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Council 35 News – July 2022

Important Dates

August 1:   Deadline for Mileage Bonus

August 2: Deadline for updating email address for AFA Negotiations Survey

August 3: AFA Negotiations Survey Launch

August 19: AFA Negotiations Survey Close

Alaska Airlines 90th Anniversary Bonus

As of today’s publication, approximately 25% of SFO Flight Attendants have not signed up to receive the 90th Anniversary Bonus.  The deadline to receive the anniversary bonuses is 11:59 p.m. Pacific time on Monday, Aug. 1, 2022.  Please enter your Mileage Plan number into PeopleSoft and make your selection for either $90 to the Company Store or a $90 Yiftee gift card to take advantage of this offer.  Miles can be used on other airlines and other travel perks!  For more information visit Alaskasworld.  

Your Personal Email Address for the Negotiations Survey

by James Ikehara, LEC Secretary
To ensure you receive an invitation to complete our Negotiations Survey, use this link to update your personal contact information directly with AFA Membership Services if you have recently changed your email address. Sign up with this link to receive AFA Alaska e-newsletters and stay in the loop with the latest negotiations news.  

California COVID-19 Law:  Action for Flight Attendants

The 2022 COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave Effective February 19, 2022 – retroactive to January 1, 2022 was put in place to protect employees from COVID-19 absences.  Management has taken a position that Flight Attendants are not eligible for these CA benefits, however AFA does not agree. Your Council 35 officers encourage all CA-based Flight Attendants that have COVID-19 related absences to file a wage claim with the state and/or report a labor law violation. AFA has received reports that some California-based F/As have had success filing a claim and potentially will be eligible for compensation if the claim is ultimately resolved in their favor. 

Bernstein v. Virgin America

Many California based Flight Attendants are waiting anxiously to hear updates on Alaska’s decision regarding the Bernstein v. Virgin America lawsuit.  It’s an understatement to say that Alaska caused a lot of stress to CA based F/As with their initial response to the Supreme Court’s decision to reject the case.  To stay updated on what’s new and to hear “both sides of the story,” please be sure to bookmark the Bernstein v. Virgin America subsite created by the attorneys representing the class.  For additional resources, Flight Attendants may also review the recent AFA Status Update from July 11.  

COVID-19 Tests Provided by SFO International Airport

by James Ikehara, LEC Secretary
On August 2nd, the airport will partner with Safeway to provide 8 COVID-19 Rapid AntigenTest Kits to each employee for free, if your health plan provides for direct coverage, or by reimbursement ($10.99) by your insurance company if you are charged for your test kits (Kaiser members will receive up to 4 test kits). Be sure to bring your employee badge and your insurance card. The morning distribution is scheduled from 0700-1000 at the SFO Maintenance Building #682, and the afternoon distribution is scheduled from 1200-1700 at the Video Art Exhibit Space, near aisle 6 of the International Terminal (pre-security departure level). You can pre-register using this link but walk-ins are also accepted.

Welcome Trista!

We are happy to announce that Trista Vanta has been selected as Mobilization Chair for Council 35!  Trista will be coordinating mobilization efforts in SFO as we begin our negotiations this fall.  Learn a little about Trista in her own words:

“Trista graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2009 with a major in communication arts and a minor in biology. During college, she served as the webmaster Council officer of Filipino Americans Coming Together from 2006-2009, promoting and organizing events to uplift and engage action within the Filipino American community. She also played for VCU’s volleyball club team as the libero and defensive specialist. 

After graduating, she pursued a career in scientific and medical illustration, working for the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. It was 2011 when she decided to enter the aviation industry, inspired by her mom who’s worked for the industry since the 90s. 

She briefly worked at Air Wisconsin for a little over a year before joining Virgin America in 2013, which became Alaska Airlines in 2016. She is passionate and dedicated to utilizing her past experiences and education to give our workgroup a fair, livable and safe workplace where we are provided with tools to thrive and advance our airline. She believes that unity within the workgroup will be the most valuable driving force in our upcoming negotiation. Her aim in this position is to promote enthusiasm, eagerness and Unity within our workforce to accomplish a common goal. She will strive to balance the interests of our overall workforce, line holders and reserves alike. After all, We are all in it together!”

