Grievance Committee

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 – August 2021

August 31, 2021 17:51

Important Dates

September 7: Vacation Bidding Opens
September 13: Supplemental Insurance Open Enrollment Begins
September 21: Vacation Bidding Closes
September 24: Supplemental Insurance Open Enrollment Ends
September 28: Vacation 2022 Awards Posted

Never Forget

It’s hard to believe the tragedy of 9/11/01 occurred 20 years ago…an event that changed our lives and industry forever. To commemorate the milestone, AFA and APFA (representing American Flight Attendants) collaborated to create a new 9/11 pin. Council 35 has enough pins for everyone, so please stop by the SFO Village supervisor’s office and pick one up.

Alone in Mexico

Did you know our JCBA provides protection to Flight Attendants flying outside the US? The JCBA§34.A.5.a states that no F/A will travel to a hotel outside the US by themselves. There was a recent incident involving a Flight Attendant who was left behind in SJD after a scheduling change occurred. This F/A was aware of the contract and reached out to AFA for assistance during the event. This is a great example of why it’s important to know your contract, and when something goes wrong, AFA is here to help!

Trending Discipline

from the Grievance Committee

Reserve Not at Base

Reviewing the JCBA§11 which defines the AS reserve rules, the company expects that a reserve Flight Attendant will be within 2 hours of base at the beginning of the assigned reserve availability period (RAP). Commuting into base or being more than 2 hours aways from base at the start of RAP would be considered time card fraud and normally results in termination with the first offense. Lineholders picking up reserve days should be aware of the reserve rules found in JCBA§11 in order to be familiar with the expectations. Any reserve F/A or lienholder picking up reserve days who are interested in extra support or guidance, please reach out to the SFO Reserve Committee for assistance.

Delays

When a delay is caused by a Flight Attendant, either due to tardiness or forgotten required item, management typically initiates an investigation. If it is confirmed that the delay was caused by the FA, discipline will most likely be issued. A first offense can expect a Confirmation of an Oral Warning (COW), unless other discipline is on file, which would increase to the appropriate step based on previous occurrences.

Supplemental Insurance Open Enrollment

from the Benefits Committee
National Group Protection (NGP) announces the open enrollment period for supplemental benefit plans for AFA members.

NGP offers services to include:

Accident Insurance
Hospital Indemnity
Critical Illness Coverage
Whole Life Insurance

NGP offers the following options:

Supplemental – these plans supplement any existing coverage
Voluntary – members choose to participate
Limited Underwriting – no medical or physical exams required
Family Coverage – available with all of the plans
Portable – members can continue coverage if they leave the company
Payroll Deduction – premiums are paid through payroll deduction

The Virtual Enrollment for Alaska AFA members is open from September 13-24, 2021.

Reminder: COVID-19 MOU, Section 32 and CA Law

COVID absences are still a regular event for members. Your Council 35 officers encourage F/As to submit for points forgiveness and follow up with CA state claims to seek additional benefits. For more information, please revisit July’s Newsletter.

Celebration of Life for Tim Krailo

A message from SFO Chief Pilot Kat Pullis

I wanted to pass along the invitation for the Celebration of Life planned for our dear Tim Krailo and his wife Karen. Please RSVP as the family is planning on serving dinner around 6:30pm. If you’d like to attend in uniform to show support from our Alaska family, please feel free to do so. His family sends a huge thank you to our team for the successful Go Fund Me that we did for their children. It has been such a challenging year for their family as Tim’s only sister also passed away last month. Sending all our thoughts and support their way.

Thank you Majo!

Council 35 extends a warm thank you to Majo Tanco, LAX Benefits Committee, for all the help she provided since COVID-19 emerged on the scene. Majo was kind enough to fill in and help Council 35 members while we looked for an SFO-based committee member. We are happy to announce that our new Benefits Chair, Julie Pearson, is now ready to take over where Majo left off. For inquiries regarding anything benefits related, such as FMLA, medical LOAs and Worker’s Compensation, SFO-based FAs should now reach out to Julie at sfo.benefits@afaalaska.org. And thank you Majo for letting SFO “borrow” you while we searched to fill the vacancy!

