hotels

AFA Update – April 6, 2020

April 6, 2020 12:00

In This Edition

Cancellation of April & May Recurrent Training
Reminders About Layover Transportation and Meals
Reporting Uniform Reactions
Voluntary Benefits Updates & Information
AFA EAP Support Services
CWA/NETT and LinkedIn Learning

Cancellation of April & May Recurrent Training

On Friday, management announced that they would be cancelling recurrent training (RT) for the months of April and May as a precautionary measure in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. Along with the cancellation announcement, management also provided information about an FAA temporary exemption granting a two-month extension to Flight Attendants with April and May base months (as well as some Flight Attendants scheduled for RT at the end of March). This exemption will give affected Flight Attendants an additional two grace months during which to complete RT in 2020 (e.g. a Flight Attendant whose base month is April and grace month is May will now have June and July as additional grace months this year).

AFA representatives have requested that management remove the April cancelled classes from rosters in Crew Access as soon as possible in order to allow Flight Attendants to manage their schedules and trade and/or pick up flying if desired. Crew Planning is also in the process of removing RT pre-planned absence from NavBlue to allow Flight Attendants who were scheduled for class in May to bid normally. Management has indicated that they will contact Flight Attendants whose RT class has been cancelled to discuss rescheduling options but they have not yet provided AFA with specifics on what the process for rescheduling will be.

If you have questions about the April/May recurrent training cancellations, please contact Inflight Training management directly at inflight.training@alaskaair.com.

Reminders About Layover Transportation and Meals

Hotel Committee

Dedicated Crew-Only Layover Hotel Transportation

The AFA Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update – March 19, 2020 provided information about the temporary implementation of dedicated crew-only layover hotel transportation. Management also communicated this information in bulletin #2020-0016, issued on March 17. As a reminder, this crew-only transportation may be either hotel-provided van that is dedicated for crewmembers only or separate contracted transportation. Please reference your trip information in Crew Access to determine whether the hotel or a contracted vendor will be providing layover hotel transportation. You can also find a complete list of dedicated transportation providers on the Inflight website > Hotel, Travel, & Station > Hotel News > Dedicated Transportation.

As always, if you encounter any issues with a transportation provider, please notify your AFA Hotel Committee by filing a CrewCare report.

Food Availability on Layovers

At the request of AFA, management has compiled a list of food availability at each layover hotel throughout the system. This list is updated regularly to ensure the most up-to-date information. It can be found on the Inflight website > Hotel, Travel, & Station > Hotel News > Food Availability.

Questions?

Your AFA Hotel Committee is here to assist and support you in all matters related to layover hotels and transportation. You can find contact information for your Local Hotel Committee by clicking here.

Reporting Uniform Reactions

Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC)

With the launch of the new Unisync uniform, our AFA Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC) and Uniform Committee would like to offer a reminder about how to report reactions or safety concerns related to the new uniform pieces. Management has outlined the process for reporting these concerns in a document that is housed on the uniform subsite of Alaska’s World. You can access the document directly by clicking here (AAG sign on required).

Questions?

If you have questions about how to report uniform reactions or need assistance in navigating the process, please contact AFA Uniform Safety Representative Deb Wallstrom at uniform.reactions@afaalaska.org.

Voluntary Benefits Updates & Information

Benefits Committee

Our AFA Benefits Committee has received information that Alaska employees who have either 401(k) through Vanguard or Alaska Credit Union loans may be eligible for modified payment arrangements. National Group Protection (NGP) has also provided information about continuation of coverage for anyone enrolled in the NGP/CAIC supplemental benefits program who takes a leave of absence.

Vanguard – 401(k) Loans

You can suspend a loan for up to 12 months
It can take up to two pay periods to process the suspension
Once the request has been processed, the 12 month suspension begins
You can reinstate payments earlier without penalty
You can also make payments during the suspension of any amount without penalty. If you choose to do so, it will not restart your loan.
You will accrue interest during that time – but this is interest you pay yourself. This may adjust your loan payment amount once your loan is reinstated.