Air Safety Health & Security Committee (ASHSC) Update

by Brad Young, Council Rep and ASHSC Chair

Meetings

Our AFA Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC) Chairpersons met on Thursday, July 14th to discuss our ongoing program of work to represent Flight Attendants interests related to safety, health, and security in our workplace.The Committee also met with management to receive updates and discuss issues and problems that Flight Attendants are facing onboard the aircraft.

Reports

Reporting safety concerns is more important than ever given the challenges we are currently facing as a work group.  Flight Attendant Irregularity Reports (FAIR), Aviation Safety Action Reports (ASAP), and fatigue reports can all be filed through Report It!

Trash Stowage

The Inflight Service Committee (ISC) and ASHSC have been working with Inflight and Catering to develop solutions for the ongoing lack of adequate trash stowage. Every departure now should have an empty cart in one of the galleys for trash. If you don’t have the required empty cart, submit both an ASAP and catering report. Catering reports are submitted via Block2Block.  Please submit an ASAP & FAIR if, after following procedures and making every reasonable attempt to do so, you are unable to stow all trash in legal stowage locations. AFA continues to advocate for dedicated trash cart(s) on all flights.

Time In Motion Study

The ASHSC is coordinating with the Inflight Service Committee and Inflight on a program to assess how long it takes to perform safety and service duties on each aircraft type and flight profile. The goal is to understand what service can safely be completed in each market, and ensure we have adequate time allotted for safety duties like equipment checks and briefings.

Cabin Lighting

During Compliance Checks  The ASHSC has been advocating for a brighter lighting setting prior to take off and landing compliance checks. We believe the company is willing to use our boarding light setting for compliance checks and expect the change to be implemented soon. The brighter lighting will help us see better as we complete our compliance checks and will provide a visual indicator to passengers that their attention is needed as we prepare the cabin for landing.

Committee Openings


Council 35 has committee member openings in the following committees:

Government Affairs (chair)

Human Rights (chair)

Air Safety Health & Security (member x2)

Members interested in these positions may submit a letter of interest to sfo@afaalaska.org.

Got a question?

Contact information for Council 35 committee members can be found on our website.  You can also open an online support ticket and the appropriate rep will respond.

In solidarity,

Council 35 Officers

Melissa Osborne, President

Virginia Fritz, Vice-President 

James Ikehara, Secretary

Brad Young, Council Representative

Melissa Osborne, LEC President •  melissa.osborne@afaalaska.org • 415-275-1322
Virginia Fritz, LEC Vice President •  virginia.fritz@afaalaska.org • 408.489.8200
James Ikehara, LEC Secretary •  James.ikehara@afaalaska.org  • 415-289-9011
Bradley Young, Council Representative • bradley.young@afaalaska.org • 916-508-3503

July Updates and Information

Bernstein v. Virgin America Ruling

Since the ruling was announced (06/30/2022) Council 15 LEC Officers have been inundated with questions related to the potential impact to our base.  At this point, we do not believe any decisions have been made. I personally feel the company has created unneeded panic before there is even a plan going forward.

Please review the following communications from AFA and look for updates as more information becomes available. 

AFA News Now – Supreme Court Ruling on Bernstein v. Virgin America
Alaska MEC (06/30/2022)

“In our opinion, management’s various communications are largely speculative and suggest that somehow safety provisions and meal and rest breaks cannot coexist. Arguably, the meal & rest requirements are applicable only to CA-based FAs working for a CA-based airline solely on intra-CA flights (e.g., SFO-LAX but not SFO-JFK).Rather than focus on practical solutions, management simply continues to gripe about having to comply with this law. As the 9thCircuit Court of Appeals already told them more than a year ago, there are many ways to comply with this law.”

Meal and Rest- Don’t Exempt, Negotiate 
AFA International (05/27/2022)

“Instead of meaningfully seeking to address the provisions of the law, airline executives have argued the most onerous outcomes of applied law. For example, one argument the industry makes is that this law will require augmenting crew on long haul flights. They mount this argument despite the fact that the case is limited to California-based flight attendants flying in California. The court did not address the applicability of meal and rest provisions to long-haul flying, which primarily would take place outside of California and therefore may not even fall under this law.”

