December 2021 MEC Meeting Recap

December 8, 2021 17:00

December 2021 MEC Meeting Recap

Master Executive Council (MEC) President Jeffrey Peterson

Just wrapped up chairing our monthly MEC meeting yesterday and today.

As usual, your AFA committee chairs and reps provided written reports to the MEC about the latest developments in their areas, and we received live briefings regarding dispute resolution & grievances, scheduling, FA pay, and fatigue. Lots going on out there!

Meeting w/ COO + Inflight + Labor Relations + FA Crew Pay

Notable topics discussed:

Recent leadership change and the path forward
Acting on FA feedback – Management to communicate administrative details to FAs as soon as possible in the next bulletin
- 1.5x pay for all  DHD conversions (i.e., including unscheduled DHD conversions) November 1, 2021 – January 2, 2022 – There is no mechanism in Crew Access to track all conversions, so FAs must manually submit in Rainmaker. (November flight activity will process soon, so please submit ASAP if you want November conversions to be paid in December!)
- Forgiving attendance points for all FA COVID+ absences (i.e., up to 10-day Single Continuous Occurrence substantiated by a positive COVID test that includes the FA’s name, testing facility and date) – Use the COVID+/Vaccine Reaction Points Forgiveness Form (AAG SSO required: Inflight –> Admin –> Performance –> COVID+/Vaccine Reaction Points Forgiveness Form)
- Removing time restrictions for submissions of the COVID+/Vaccine Reaction Points Forgiveness Form (i.e., no longer a requirement to submit by the end of the next sequence and retroactive 18 months) – Management is researching whether records for previous timeliness denials can be used to retroactively approve.
Q4 Computer Based Training (CBT) aka Annual Compliance Training (ACT) – Due December 31^st. More than 3000 FAs have not yet completed this.
Existing inflight service and pending additional offerings – FAs are exhausted, frustrated, and anxious. Due to pandemic-related concerns, they do not want to be out in the cabin more right now. There is no room for trash. In the MEC’s opinion, Alaska FAs will grow even more upset and mobilized unless management provides additional relief.

I hope you found this recap timely and informative.

In Solidarity,
Jeff

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

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

AFA Alaska Special Update – November 3, 2021

November 3, 2021 14:00

In This Edition

November 4^th Onboard Service Changes

November 4^th Onboard Service Changes

Inflight Service Committee

On November 4^th, management is planning to launch a significant reintroduction of onboard service that will continue efforts to return the passenger experience to pre-pandemic levels. As a result of AFA advocacy, management did agree to postpone some items that were initially planned to launch, however most changes are still being implemented as scheduled. In the case of main cabin snack offerings, the changes will exceed what was provided prior to the implementation of COVID-19 service reductions. Management has published more information about the upcoming changes on Alaska’s World, in the bulletin bundle, and in service guides located in GoodReader on your IMD.

During the lead up to the upcoming changes, members of our Inflight Service Committee and Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC) as well as several MEC Officers have been engaged with management to assess the changes for safety concerns and other potential impacts to Flight Attendants. Your AFA representatives spent hours upon hours in meetings with management bringing forward numerous issues related to safety, health, operational and procedural challenges, and other concerns shared by Flight Attendants.

Despite these extensive conversations, it became clear that management and AFA are philosophically apart on the potential risks that Flight Attendants face as a result of expanding onboard service in the current environment. Whereas management believes that the introduction of additional service elements does not pose any significant risk to Flight Attendants, AFA believes differently. The health and safety risks posed by additional interaction time with passengers and increased challenges with enforcing the federal mask mandate are likely only to be amplified with more food and beverage items being offered on the aircraft.

Once the onboard service changes take effect on November 4^th, it is critically important that any safety hazards related to the expanded service be documented in ReportIt! as a Flight Attendant Irregularity Report (FAIR). If you encounter any issues related to onboard products, catering supply levels, or procedural concerns, please report them through the Catering Issues function in Block2Block. Data provided through your reporting helps to strengthen the voice of our Inflight Service Committee and ASHSC in their conversations with management about onboard service.

AFA Special Update – September 9, 2020

September 9, 2020 17:25

In This Edition

Health and Safety Concerns with Onboard Service

Health and Safety Concerns with Onboard Service

Master Executive Council (MEC)

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), COVID-19 is thought to spread through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or talks. The spread predominantly occurs between people who are in close contact with others (within about 6 feet). Guidance from the CDC also indicates that people who don’t live in the same household should maintain 6 feet of distance from one another and that a mask is not a substitute for social distancing. Though management has implemented a policy requiring the use of face coverings by passengers and employee onboard the aircraft, it is practically impossible for Flight Attendants to maintain physical distancing of 6 feet from other people in the aircraft cabin, especially while conducting onboard service.

On July 16, management rolled out a significant expansion of onboard service which involved the addition of several additional beverage choices, including the return of hot beverages including coffee and tea. This expansion was followed up by further additions on August 16 coupled with the return of ice on the beverage cart. The addition of so many components of onboard service seems counterintuitive during the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Flight Attendants Are Unnecessarily Being Put At Risk

By requiring unnecessary interactions with passengers that are not related to safety of the flight, management continues to place Flight Attendants at greater risk of contracting COVID-19 by increasing required interactions with passengers and mandating additional time in the aisle to complete the increased service. Though management now allows Flight Attendants to bring and wear their own protective eyewear or face shields from home, this is not a substitute for the CDC recommendation to maintain physical distancing.

