Membership Meeting November 4

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

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

Supplement Insurance Enrollment Still Available 

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

New Gate Numbering System at SFO Starts October 16

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

Welcome Class 2019-5

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

Committee Opening: Benefits

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

Council 35 Government Affairs DC Visit

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

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

Crew Scheduling Issues

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

Trip Trades and Swaps

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

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

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

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

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

Trending Discipline: Sick Leave Abuse Investigations Still Ongoing

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

FAQs 

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

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

When contacting Council 35 Officers please avoid the following methods:

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

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

In solidarity,

Melissa, Aladrian, James and Brad

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