 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.

SAN Mobilization Chair Selected for Negotiations

We would like to thank those who expressed interest for the San Diego Mobilization Chair. Both candidates showed passion, knowledge, and drive and we were excited to have such strong candidates. With that being said, Samantha Wolff has been selected and accepted the position. She will attend training at the beginning of August with the other local mobilization chairs. More opportunities to get involved with the committee will be announced later this summer.

Samantha began her career as a flight attendant flying for Virgin America in 2011. She quickly upgraded to Inflight Team Leader which was the airline’s purser position, and flew as the ITL until the merger with Alaska Airlines in 2018.

She has a bachelor’s degree in fine art and is a painter, sculptor and photographer. She also has a background as a legal assistant. She and her husband, who is an Alaska captain and ALPA volunteer, are empty nesters for his 2 adult sons and they currently live in San Diego with their 3 rescue cats.

She is a passionate union advocate and although this is her first volunteer position with AFA, she is dedicated to provide our union members with timely information during membership surveys, contract negotiations and voting.

Email Verification

With negotiations quickly approaching, we want to make sure all emails are up to date. If you are using a company email address, please be sure to update it to a personal email address by clicking here. AFA does not send communications to the Company provided email. Over the next few weeks we will be reaching out to anyone with a company email address on file to make sure a personal address is listed or we will purge your information from the AFA data base.

Negotiations Survey Coming Soon

Get Ready for Our Negotiations Survey—Update Your Contact Information Now!
In just a few months, our Negotiating Committee will be conducting a Negotiations Survey of all Flight Attendants.  The survey results will be used to help our Negotiating Committee prepare our Opening Proposal.  When it’s ready to launch, the survey will be sent out to all Flight Attendants using the contact information on file with AFA.  If your contact information has recently changed, update it as soon as possible so you can receive your invitation to complete the survey. Read more about our Negotiations Survey here.

Local Committee Updates

We have made some changes and additions to a couple of the committees

Reserve Committee

We want to welcome Rebecca Garcia as the New Reserve Chair and thank Joe Coneglio for his time as Reserve Chair.

New to Reserve? Familiarize yourself with Reserve [Section 11] & Hours of Service [Section 8] of the Contract and the Reserve Survival Guide.  It may be found on your IMD. Search “Reserve” or go to ASFA Supplemental> Collective Bargaining Agreement> AFA Alaska Reserve Survival Guide. 

If you believe you have received an illegal assignment, don’t hesitate to contact our local Reserve Committee.  They have been helping members work through their concerns. When a contractual violation is identified- they can assist you. 

Read more about the Reserve Committee here.

Uniform Committee

We want to welcome Jesus Perina Jr. “JP” as the New Reserve Chair and thank Denise Sheldon for her time as Uniform Chair and wish her well in her retirement from Alaska.

Don’t hesitate to contact our local Uniform Committee.  They can assist you with any questions or concerns.

Read more about the Uniform Committee here.

A full list of Local Committees can be found here.

Questions and Concerns

Contact information for Council 15 committee members can be found on our website.  You can also open an online support ticket and the appropriate rep will respond.

In Solidarity,

Brice McGee, President

Melanie Buker, Vice President

Stephen Couckuyt, Secretary

AFA Alaska Contract and Negotiations Newsletter – May 22, 2021

AFA Alaska Contract and Negotiations Newsletter – May 22, 2021

Master Executive Council (MEC)

In This Edition

  • Contract Extension 2021 Ratified and Associated Sideletter Executed
  • A Historic All-Time Low Voter Participation
  • Negotiating Committee Interviews Paused and Applicants Released for Now
  • Contract and Negotiations Education Efforts Resume

Contract Extension 2021 Ratified and Associated Sideletter Executed

Although it is less than ideal for a tentative agreement (TA) to be ratified by such a small margin, the Contract Extension 2021 did pass with a spread of 25 votes or 1.4% of active members in good standing casting votes.

Click here for certified ballot results >

The associated sideletter of agreement has now been executed and posted on the AFA Alaska website –> Contract Home –> Letters of Agreement (LOAs). It will also be uploaded to Inflight Mobile Devices soon.