These concerns were resoundingly echoed by data collected from the AFA COVID-19 Onboard Service Survey. Over 1300 Flight Attendants responded to the survey, which was conducted between July 28 and August 2. Several key points from the survey include:

Only 18% of those surveyed answered affirmatively* that they believe management considered the safety and health of Flight Attendants when adding beverages back to the onboard service
Only 22% of those surveyed answered affirmatively* that they believe the number and type of beverages added back were appropriate given current concerns regarding COVID-19
Over 65% of those surveyed indicate that they have experienced passengers removing their face covering multiple times per flight since the July 16 onboard service expansion

*An affirmative answer is indicated by a response of strongly agree or agree

Comments submitted by Flight Attendants as part of the survey list dozens of reports of passengers removing their face covering to interact with Flight Attendants despite onboard announcements directing passengers to keep their face coverings on. Further reports tell of Flight Attendants observing passengers keeping their face coverings off for extended periods of time as they wait for hot beverages to cool. The results of the survey, as well as a representative selection of comments submitted by Flight Attendants, were shared with management shortly after the survey closed.

Management’s Position: Passenger Satisfaction Matters More

Members of the AFA Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC), Inflight Service Committee, and the MEC have been continually engaging with management to address the risks to Flight Attendant safety and health presented by the expansion of onboard service. These conversations have involved every level of management within Alaska Airlines, and have included management from inflight, labor relations, safety, and marketing. AFA Representatives have repeatedly asked management to “stop the operation” and “own safety” by pulling back the expanded onboard service and returning to the pre-July 16 offering.

Management, however, has a different point of view. In several meetings between management and AFA, management has stated that they believe that there is no evidence to say that there is any incremental risk of transmission due to onboard service. Management has also gone on record to indicate that they believe that the worst credible outcome of a COVID-19 infection to Flight Attendants is “medical treatment beyond first aid”—not hospitalization or death. This position contradicts the fact that the CDC has recorded over 184,000 COVID-19 related deaths in the United States and leading national forecasts continue to predict thousands of new COVID-19 related hospitalizations per day.

Management’s overall response has been that they fully intend to continue offering the expanded onboard service despite AFA’s objections. Their reasoning: an increase in passenger satisfaction scores and a decrease in complaints related to onboard service offerings.

The MEC is equally frustrated and disappointed that management has made the conscious decision to prioritize passenger survey scores over Flight Attendant health and safety by refusing to reconsider the onboard service expansion that they have rolled out over the past several months. The failure to address the concerns related to the unnecessary additional risk for contracting COVID-19 that Flight Attendants are being exposed to speaks volumes to the fact that “Ready, Safe, Go” is only a priority when it is convenient and suits the needs of management. Despite this, the MEC and other AFA representatives will continue our efforts to advocate for onboard service levels that do not put Flight Attendants unnecessarily at risk.

Continue to Document and Report Safety Hazards

Regardless of management’s position, please continue to report any safety hazards that you experience while performing the expanded onboard service. This could include instances of increased exposure to passengers (e.g. passenger removing their mask to speak to you, etc.) or other hazards related to service. You can report these hazards through ReportIt! by submitting either a FAIR and/or ASAP for each flight on which they occur. 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 to advocate for safe levels of service.

AFA COVID-19 Onboard Service Survey

July 28, 2020 05:00

On July 16, management implemented an expansion of onboard service which included the addition of multiple beverage selections and the re-introduction of hot beverages as an option for passengers. During the lead up to the service expansion, members of our Master Executive Council (MEC), Inflight Service Committee, and Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC) engaged management in multiple discussions with the intent of protecting Flight Attendant safety and health during the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite the objections raised by AFA and the nationwide increase in COVID-19 cases over the past several weeks, management made the decision to proceed with the rollout of the additional service citing the need to address complaints received through the Alaska Listens platform and improve scores on customer satisfaction surveys. The MEC, Inflight Service Committee, and ASHSC believe that the decision to proceed with an expanded onboard service in the wake of the increase in COVID-19 cases was irresponsible on management’s part.

COVID-19 Onboard Service Survey Launches Today

The MEC fully intends to continue to engage with management on the subject of onboard service, especially surrounding management’s plan for a further expansion next month. In an effort to gather as much direct Flight Attendant feedback as possible to share during those conversations, we have launched the AFA COVID-19 Onboard Service Survey. The survey is an opportunity to share your thoughts, feedback, and experiences related to the July 16 expanded onboard service.

Click here to take the survey

You’ll be able to take the survey any time between now and Sunday, August 2 at 5 PM PDT. Please share this link with your flying partners and encourage everyone who has worked since the July 16 onboard service expansion to take part! Even if you have not worked since July 16, you’ll still be able to share any comments you have about the service expansion.

REMINDER: Report Any Safety Hazards

In addition to completing the AFA COVID-19 Onboard Service Survey, please also remember to report any safety hazards that you experience while performing the expanded onboard service. This could include instances of increased exposure to passengers (e.g. passenger removing their mask to speak to you, etc.) or other hazards related to service. You can report these hazards through ReportIt! by submitting either a FAIR and/or ASAP for each flight on which they occur. 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 to advocate for safe levels of service.

Questions?

If you have any questions about the AFA COVID-19 Onboard Service Survey, please contact your LEC Officers.

The Supreme Court of the United States issued a ruling today that denied an appeal from Alaska Airlines to reconsider a lower court’s ruling in the case of Bernstein v. Virgin America. The lawsuit claimed that various California labor laws had been violated related to wages, hours worked, pay, and meal and rest breaks. The suit was originally filed against Virgin America and became the responsibility of Alaska Airlines after the merger between the two companies. Management has distributed multiple employee communications complaining that they will now have to obey the law but has not shown that they are focused on practical solutions. AFA stands ready to work out a solution with management that is compliant with the law and is a mutually agreeable path forward for all stakeholders.