For assistance with Vanguard 401(k) loan suspensions, contact Vanguard Participant Services at (800) 523-1188 (available Mon-Fri, 5:30 AM to 6 PM Pacific time). You can also reach out to Jamie Smalley with specific questions at jaime.smalley@alaskaair.com.

Alaska Air Group Credit Union Loans

The Alaska Air Group Credit Union (AAGCU) is offering an emergency skip-a-payment option that may allow customers to skip to three monthly payments on certain AAGCU loans. For more information about this program, including a link to apply, please visit the AAGCU website by clicking here.

AFA Supplemental Benefits – National Group Protection

National Group Protection (NGP) has provided information for those who are enrolled in the NGP/CAIC supplemental benefits program and take a Leave of Absence (LOA). These special provisions include:

Coverage will continue without interruption during the LOA
Premiums are not due during the LOA
CAIC will honor claims during the LOA
No action is required on your part to maintain your coverage

Complete information can be found in this document. If you have any questions, please contact National Group at (800) 344-9016 or service@ngp-ins.com.

AFA EAP Support Services

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)/Professional Standards Committee

AFA EAP has put together several resources to help Flight Attendants manage their personal mental health and wellness during the COVID-19 outbreak. All services are available in either a telephone or online format. For a complete list of support services being offered, schedules, and access information, please click here.

Questions?

Please contact your Local EAP Committee for more information or assistance.

CWA/NETT and LinkedIn Learning

AFA International

As a part of CWA, AFA members are entitled to take advantage of complimentary online learning through CWA/NETT. CWA/NETT provides you and your family with access to hundreds of online training courses through LinkedIn Learning. This might be the perfect time to brush up on existing skills or learn new ones.

Examples of learning titles include:

Zoom Meetings
Microsoft Collaboration
Microsoft Excel
Sharepoint

You can get started by completing this form. The form requires your CWA local number, which you can find on the Contact Us page of the AFA Alaska website under FAQs > Membership and Dues Questions > What’s My CWA Local Number.

Questions?

If you have any questions, please contact your LEC Officers.

AFA Update – August 16, 2019

August 16, 2019 12:00

In This Edition

Hotel Crew Room Blocks Card Now Online
REMINDER: Human Rights Committee Forming
TAKE ACTION: Stop Toxic Fumes!
Cabin Air Quality Resources

Hotel Crew Hotel Room Blocks Card Now Online

Hotel Committee

Your AFA Hotel Committee has succeeded in their effort to have the Crew Hotel Room Blocks card uploaded to an easily accessible location on both the Inflight website and the IMD. The Crew Hotel Room Blocks card (commonly known as the “purple card”) is a quick reference card that provides information about appropriate hotel room features and room locations. This card can be shown to hotel staff when you are assigned a hotel room that does not meet the requirements of the company’s contract with the hotel in order to hopefully remedy the situation on-the-spot.

Going forward, the Crew Hotel Room Blocks card will be published on the first page of the monthly Hotel Hotline document. The Hotel Hotline can be found on the Flight Attendant website under Hotel, Travel & Station > Hotel Hotline. On the IMD, you can find the Hotel Hotline under ASFASupplemental > Hotel Hotline.

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

REMINDER: Human Rights Committee Forming

Human Rights Committee

In 2018, the AFA Board of Directors approved the creation of Human Rights Committees across AFA, with committees to be formed at each Local Council and MEC. Members of the Human Rights Committee will work to promote activities that foster greater understanding of one another and the diversity of our membership in order to build the strength of our Union through our common struggles and goals rather than allowing others to divide us by our differences. This work will involve close coordination with local community and CWA allies to engage in efforts that advance both human rights and worker’s rights.

As part of the formation of the Committee, volunteer involvement opportunities are available both at the local level (Local Human Rights Committee Chairperson) and the airline level (MEC Human Rights Committee Chairperson). If you are interested in filling the role of Local Human Rights Committee Chairperson, please refer to recent communications from your Local Executive Council (LEC) Officers or contact your LEC President.

