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MEC Unanimously Approves Tentative Merger Agreement for Membership Ratification

The AFA Alaska-Virgin America Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) presented the tentative Merger Agreement to the Master Executive Council (MEC) in a special session today (Monday, February 12), and the MEC unanimously approved to release the tentative agreement for membership ratification.

The JNC will be publishing a comprehensive summary of agreement tomorrow and full text language to follow by end of week. However, we know everyone is eagerly anticipating more details, so…we’re going to give you a sneak preview to tide you over until tomorrow’s summary of agreement.

Spoiler Alert: Pay Raises for Everyone!

If the Merger Agreement is ratified:

  • The entire Alaska pay scale will receive an across the board 4.5% increase to every step rate of pay;
  • “Legacy” Virgin America Flight Attendants will be immediately brought up to the Alaska pay scale (converted from $/TFP to $/block-hour); and
  • The new pay rates will be retroactive to January 1, 2018.

More details to follow tomorrow…

In Solidarity,

Your JNC – MEC President Jeffrey Peterson, Jennifer Wise MacColl, Jamie Cogen, Lindsey Steele and AFA Senior Staff Negotiator Paula Mastrangelo

 

The roadshow schedule may be found in the ”Save the Date: Tentative Merger Agreement Roadshows” membership release. AFA anticipates voting will open shortly after the completion of roadshows in mid-March and will end in early April. Any pmAS or pmVX FAs are welcome to attend any and all sessions. Please be aware that only AFA members in good standing may vote on the TA, so it is extremely important that pmAS FAs are current on their dues and pmVX FAs have completed an AFA membership application prior to the vote.

Merger Negotiations Update – Tentative Merger Agreement Reached

The AFA Alaska-Virgin America Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) just reached a tentative Merger Agreement with Alaska Airlines management during our twelfth negotiations session this week in Seattle, WA.

A tentative agreement is not released for a membership-wide vote until approved by your directly elected union leaders in the Master Executive Council (MEC). The JNC will be presenting the full text tentative Merger Agreement to the MEC on Monday, February 12.

No information about the Merger Agreement will be released until after the MEC has reached a decision whether or not to release the tentative agreement for ratification. Assuming the MEC approves the Merger Agreement, the JNC will conduct informational roadshows around the system in early March.

More updates to follow pending the outcome of the Special MEC meeting on Monday!

In Solidarity,

Your JNC – MEC President Jeffrey Peterson, Jennifer Wise MacColl, Jamie Cogen, Lindsey Steele and AFA Senior Staff Negotiator Paula Mastrangelo

 

Keep in mind that merger negotiations are a different process than regular negotiations. Discussions are focusing on a limited list of Flight Attendant priorities. All the provisions in the AFA Alaska contract (scheduled pay raises, etc.) will continue in force for pre-merger Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants; all the provisions in the Virgin America work rules will remain in effect for pre-merger Virgin America Flight Attendants unless modified and/or superseded by the AFA Virgin America letters of agreement.

 

Alaska Air Group Non-Revenue Travel Embargo

Earlier today, Alaska Air Group management posted an article on Alaska’s World outlining a non-rev travel embargo that is planned in conjunction with the cutover to a single Passenger Service Computer System (PSS) at the end of April.  AFA disagrees with any company-imposed restrictions surrounding the use of non-revenue travel benefits by our members.  We will be addressing the planned embargo with management and will provide more information once discussions have occurred.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Lisa Pinkston, Terry Taylor, Mario de’Medici, Melissa Osborne, Tim Green and Brice McGee

Seniority Merger Update – November 16, 2017

The Seniority Merger Integration Committee has been contacted by some members who were confused about the recent Pilot Arbitration, and whether our seniority integration would involve arbitration.

For both Flight Attendants and Pilots, the seniority integration process is determined by the Constitution and Bylaws (C&B) of each Union. Each C&B has a unique set of rules that governs the process for the benefit of the respective memberships.

At the Airline Pilots Association (ALPA), their C&B does involve arbitration as part of their process. This addresses the needs of the members at ALPA.

At AFA-CWA, our C&B focuses on our “competitive (bidding) seniority.” We do not rely upon an outside arbitrator making decisions based upon the merged airlines. In essence, we keep our bidding seniority, and take that with us into the merger. The only permitted change is to address different training policies. In our case, since one group has competitive (bidding) seniority from the beginning of training and the other group has it from the end of training, a training adjustment may be determined.