In solidarity,

Melissa, James and Brad

AFA Alaska Update – May 28, 2021

May 28, 2021 12:00

In This Edition

Grievance Committee Update
Join the Delta AFA Campaign
UNCF Commitment Aircraft
Mental Health Awareness Month

Grievance Committee Update

Grievance Committee

Our Grievance Committee has been very hard at work ensuring disciplinary due process and contractual compliance on your behalf. The collective bargaining agreement (CBA) requires a minimum of 13 arbitration dates yearly to dispute discipline/termination cases and contractual issues. AFA typically prioritizes termination cases to return a Flight Attendant back to work as soon as possible; however, we seek a balance between discipline and contractual cases. AFA and management mutually decide which cases to arbitrate next based on many factors.

Steps of discipline are confirmation of oral warning (COW), written warning (WW), suspension (varied number of days) to termination. COWs, WWs, and suspensions remain in the Flight Attendant’s file for 18 months, and then are removed. If a Flight Attendant is in a step of discipline and gets another violation, the new violation will build on the previous violation. Management doesn’t always progressively travel up the steps of discipline. There is no middle ground or progressive discipline for certain violations. If management investigates a Flight Attendant for theft or abuse of sick leave, for example, management will terminate the Flight Attendant if there is evidence to support its findings; if there is no evidence, then the Flight Attendant will most likely be issued a record of discussion (ROD). A ROD is not considered discipline.

For Your Information – Block2Block Team Messaging

Everything that Flight Attendants and other employees type in the team messaging feature of Block2Block is recorded, saved, and regularly reviewed by management. Anyone in the company who has access to the system can log on to a flight and use the system to communicate or just see what is being said. Also, if they choose, they can go back and review conversations from past flights.

Subjects of Most Recent Discipline

Sick leave and FMLA abuse—terminations on the rise due to travel audits among other things. Anything written in the advertising comments on trip trades and personal drops can be seen, even if later deleted. Also, recorded telephone conversations with Crew Scheduling can be referenced for use by management in discipline. If management determines abuse it results in termination. The Company will be looking at sick leave patterns around holidays as well. This means, for example, if a Flight Attendant has called in sick for 3 of the last 3 Mother’s Days, s/he may be called in for a sick leave abuse meeting.
Timecard fraud—for example: delaying boarding door closure to obtain sit pay. Management has terminated for this violation.
Drug/alcohol violations
Theft. Anything other than an opened/used bottle of water, unused pilot crew meal or purchased food removed from the aircraft will result in termination.
Harassment and discrimination
Reserve Flight Attendants commuting during the reserve availability period (RAP) even if self-assigned a trip and/or not being in base for the entirety of the RAP (except as provided for in §11.C.5 on the last day of the block). Management has terminated for commuting during the RAP several times.
Commuter Violations
- Flight Attendant released from DHD and used D8Y home
- Flight Attendant used D8Y when they picked up out of base
- Flight Attendant used D8Y to/from incorrect cities
- Flight Attendant used D8Y for pleasure travel. Commuter audits are being used for researching whether commuting reserve Flight Attendants are in base for their full RAP, and if not, it typically results in termination.
Social media violations including sending friend or follow requests to passengers on social media based on information gained from Block2Block. Also, postings which can be deemed harassing or discriminatory typically result in discipline ranging from written warning to termination.
Lost IMD or other required items
Failing to complete CBT—even if Flight Attendant just forgets to hit the close out x at the top to switch it from in process to complete.
Uniform Issues—Flight Attendants can and have been pulled from working their flights without pay for uniform non-compliance and/or issued discipline.

Recent Arbitration/Mediation

Arbitration	October	Contractual Grievance
Arbitration	November	Contractual Grievance
Arbitration	December	Contractual Grievance
Arbitration	January	Disciplinary Grievance

Recent Arbitration Awards

Grievance No.: 36-99-2-29-20-Violation of §30.C.4 Computer Based Training (CBT). The Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement [Training], past practice, and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when on or about January 21, 2020, it significantly increased the number of evaluated drills conducted during recurrent training (RT) and considerably changed the requirements to demonstrate proficiency and pass said drills. To pass all 36 drills with the required perfect score, the Company published 39 videos for Flight Attendant viewing with total watch time of 39 minutes and 40 seconds, none of which Flight Attendants were compensated for watching.