MEC Human Rights Committee Chairperson

Information about the MEC Human Rights Committee Chairperson can be found in the August 2, 2019 AFA Update.

The MEC will hold interviews for the position of MEC Human Rights Committee Chairperson during the September MEC meeting on Tuesday, September 17. Interested candidates should submit an expression of interest and resume online at https://forms.gle/bns2FHqC11PLe3889. The deadline for submissions is 5 PM Pacific time on Tuesday, September 10. After that time, MEC Secretary-Treasurer Linda Christou will contact qualified candidates to schedule a specific interview time.

Please note that in order to submit an expression of interest, you must have a Google account. If you do not have a Google account, you can create one for free at https://accounts.google.com/signup.

TAKE ACTION: Stop Toxic Fumes!

Government Affairs Committee

The Cabin Air Safety Act of 2019 aims to protect airline passengers and crew from the harmful effects of toxic cabin air.

“Our workspace is the public’s travel space and in that space today, crews and passengers are breathing toxins and it has to stop,” said AFA International President Sara Nelson.

Call your Representative and Senators today and tell them to cosponsor the Cabin Air Safety Act. The House bill is H.R. 2208 and the Senate bill is S. 1112.

Call Your Representative: 866-937-4359

Call Your Senators: 877-750-7411

“Hi, my name is_________. As a constituent and a Flight Attendant, I am calling to ask you to cosponsor the Cabin Air Safety Act of 2019. Flight Attendants and passengers can be exposed to toxic fumes in the cabin. We need the FAA to intervene and implement protections. Support clean air onboard for passengers and Flight Attendants!”

AFA’s efforts to improve the cabin environment span the last three decades, from advocating for smoke-free skies to stopping poisonous pesticide spraying to addressing the dangers of contaminated bleed air. We advocate that the airline industry either end the use of engine bleed air for cabin air supply like on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner or mitigate the circulation of contaminated air. In 2015, AFA was an active member of the ICAO task group that published Circular 344, which advises airlines to enhance their operational procedures to minimize onboard exposure to smoke and fumes. This led to an FAA Safety Alert published in 2018. This is progress, but it doesn’t go far enough.

“Most Americans go to work with the expectation of breathing clean air. Flight Attendants don’t have this guarantee, and it is past time for that to change,” AFA President Sara Nelson said.

Cabin Air Quality Resources

Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee – Air Quality Subcommittee

Your AFA Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC) and Air Quality Subcommittee have worked with AFA International to put together a number of tools and resources to use in the event of a cabin air fume event. Some of the resources available are listed below.

Air Quality Fume Event FAQs

The Committee has compiled a comprehensive question and answer document to help provide information about many of the questions and concerns that have been received about cabin air fume events.

You can access the Q&A document by clicking here.

Air Quality Exposure Quick Reference Card

The Air Quality Exposure Quick Reference Card is a wallet sized card that explains what to do in a contaminated cabin air exposure event. The card can be kept in a badge holder behind your company ID or in your wallet.

The card was recently updated by the Committee and now includes information about the Airbus fleet. If you currently have an older version of the card, please destroy your old card and replace it with a newly updated one. The updated cards are currently being distributed to each domicile.

Look for more information from your Local Council about where to pick one up at your base. You can access and print the card on the AFA Alaska website by clicking here.

AFA Alaska Website

Additional air quality information, including a flow chart that describes what to do in a cabin air fume event, can be found at afaalaska.org under Committees > Air Safety, Health, & Security (ASHSC) > Air Quality.

Questions?

If you have additional questions about cabin air quality or the AFA resources available, please email airquality@afaalaska.org or contact a member of your Local Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC).

Layover Hotel and Transportation Issues: 4 Things to Know

August 23, 2016 17:00

Along with the busy summer travel season has come an uptick in issues with crew hotel accommodations and layover transportation. Management has a responsibility to provide hotel accommodations and corresponding transportation to and from the hotel to Flight Attendants on a layover. This information is contained in section 34 of the contract.