Click here for the One Year Contract Extension 2021-2022 Sideletter of Agreement >

A Historic All-Time Low Voter Participation

The Contract Extension 2021 TA voter participation was a historic all-time low for AFA Alaska with 37.7% of active members in good standing who cast votes. The MEC anticipated that voter turnout would be significantly impacted by the substantial number of Flight Attendants on leaves, many of whom may have understandably chosen to not convert themselves to “active” status by paying dues for every month they had been on leave through May 2021. We also know of a few who inadvertently barely missed the balloting window. Regardless, participation was much lower than anticipated.

Many Flight Attendants posted on social media that they were largely ambivalent about the vote. Although this was “just” a one-year contract extension with a minimal raise, it is extremely important that we get our participation rate much higher for next time. Member participation sends a signal to management regarding our collective engagement. The silver lining to this cloud is that we will have plenty of time to prepare for negotiations in September 2022 and to build our solidarity in the meantime.

Negotiating Committee Interviews Paused and Applicants Released for Now

Negotiating Committee interviews have been paused and the Negotiating Committee applicants have been released for now. The MEC is planning to re-post Negotiating Committee positions this coming October 2021 and to resume interviews in January 2022.

Contract and Negotiations Education Efforts Resume

AFA Alaska will resume contract and negotiations education efforts via periodic newsletters such as this one.

Next Up

(New topics may be added and the order subject to change)

  • Updated Contract Negotiations Timeline
  • Preparatory Work to Improve the Efficiency of Negotiations
  • Negotiations Under the Railway Labor Act
  • Growing Reliance on Non-AFA Social Media Outlets as Sole Source of Information
  • Negotiating for Our Future
  • Block-Hours vs. TFP
  • Block or Better vs. §21.J Block Delays
  • L-VX Incentive Pay vs. Productivity Premium Program (PPP)
  • L-VX Inflight Team Leader (ITL) Pay vs. “A” Pay

AFA Alaska Special Negotiations Update – Potential One-Year Contract Extension

In This Edition

  • Tentative Agreement for a One-Year Contract Extension
  • Contract Extension 2021 Webpage

Tentative Agreement for a One-Year Contract Extension

Master Executive Council

Earlier this week, AFA and Alaska Airlines management reached an agreement in concept on a one-year extension to the contract. Your Local Executive Council (LEC) presidents, who are the directly elected representatives and voting members of the Master Executive Council (MEC), subsequently reviewed the agreement in concept and unanimously approved it to be released as a tentative agreement (TA) for membership ratification. Although there are encouraging signs of developing economic recovery within the airline industry, the MEC and management recognize that entering into negotiations during the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic would potentially—if not likely—be unproductive for AFA and for the Company. The MEC strongly believes this proposed contract extension is worthy of your consideration.

Contract Extension 2021 Webpage

Visit the Contract Extension 2021 webpage at https://afaalaska.org/extension2021 as your “one-stop shop” for information about the Contract Extension TA:

  • Full Text TA
  • Highlights (e.g., revised “early opener” and amendable dates; 1.5% full-scale step rates of pay increases effective December 17, 2021; PPO healthcare contributions frozen at 2019 rates; etc.)
  • Timeline
  • Virtual Roadshows (via Zoom)
    • Schedule and required registration for “live” sessions:
      • Fri 4/9 10 AM – 11 AM PT
      • Mon 4/12 10 AM – 11 AM PT
      • Wed 4/14 7 PM – 8 PM PT
      • Sat 4/17 3 PM – 4 PM PT
    • Archive for all sessions, which will be recorded and posted
  • Link to the Contract Extension 2021 blog
  • Voting information

Questions?

Do you have questions about the proposed contract extension?  Is there something you would like clarified or need more information about?  Email extension@afaalaska.org to get your answers from the source!  You can also view the Contract Extension 2021 blog to review questions asked by other Flight Attendants and the answers from AFA.