Details: Unfortunately, the arbitrator found in favor of the Company. The arbitrator did recognize the merits of the Union’s case; however, the CBA did not provide for the decision for which we hoped.

Recent Grievance Settlements

Grievance No.: 36-99-2-45-17-Violation of §10.S Pre-Cancellation and Schedule Changes. This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §10.S [Scheduling: Pre-Cancellation], past practice and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when it altered Flight Attendant schedules due to a schedule change/flight retiming using inapplicable Pre-Cancellation language without prior notice to or approval from AFA.

Details: All pre-cancellations, retimes, flight routing changes and aircraft downgrades that occur in advance of the day of departure of a sequence will be handled under §10.S [Pre-Cancellations] beginning Tuesday, June 1, 2021, at 12:01 AM Pacific Time. Click here to read the settlement agreement.

Grievance No.: 36-99-2-144-19-Violation §13.D.1 Uniform Allotment and Optional Pieces. This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §13.D.1 [Uniforms: Uniform Allotment/Credits], past practice and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when it refused to give Flight Attendants the ability to purchase Luly Yang inspired by Alaska Airlines optional uniform pieces (which are or will be available for purchase at the Alaska Airlines Company store) with their contractual uniform allotted funds.

Details: The Company is not obligated to sell Luly Yang items at the Company Store; however, if it does, all Luly Yang items will be sold at cost to all Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants. Click here to read the settlement agreement.

Grievance No.: 36-99-2-165-19- Violation of Vacation Trading Past Practice. This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement § 14 [Vacation], an established past practice, and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when it violated an established past practice for a real-time, electronic vacation trading system and the subsequent failure of that system to allow SEA-based Flight Attendants to access and trade vacation at the established start time.

Details: On or about October 28, 2019, the Company’s Flight Attendant vacation trading system went down for 20 minutes affecting many Flight Attendants’ ability to trade their vacation. Approximately 57 Flight Attendants contacted AFA due to the outage. The Company agreed to pay each of those 57 Flight Attendants 1.0 TFP no later than their March 19, 2021, paycheck. Click here to read the settlement agreement.

Grievances Recently Filed and Denied

Grievance No.: 36-99-2-384-20-Violation of §10.S Scheduling Notifications. This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §10.S [Scheduling: Pre-Cancellations], past practice, and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when it used non-contractual scheduling notifications sent to Flight Attendants via the Crew Scheduling system in order to communicate and assign alternate flying or an obligation to call Crew Scheduling within a specific window of time. If a Flight Attendant accepts such non-contractual scheduling notification(s), which is neither contact by Crew Scheduling via Company email nor via primary phone contact as defined in §10.S.1.a, the scheduling notification(s) violates the contract by abrogating the Flight Attendant’s ability to: (1) decline the alternate assignment and waive pay protection (§10.S.2.b), (2) decline the “out of original footprint by more than two hours” alternate assignment and call Crew Scheduling between 6:00 PM and 8:00 PM (local domicile time) the night prior to the start of the original sequence (§10.S.2.c), or (3) waive pay protection and be relieved of any further scheduling obligation (§10.S.3).

Grievance No.: 36-99-2-386-20-Violation of §8.Q & §8.R Contactability and Notification of Delay or Cancellation. This grievance alleges the Company’s violation of Collective Bargaining Agreement §8.Q [Hours of Service: Contactability] and §8.R [Hours of Service: Notification of Delay or Cancellation], past practice, and all related sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement when it used non-contractual scheduling notifications sent via the Crew Scheduling system in order to communicate and assign revised flying to Flight Attendants who were off-duty on a remain overnight (RON). Such scheduling notifications are in violation of the contractually defined means of contact and/or the Flight Attendant’s obligation to respond pursuant to these provisions.

More Information

For more information, including the status of previously filed grievances, please visit the Grievance Committee Activity Page.

Questions?

Please contact your Local Grievance Committee if you have any questions about the Grievance Committee update.

Join the Delta AFA Campaign

AFA International

Volunteer Delta Air Lines Flight Attendants have been actively working to organize and build their Union and AFA continues to support them in their efforts. Activities are continuing to ramp up and the AFA organizing team is seeking Flight Attendants from Alaska and other AFA airlines who would like to get involved. If you have personal connections with Delta Flight Attendants, commute or travel regularly on Delta, or are interested in supporting the organizing effort, please take a moment to complete the online contact form or scan the QR code to the right.