1. If you have a problem with your hotel or transportation, report it!

Management, in conjunction with their hotel vendor API, has recently launched a new version of CrewCare, the website that is used to give feedback on hotel and transportation issues. The new system, My Crew Care, can be accessed through the new Flight Attendant Website.

In order to take action on issues with layover hotels and transportation, your AFA Hotel Committee needs to know when you have a problem. Reports submitted through My Crew Care are automatically routed to your AFA Hotel Committee so they can track issues and trends in our layover locations.

To Access My Crew Care

Log-in to the inflight website (http://asainflight.alaskaair.com)
Open the menu
Click “Hotels”
Click “Hotel Links”
Click “My Crew Care”
Open the menu
Click “Feedback”
Click “Provide Feedback”

First Time Using the New My Crew Care System?

When you open the My Crew Care site for the first time, you’ll need to register with your alaskaair.com email address. After registering, the system will send you a confirmation email. From the confirmation email, click the link to confirm your registration. Once you complete this registration process, you won’t need to do it again.

API has written a user guide for the My Crew Care system that you can access here: https://api2.apicrewcare.com/Uploads/Public/UserGuides/CrewMember/CrewmemberUserGuide_AlaskaAir.pdf.

2. If your transportation is late, you can take a taxi, Uber, or Lyft!

If your van hasn’t arrived to pick you up from the airport within 35 minutes of block-in, you have the right to take other transportation and submit the expense for reimbursement from management. The same thing applies if your van hasn’t arrived to pick you up from the hotel within 10 minutes of the scheduled departure time. You can find this contractual language in section 34.B. Be sure to save your receipt and submit an expense report after your trip. Your supervisor can assist you with completing an expense report.

3. There’s been an increase in unscheduled layover hotel blunders

Recently, Crew Scheduling and the Company’s hotel vendor, Accommodations Plus International (API), have dropped the ball in multiple cases involving unscheduled layover hotels and transportation. Your Hotel Committee has been advised of recent situations where layover hotel rooms were not secured until after crew arrival in a layover city, transportation not being booked, and hotels being booked that didn’t meet minimum contractual requirements. Crew Scheduling is following policy and using a hotel vender as required by management, so AFA holds management ultimately responsible for these unacceptable and ongoing slipups. Management has an obligation to have contractually compliant hotel accommodations reserved and transportation arranged prior to crew arrival in their layover city. AFA has requested a meeting with management and API to call for immediate resolution of these issues.

4. You can check to see if your unscheduled layover hotel meets contractual minimums

Example of how to determine the Travel Weekly classification for a specific hotel

If you end up with an unscheduled layover, it’s possible that the regular crew hotel in that city could be full and you might end up with a room at an alternate hotel. Section 34.A.4 of the contract specifies that the company must make every reasonable effort to ensure that an alternate hotel meets the minimum requirements outlined for regular layover hotels. At a minimum, Flight Attendant layover hotels must meet a rating of 5 or above as rated by Travel Weekly. You can check to see how your alternate hotel is rated by typing the hotel name into the search box at http://www.travelweekly.com/Hotels.

If you have been placed at a hotel that doesn’t meet the minimum rating of 5 or above, you should contact Crew Scheduling immediately to request a different hotel that meets contractual minimums. If you’re told that no other hotels are available, please forward your pairing information, hotel name, and hotel address to your Local Hotel Committee as soon as possible.

Have Questions?

Your Local Hotel Committee can help! You can find contact information on your Local Council’s committee page or on the Hotel Committee page of the AFA Alaska website.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Satterlee, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Tim Green, Brice McGee and MEC Hotel Committee Chairpersons Laura Hinojosa and Jodi Snow

AFA Alaska MEC Grievance Update August 2015

August 7, 2015 17:00

The Master Executive Council (MEC) has recently filed numerous grievances on your behalf.