AFA Alaska Negotiations Update – December 17, 2020

AFA Alaska Negotiations Update – December 17, 2020

Master Executive Council

In This Edition

  • Updated Contract Negotiations Timeline
  • Negotiations Delayed Until September 1, 2021
  • Overview of the Railway Labor Act

Updated Contract Negotiations Timeline

1st round Negotiating Committee interviews – March & April 2020

Full pay scale increase of 2.5% – December 17, 2020 – This is the final full pay scale increase under this contract. A confirmation email from Employee Records to all Flight Attendants is expected in the next few days.

Revised “Early Opener” date – September 1, 2021 – Original Early Opener date: December 17, 2020. Negotiations may start on or after this date if notice is served by either AFA or management at least 60 days prior.

Amendable date – December 17, 2021 – Under the Railway Labor Act (RLA), the amendable date of a contract is generally the date on which the provisions of a collective bargaining agreement may be changed. Unlike under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), contracts under the RLA do not automatically expire and instead generally remain in force throughout negotiations and the amendable period.

Negotiations Delayed Until September 1, 2021

AFA leadership and Alaska Airlines management have agreed to hold off on engaging in negotiations until September 1, 2021. Both parties recognize that entering into negotiations during the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic would not be productive for either party. Consequently, the parties have executed a side letter of agreement amending the Early Opener date from December 17, 2020 to September 1, 2021 in Section 35 [Duration] of the Joint Collective Bargaining Agreement (JCBA).

Click here for the “Amendment to JCBA Section 35 [Duration]” Sideletter of Agreement >

Overview of the Railway Labor Act

Credit to “The Railway Labor Act Simplified” by the Pennsylvania Division of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division – IBT

Historical Background

The Railway Labor Act (RLA) was passed in 1926 to allow railroad union workers to resolve disputes with management while minimizing the potential for interstate commerce disruptions. The airline industry was folded into the RLA under Title II in 1936. The RLA was the first federal law guaranteeing the right of workers to organize and join unions and elect representatives without employer coercion or interference. The RLA makes it the duty of all carriers and their employees to exert every reasonable effort to voluntarily settle disputes. Negotiations procedures were historically contained in Section 6 of the RLA, which is why one often hears “Section 6” as a catch-all phrase for everything having to do with negotiations under the RLA. The RLA is currently located in 45 USC Chapter 8 Sections 151 – 188.

Who is Covered?

The RLA applies to freight and commuter railroads, airlines, companies directly or indirectly controlled by carriers who perform services related to transportation of freight or passengers and the employees of these railroads, airlines and companies.

Basic Purposes

  • Avoid any interruption to commerce.
  • Assist in the prompt and orderly settlement of disputes covering rates of pay, work rules, or working conditions.
  • Assist in the prompt and orderly settlement of disputes growing out of grievances or out of the interpretation or application of existing contracts covering the rates of pay, work rules or working conditions.
  • Ensure an unhindered right of employees to join a labor union (added in 1934).
  • Provide complete independence of organization by both parties to carry out the purposes of the RLA.

“Minor” vs. Major” Disputes

Disputes are divided into two categories under the Railway Labor Act: “minor” (resolved via the grievance and arbitration process) and “major” (resolved via the negotiations process).

Minor Disputes: Grievances growing out of the interpretation or application of collective bargaining agreements (CBAs). – System boards of adjustment (often administered by a neutral third-party arbitrator) have exclusive jurisdiction over grievance disputes. A system board’s findings are conclusive, and any awards through this process are binding on the parties. Self-help (e.g., work slowdowns or stoppages, worker strikes or management imposed work rules) not allowed. (See “Arbitration in the Airlines Industry: System Boards of Adjustment” by Thomas J. Kassin and Sarah L. Fuson for more information.)

Major Disputes: Matters affecting rates of pay, rules and working conditions; and the creation or modification of the collective bargaining agreement between the parties. – There is almost total reliance upon collective bargaining for major dispute settlement. Self-help (e.g., strikes and imposed work rules) are permitted after negotiation and mediation procedures have been exhausted.

Next Up

(Order is subject to change)

  • Negotiations Under the Railway Labor Act
  • Negotiating for Our Future
  • Block hours vs. TFP
  • Block or Better vs. Block Delay
  • Incentive Pay vs. Productivity Premium Program (PPP)
  • Inflight Team Leader (ITL) Pay vs. “A” Pay

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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