Want to Know More?

You can read more about the Delta AFA organizing campaign at https://www.deltaafa.org.

UNCF Commitment Aircraft

Human Rights Committee

On April 26, 2021, Alaska Airlines proudly received its newest livery, an aircraft that symbolizes the Company’s support for education and equity – called “Our Commitment.” This aircraft was inspired and designed in partnership with the Air Group Black Employees (ABEA) business resource group and others. The profiles on the side of the aircraft are 14 children and grandchildren of Alaska’s employees. Located at the L/R1 doors are two inspirational quotes: “The time is always right to do what is right,” (Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.) and “Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world” (Nelson Mandela).

Alaska’s partnership with the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) began in 1991. Over the years, Alaska has supported UNCF’s fundraising efforts through donating tickets and event sponsorship. In 2017, UNCF became a LIFT Miles partner enabling students to attend college tours and travel back and forth during school semesters at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). This is like other partnerships and sponsorships the Company presently has with many colleges and universities throughout the route network.

As this aircraft travels around our system, it represents Alaska’s commitment to promote equality and education. It encourages us as an airline to do the right thing by amplifying the conversation around education and equity.

Questions?

If you have any questions, please reach out to your Local Human Rights Committee.

Mental Health Awareness Month

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)/Professional Standards Committee

If you have a mental health condition, you’re not alone. One in 5 American adults experiences some form of mental illness in any given year. And across the population, 1 in every 20 adults is living with a serious mental health condition such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or long-term recurring major depression. Unfortunately, many people don’t seek treatment or remain unaware that their symptoms could be connected to a mental health condition. Trying to tell the difference between what expected behaviors are and what might be signs of a mental illness isn’t always easy. Each illness has its own symptoms, but common signs of mental illness in adults and adolescents can include the following:

Excessive worrying or fear
Feeling excessively sad or low
Confused thinking or problems concentrating and learning
Extreme mood changes, including uncontrollable “highs” or feelings of euphoria
Prolonged or strong feelings of irritability or anger
Avoiding friends and social activities
Difficulties understanding or relating to other people
Changes in sleeping habits or feeling tired and low energy
Changes in eating habits such as increased hunger or lack of appetite
Changes in sex drive
Difficulty perceiving reality (delusions or hallucinations, in which a person experiences and senses things that don’t exist in objective reality)
Inability to perceive changes in one’s own feelings, behavior, or personality (“lack of insight” or anosognosia)
Overuse of substances like alcohol or drugs
Multiple physical ailments without obvious causes (such as headaches, stomach aches, vague and ongoing “aches and pains”)
Thinking about suicide
Inability to carry out daily activities or handle daily problems and stress
An intense fear of weight gain or concern with appearance

If you’re concerned about any of these signs either in yourself, a love one or a flying partner, please reach out to your AFA EAP Committee for confidential support and assistance. Call (949) 470-0493 or locate your local AFA EAP Committee Members at https://afaalaska.org/eap.

AFA Update – November 20, 2020

November 20, 2020 12:00

In This Edition

Grievance Committee Update

Grievance Committee Update

Grievance Committee

The Master Executive Council (MEC) has been very hard at work ensuring disciplinary due process and contractual compliance on your behalf. The contract requires a minimum of 13 arbitration dates yearly to dispute discipline/termination cases and contractual issues. Termination cases are typically prioritized in order to return a Flight Attendant back to work as soon as possible; however, we seek a balance between discipline and contractual cases. AFA and management mutually decide which cases to arbitrate next based on many factors.

Steps of discipline are confirmation of oral warning (COW), written warning (WW), suspension (varied number of days) to termination. COWs, WWs, and suspensions remain in the FA’s file for 18 months, and then are removed. If a Flight Attendant is in a step of discipline and gets another violation, the new violation will build on the previous violation. Management doesn’t always progressively travel up the steps of discipline. If management investigates a Flight Attendant for theft or abuse of sick leave, for example, management will terminate the Flight Attendant if there is evidence to support its findings; if there is no evidence, then the Flight Attendant will most likely be issued a record of discussion (ROD). A ROD is not considered discipline. There is no middle ground for certain violations.