Grievances Settlements

First and foremost, we filed and settled two very important grievances:

Grievance No. 36-99-2-17-15: Assigning a Failure to Report after Successful Check In.

This grievance was filed due to the Company’s violation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, Section 32 [Attendance Policy], when it assigned failure to report occurrences after a Flight Attendant’s successful check in.

In certain circumstances management had been assigning a “Late Report” when a Flight Attendant arrived late to the gate or arrived late to the gate at RON, this was after a successful scan in at the beginning of her/his sequence. AFA’s long-standing position has been that “Late Report” occurrences only applied when a Flight Attendant failed to scan in at domicile. All other situations, which might result in a Flight Attendant arriving late to the aircraft, were handled as general performance issues; these will now be referred to as “Late Arrival to Aircraft”. Please note this does not change a Flight Attendant’s requirement to be at the aircraft 45 minutes prior to departure.

Management agreed and a settlement was reached with the following clarifications:

1) A Flight Attendant may only be assessed a Late Report (formerly Failure to Report) when s/he checks in after the scheduled check in time and has not been assessed a No-Show for the same event;

2) When a Flight Attendant is late to the aircraft at any time during a scheduled sequence, s/he will not be assessed any attendance points, these occurrences will be considered a performance issue and will be handled under the Company’s progressive discipline policy; and

3) The Company agrees to remove attendance points from any Flight Attendant who received them for being late to the aircraft during a scheduled sequence, provided the points were assigned in the 18 months preceding May 19, 2015.

If you believe that you may have been assessed a Failure to Report incorrectly and it occurred after November 19, 2013, please reach out to a local grievance representative for assistance.

A copy of the settlement language can be found by clicking here.

Grievance No.: 36-99-2-26-15: Quarterly Productivity Premium.

The second grievance settlement involved Section 21.R [QPP]. It was filed due to Management’s position that Flight Attendants who had not received a PBS bid award for one or more months of the quarter were excluded from the Quarterly Productivity Premium. A copy of the settlement language can be found in its entirety here.

Grievances Upheld

Management granted the following two grievances:

Grievance No.: 36-99-2-11-15: Violation of Section 27.N [New Hire Initial Training Presentation].

The Company’s violation of Section 27.N, when it failed to provide the Association one hour for the purpose of new hire orientation during a regularly scheduled training day.

Resolution: Management has agreed to ensure that a full hour is provided.

Grievance No.: 36-99-2-13-15-Failing to Provide Automated Trading of 4K Pairings.

The Company’s violation of Section 10.DD.6 [Long Stage Length (“4K”) Duty Period] and 12.C.1 [Trading Procedures], when it failed to automate trading of Long Stage Length Duty Period (“4K”) Pairings. In addition when it violated the Contract Implementation Schedule Letter of Agreement paragraph numbers six* (“One-hundred and twenty days after DOS-but no later than May 1, 2015,…”) and nine* (“The Company agrees to make a good faith effort to meet the above implementation time frames…”), when it failed to notify the Association of the delay and discuss the circumstances and necessary adjustments to the implementation schedule.

Resolution: Manual trading is in effect until the next emaestro release scheduled for September 15, 2015. Bulletin 2015-0182 issued on July 16, 2015, addresses how to manually trade “4K” pairings.

Grievances Pending

The following grievances have been filed and are still pending:

Grievance No.: 36-99-2-15-15-Limiting Access to the SAN Domicile.

The Company’s violation of Section 28.I [Company Provided Computers and Printers at Domiciles], when it limited access to the SAN Domicile including contractually required resources to only those Flight Attendants based in SAN.

Grievance No.: 36-99-2-19-15-Failing to Pay Flight Attendants for Reasonable Suspicion Drug/Alcohol Testing.

The Company’s violation of Addendum to Section 21 [Compensation], when it failed to pay Flight Attendants for reasonable suspicion drug & alcohol testing.

Grievance No.: 36-99-2-20-15-Converting a Line Holding Flight Attendant to ER Reserve Outside of her/his Contactable Period.