In simplest terms, the VX Flight Attendants will see no change to their current competitive (bidding) seniority dates. The competitive (bidding) seniority dates of AS F/A’s can only be adjusted to accommodate the difference in training policies, but otherwise everyone on that list will remain in the same relative order. The work of determining a training adjustment and merging the lists will be accomplished by the Seniority Merger Integration Committee during January 2018.

Reminder: If you did not receive your Seniority Verification Letter (SVL), you may request that a duplicate be sent to you by email.  To do so, send your request to the following email address: seniority@afacwa.org.  Your request must include your Name, Employee Number, Council/Base, and your Email Address.

Note that November 24 is the deadline to notify us of any inaccuracies. Instructions are on your SVL.

In Solidarity,

Your Seniority Merger Integration Committee – Sandra Morrow (AS), Rolando Teran (VX), Lynne Voigtsberger (VX) and Marie Maxwell (AS)

Merger Negotiations Session #6 Update – November 2017

The AFA Alaska-Virgin America Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) just wrapped up this week’s session of merger negotiations, our sixth so far. We met with management from Tuesday, November 7th through Thursday, November 9th in Seattle, WA. Representing management: Vice President of Labor Relations Greg Mays, Vice President of Alaska Airlines and Virgin America Inflight & Call Center/Guest Services Jeff Butler, Managing Director of Labor Relations-Air Elizabeth Ryan and Virgin America Manager of Labor Emily Kimmel.

This was a mixed session that saw us reaching agreement on three provisions relating to the transition, and we presented management with our proposed improvements to the Alaska Agreement. Earlier in the week, we reached agreement on the transition uniform program for VX and transitioning the VX Flight Attendants to the Alaska Sick Leave policy.

Using your survey responses, the JNC crafted a targeted list of priorities. AFA presented a strong case for why the changes were appropriate and needed. Initially, management’s team asked a lot of questions and for clarification. However, upon returning to the table after their discussions with upper management, their informal response did not leave us overly optimistic about getting a quick deal.

Management requested more time to cost out our proposals and committed to responding with a counterproposal at our next session in December. In the interim, AFA’s finance analyst and the Company’s financial planner will be in communication to ensure that we have vetted management’s costing model and agree on the numbers.

Keep in mind that merger negotiations are a different process than regular negotiations. Discussions are focusing on a limited list of Flight Attendant priorities. All the provisions in the AFA Alaska contract (scheduled pay raises, etc.) will continue in force for pre-merger Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants; all the provisions in the Virgin America work rules will remain in effect for pre-merger Virgin America Flight Attendants unless modified and/or superseded by the AFA Virgin America letters of agreement.

Our next merger negotiations session is scheduled for December 12th-14th.

In Solidarity,

Your JNC – MEC President Jeffrey Peterson, Jennifer Wise MacColl, Jamie Cogen, Lindsey Steele and AFA Senior Staff Negotiator Paula Mastrangelo

Hotel Committee Meeting Recap – December 2025

On Monday, December 1, our AFA Local Hotel Committee Chairpersons met in person in Seattle to receive an update about current layover hotels and transportation providers and discuss concerns with management. Representing you at the meeting were Dori Marron (ANC), Jarod McNeill (SEA), Kelly Hepworth (PDX), Hilary Streem (SFO), Brian Sherill (LAX), and Kanani Vallot […]

MEC Reserve Committee Vice Chairperson—New Hire & Probation Interviews – January 2026

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants Do you want to help new Flight Attendants as they go through initial training and probation? Our MEC is seeking a dedicated and organized Member in good standing to serve as the MEC Reserve Committee Vice Chairperson—New Hire & Probation. In this role, you’ll be the primary […]

Pre-Merger Alaska MEC Committee Chairperson Election Results

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants During this week’s MEC Meeting, our MEC held interviews for the next group of pre-merger Alaska MEC Committee Chairperson positions to be elected for the upcoming MEC Officer term. We want to thank everyone who expressed interest in the available positions and their willingness to serve. After […]

Merged MEC Committee Chairperson Election Results

During this week’s MEC Meeting, our MEC held interviews for our next merged MEC Committee Chairperson and Representative positions. We want to thank everyone who expressed interest in the available positions and their willingness to serve. After careful consideration and deliberation, the following candidates have been elected: MEC Inflight Training Committee Chairperson: Megan BrownMEC Inflight Training […]

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