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Council 35 News-September 2019

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

Joint Local Council Meeting – June 15

In accordance with the AFA Constitution & Bylaws, each Local Council must hold at least two Local Council Meetings each year that are open to all members in good standing.  At least one of those meetings must be held prior to the annual AFA Board of Directors (BOD) Meeting to give all members the opportunity to discuss the items on the agenda at the BOD meeting.

The annual AFA BOD Meeting will be held later this month in Phoenix, AZ.  Local Council President Melissa Osborne is our representative on the BOD who will represent all Council 35 Members and vote on our behalf at the BOD meeting.  The Local Council Meeting is your opportunity to give input as to how you would like Melissa to vote on the BOD agenda items.  You can find more information about the BOD Meeting on the AFA International website at http://afa-bod.org/.

The AFA Constitution & Bylaws also encourages AFA Local Councils located in the same city to hold their Local Council Meetings jointly.  As such, we will be holding a joint Local Council Meeting with United Airlines Council 11.  Information about the Joint Local Council Meeting can be found below.

Joint Local Council Meeting Information

Date: Thursday, June 15, 2017
Time: 10:30 AM to 12 PM
Location: San Francisco International Airport
Terminal 2 Conference Room 2
Agenda: Discussion of AFA Board of Directors Meeting agenda items

If you have any questions about the Joint Local Council Meeting, please email us at vx@afaalska.org

In solidarity,

Your Council 35 Officers – Melissa & James

Holiday Flying/AFA Get Together

With the Holidays fast approaching, your AFA Officers want to be pro-active in helping you navigate through the challenges that you might be faced with over the next few weeks. Be it weather, staffing shortages or the possibility of Junior Assigning (JA), it is important that YOU know your contract and stay informed!  We are always here to assist, but YOU ultimately are your own best advocate and must understand your contract.

Your MEC recently communicated this information, but it is a good idea to read and understand before, rather than after, a potential change to your schedule:

  1. Assignment cannot be built over 10.5 hours. – §8.E. (Except 4k – §10.DD.)
  2. Re-assignments cannot be built over 12.5 hours. – §8.E/§10.R. A minimum of 10 hours rest must be built into any remain over night (RON) at the time that the new trip is given. – §8.J.
  3. If you are unable to fly your sequence as scheduled for more than two hours due to weather, mechanical or to suit Company convenience, you may be eligible for Stranded Pay. – §21.N. If stranded to a RON with a duty period commencing on a scheduled day off see also §9.D.1.d.
  4. Unscheduled overnights – §10.R.7.
  5. Minimum days off – §10.E.1.a.
  6. General block and ground delays are generally paid automatically at 0.5 TFP per hour. You must manually submit for block delays that exceed one hour, that cross midnight or if you are deadheading. – §21.J.
  7. If your duty day exceeds 12.5 hours you will receive “double out” rest at the end of your sequence. If you choose to waive “double out” rest and complete the scheduling obligation that would have been dropped by such rest, you receive 1.5x the rate of pay. – §8.H.
  8. If you are on a multi-day sequence and receive less than 9:30 rest at RON as measured from release to report, you will receive 2.5x premium for flights flown for the entire sequence. However, if your sequence has a Sequence Interruption Point (SIP) and Crew Scheduling (CSKD) removes you at the SIP, you will be pay protected for the remainder of the sequence at straight time. If CSKD attempts to contact you after your debrief and prior to your next report in order to adjust your report time, you are not required to be contactable pursuant to §8.Q until your scheduled report time.  If you contact CSKD and your layover is adjusted so that you receive 9:30 rest or greater, the 2.5x premium does not apply. – §8.K.
  9. You cannot be required to work a trip that has a duty day projected over 14 hours while you are at a Flight Attendant domicile or co-terminal. – §8.G
  10. If you are on duty at 4:29 AM local time you cannot be required to remain on duty past 8:30 AM initial departure station time of that duty period (wherever your pairing started that duty period)–except for APSB. Other “Night Rule” provisions may also apply if you are on duty at 4:29 AM local time. – §8.I.
  11. If you are pay protected due to weather, mechanical or to suit Company convenience, you may pick up additional flying on the day(s) you were pay protected, and you will receive both pay protection and the value of the additional scheduling obligation. – §21.M.
  12. If you are unable to make it to work due to impassable weather conditions, you may request a management drop, which is without pay and attendance points are assessed if the drop is granted. – §32.C.14.

​

Your AFA Officers invite you to join us at Sammy’s Woodfire Pizza, Liberty Station, 2401 Truxton Road on December 27th from 11:00 to 2:00 to enjoy some pizza, de-stress, decompress and visit with fellow Flight Attendants and to ask any questions or concerns you may have for the end of 2016 and for the upcoming year. Up to date committee reports will be available as well as information regarding the Merger. Please send any questions or agenda items to Melanie.Buker@gmail.com by December 26th.