The Company’s violation of Section 11.C.3.b.6 [Conversion of Reserves to ER] and 11.C.3.c [ER Contactibility], when it converted a line holding Flight Attendant to ER Reserve outside of her/his contactable period.

Grievance No.: 36-99-2-21-15-Section 21.M Compensation.

The Company’s violation of Section 21.M [Pay Protection Due to Weather, Mechanical or to Suit Company Convenience], when it removed a Flight Attendant from a trip and failed to pay protect her.

Grievance No.: 36-99-2-22-15-Violation of Past Practice Regarding Manual Revision/Emergency Interim Bulletin (EIB) Insertion Timelines.

The Company’s violation of past practice regarding manual revision/emergency interim bulletin (EIB) insertion timelines, which fails to provide Flight Attendants sufficient time to thoroughly read and insert their revisions and/or EIB’s. Long standing past practice is articulated in the Flight Attendant Manual 6.500 page 1, dated July 6, 2012, which states: “Insert, post and record manual revisions within 14 days of receipt, no later than 30 days after distribution.” A new EIB 14-40 effective November 25, 2014, now states: “The holder of the FAM shall insert revisions/EIBs on or before the effective date or prior to the first assignment following the effective date, whichever comes first.”

Grievance No.: 36-99-2-23-15-Beyond Service Training Exceeding Contractual Training Hours.

The Company’s violation of Section 30.A.2 [Recurrent Training and Other Company-Required (Non-Computer-Based) Training; Hours], by conducting Beyond Service Training after 5:00PM local time, failing to provide a clear break between required training and the optional “Happy Hour” and failing to provide transportation information to Flight Attendants who choose to depart promptly at 5:00PM.

Grievance No.: 36-99-2-24-15-Ground Floor Lodging While on Company Business.

The Company’s violation of Section 34 [Hotels], when it failed to avoid ground floor lodging for Flight Attendants attending company required Beyond Service training.

Grievance No.: 36-99-2-29-15-Section 28.G.6 Commuter Boarding Priority. The Company’s violation of Section 28.G.6 [Commuter Policy], when it allowed Company employees (and their dependents) on pleasure travel to be given higher boarding priority than commuting Flight Attendants.

* * *

The next step is to move forward to arbitration on any grievances that cannot be resolved appropriately. In addition, we continue to file disciplinary grievances, which occur on a near daily basis. Many of these will move forward to arbitration as well. All Flight Attendants system wide are impacted when AFA cannot resolve issues with management prior to arbitration. AFA is committed to resolving these issues and will soon be scheduling new arbitration dates for the year 2016. Periodic grievance updates will follow; however should you have questions on specific grievances, please reach out to your local grievance representative.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Gesch, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow and Stephen Couckuyt; MEC Grievance Committee chairperson Jennifer Wise MacColl, MEC Grievance Committee member Stephanie Adams and AFA Senior Staff Attorney Kimberley Chaput

AFA Grievance No. 36-99-2-17-15 Failure to Report or Late Report Settlement

In This Edition

Cancellation of April & May Recurrent Training

Reminders About Layover Transportation and Meals

Dedicated Crew-Only Layover Hotel Transportation

Food Availability on Layovers

Questions?

Reporting Uniform Reactions

Questions?

Voluntary Benefits Updates & Information

Vanguard – 401(k) Loans

Alaska Air Group Credit Union Loans

AFA Supplemental Benefits – National Group Protection

AFA EAP Support Services

Questions?

CWA/NETT and LinkedIn Learning

Questions?

1. If you have a problem with your hotel or transportation, report it!

To Access My Crew Care

First Time Using the New My Crew Care System?

2. If your transportation is late, you can take a taxi, Uber, or Lyft!

3. There’s been an increase in unscheduled layover hotel blunders

4. You can check to see if your unscheduled layover hotel meets contractual minimums

Have Questions?

Grievances Settlements

Grievances Upheld

Grievances Pending

* * *

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