on the discipline scale (i.e. 2 missed CBTs in 18 month period will escalate to a Written Warning, 3 to a suspension, the 4th could result in termination).

Commuter Violations

Monthly audits are occurring, and Council 15 has seen disciplines for misuse lessen however there are still Flight Attendants that are using it incorrectly. Please be sure your registered cities are current and comply with guidelines set forth in the commuter program.

D8Y Commuter status is a negotiated benefit and those traveling on D8Y status have a very high priority, traveling above executives on leisure travel and all other nonrevs.

Flying using D8Y Commuter status is for flights starting/ending in your HOME RESIDENCE AIRPORT and SAN AIRPORT only. you can take a flight that has a connection, but only if all legs are on Alaska Metal.

You CAN NOT use D8Y status for out-of-base pickups, releasing from DH and flying home, or between any cities that do not start and or end in SAN or the Airport where you reside. for these examples, you would list as E1Y.

Operational Concerns

Management continues to assert that we are properly staffed.

While their plan may look good to them on paper, those of us flying every day certainly feel otherwise. While we endure the constant barrage of Reassignments, Premium Trip notifications, and Reserve burn-out; management continues to rely on a pre-COVID game plan that is no longer valid. It’s time for management to evaluate their staffing models and account for the impact of the pandemic.

Know your work rules:
Download a copy of the Contract to your mobile device.
Review: Section 10.R [Reassignments] & 10.S [Pre-Cancelations] &
Section 8 [Hours of Service].

Save your Local Union Reps contact information:

Email & Office Phone Number are monitored throughout the day

SAN@afaalaska.org or Call 206-457-2010 ext 5

Line Holder Scheduling Questions

SAN.Scheduling@afaalaska.org

Reserve Questions

SAN.Reserve@afaalaska.org

Covid Points

COVID-19 Points Forgiveness Extended Through September 2021

The Section 32 Attendance Policy Points Related to COVID-19 MOU provides Flight Attendants an opportunity for points adjustment for the COVID-19 related absences with supporting documentation.

Your Council 15 officers encourage members to submit the form for absences related to COVID-19. Please review the MOU for details on what points are eligible for adjustment. This process is manual, so allow some time for the adjustment to show on the attendance record. To request a points review, visit: Alaskasworld> Inflight> Administration> Performance> COVID-19 Absence Reporting Form. See Bulletin #2021-0046 for more information.

Leaves, Benefits, Retirement

If you have any questions regarding various Medical Leaves, FMLA, and Worker’s Compensation please reach out to our Local Benefits Committee Chairperson Sonia Quackenbush

Retirement questions should be directed to our Local Retirement Committee Chairperson, Stephen Couckuyt.

Contact information for all local committees can be found here.

Fatigue Reporting

When too fatigued to fly, you have the option of notifying Crew Scheduling that you are unfit to fly by calling in Fatigued. Once you call, you are put immediately into 10 hours rest, whether at domicile or mid trip. Once this rest period ends, you may be required to rejoin your original trip.

There is no penalty for utilizing the Fatigue Risk Management Program (FRMP). Following a fatigue call, you are required to submit a fatigue report within 48 hours of the end of your rest period. The Fatigue Review Board (FRB) meets regularly to review submitted reports. You may be contacted if they have any questions. If your event falls within the fatigue guidelines, the report will be accepted. If the FRB determines that your event does not meet the guidelines, it will be coded as sick or sick on-line and appropriate points will be applied.

If you would like more information (including the list of fatigue event categories) please review the Fatigue Risk Management Plan Manual on Alaska’s World. The FRMP Letter of Agreement may be found by clicking here. It is also available on your IMD. ASFA Supplemental> Collective Bargaining Agreement> Fatigue Risk Management Plan

In Solidarity,

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Recent Changes to COVID-19 Policies – Part 4

In This Update

No More §32 Attendance Policy Points for Workplace Exposure Quarantines

Grievance No. 36-99-2-241-21 “Violation of §32 Attendance Policy/COVID-19” Withdrawn

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