​

In Unity,

​

Brice, Melanie & Stephen

Save The Date – ANC Local Council Meeting

When: Monday, May 16th, 2016

Where: TBD

Time: 11am-2pm

Your AFA Officers are preparing for the annual AFA Board of Directors (BOD) meeting and we need to discuss the agenda items for the BOD and seek your input. We will be posting the agenda items for review and look forward to discussing them with you at the May 16th meeting.

Please bring all your Open Time trading questions for our scheduling experts; we will be having a Q&A regarding Open Time trading.  If you can’t attend our local council meeting send us your trading questions to anc.scheduling@afaalaska.org.

Agenda

I. Call to order

A. Call for late agenda items

B. Late agenda items

C. Announcements

II.  AFA BOD agenda items

III. Local Executive Council (LEC) Update

A. Officer Update

1. LEC President Report

2. LEC VP Report

3. LEC Secretary and Membership Report

B.  Open Time Trading Q&A

If you would like to add an agenda item please email LEC Secretary Laura Rueckert at anc@afaalaska.org by May 8th.  Please RSVP to anc@afaalaska.org so we can get a tentative head count in order to determine a location to hold the meeting.

In solidarity,

Your Council 30 Officers

AFA Council 30 Logo

Upcoming SAN Local Council Meeting – April 16, 2015

Dear San Diego Flight Attendants:

For those of you who are new to the AFA-CWA structure, our Constitution and Bylaws mandate that the Board of Directors convene once a year to conduct union business.  Brice and I will be attending the Board of Directors meeting from April 27th through 30th in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The Constitution and Bylaws also require all councils to bring forward the agenda items to their members.  You will have the opportunity to review and discuss each agenda item at a union meeting with the LEC officers.  We have scheduled our LEC meeting on April 16 from 1 to 3 PM in the Shipley Media Center, located in terminal two, at the San Diego airport.

As your LEC President, I vote on your behalf on these agenda items and the budget.  In order to best represent you, it is imperative that your LEC Officers have your feedback when placing these votes.

To review all agenda items please click on the link below. If you cannot attend the meeting, but would like to discuss any of the agenda items, please feel free to contact me.

For a full index of agenda items visit http://afa-bod.org/index-of-agenda-items/.

In solidarity,

Stephen Couckuyt
AFA SAN Council 15 President
san15pres@gmail.com
760-641-5664 (cell)

AFA Council 15 Logo

Celebrating Black History Month

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Human Rights Committee February 1st marks the first day of Black History Month in the United States.  The celebration has a long tradition that can be traced back to 1925 when Harvard trained-historian Carter G. Woodson introduced “Negro History Week”, which sought to raise awareness of the contributions made by Black individuals to society and the […]

Never Forget: Honoring Alaska Airlines Flight 261—January 31, 2000

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Master Executive Council (MEC) Twenty-three years ago today, we tragically lost Alaska Airlines Flight 261, flying between Puerto Vallarta and San Francisco, when it went down in the Pacific Ocean between Port Hueneme and Anacapa Island off the coast of Southern California. We will never forget Flight Attendants Kristin Mills, Craig Pulanco and Allison Shanks; […]

LOSA Observations Are Underway

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Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC) As previously communicated, AFA and management agreed to conduct a Line Operations Safety Audit (LOSA) to help improve safety for Flight Attendants, other crewmembers, and passengers.  The LOSA program is jointly administered by AFA and management as outlined in the Inflight Line Operations Safety Audit (LOSA) Program letter of agreement. The […]

Operational Safety Debriefs

Master Executive Council (MEC) In 2019, AFA filed grievance number 36-99-2-170-19, which alleged management’s violation of section 19.A of the collective bargaining agreement. The violation was related to an incident where management conducted a debrief meeting with Flight Attendants while they were still on duty following a slide deployment incident. As there was no contractual […]

Scheduling Committee Meeting Recap – January 2023

Scheduling Committee On Tuesday, January 24, our AFA Scheduling Committee Chairpersons met to discuss their ongoing work to represent our Flight Attendants and push for improvements in our workplace. Representing you at the meeting were Heather Reier (ANC), Rita Tillou (SEA), Melodie Anderes (PDX), Jaqui Bellenie (SFO), Natalie Codd (LAX), and Kitty Cohen (SAN). Also […]

Response to the November 18th Inflight Town Hall Webcast

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California meal & rest breaks Management’s continued scare tactics and speculative “what-if’s” as put forward during the Inflight Town Hall webcast today regarding California meal & rest breaks are unnecessary and extremely disappointing. Although it is true there are some challenging aspects of compliance with California meal & rest break laws for commercial aviation, AFA […]

ALPA Alaska Approves Tentative Agreement for Pilot Ratification

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Master Executive Council (MEC) President Jeffrey Peterson The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) Alaska Airlines leadership recently announced they approved a tentative agreement (TA) with Alaska Airlines management for pilot ratification. Click here for the Alaska Airlines Pilots TA Quick Guide (September 2022) > At a quick glance, the TA contains impressive improvements to scope, […]

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