December Update:

‘Tis the season….for IROPS 

Now is the time to get to know your contract.  With irregular operations (IROPS) due to weather or operational challenges, be aware of what is contractually supported for scheduling changes.  Refer to Sections 8 and 10 for lineholders and Section 11 for reserves.  Additionally, Junior Assigning (Section 9) has already occurred this holiday season so be aware of the contractual limitations of this practice.

CBT Deadline December 31

A friendly reminder to complete the 4th Quarter CBT is due 12/31/19.  In the event accessing Cornerstone through the app is unsuccessful, please reach out to your base supervisor for assistance. Additionally Flight Attendants may access Cornerstone via computer (non-mobile device) through the In-flight Page on Alaskasworld.  Failure to complete quarterly CBTs by the deadline historically has resulted in progressive steps of discipline.

Leftover Guest Passes?  Save them!

Remember to convert your unused companion travel passes before the end of day December 31st. Once converted the pass codes will remain in your FLY account under Guest Passes>>Manage Guest Passes. Converted passes must be ticketed within 3 months after the pass code has been generated.

Recurrent Training 2020

The recurrent training home study CBT was released 12/26/19 and available online for those taking recurrent in January. The CBT portion of recurrent training must be completed at least 2 hours prior to the start of training class.   As a reminder, for 2020, recurrent training will be two days.  AFA has been advocating for a streamlined and fair recurrent training process due to recent and sudden changes that have occurred.  This is an ongoing issue so please look out for more communication from the training department and the MEC regarding any updates to the program or guidelines.

Uniform Update 

Rollover of uniform funds are defined in the Uniform Allotments and Rollover Letter of Agreement.  Flight Attendants with remaining uniform funds will rollover at 50% value.

New uniforms will begin to ship in January, with the expectation of a March launch (actual date to be announced).  It is recommended that uniforms be tried for fit as soon as received.  This will allow ample time to make any adjustments or exchanges if necessary.

With the new uniform roll-out just around the corner, management has indicated an increase in compliance checks for current uniforms.  There are 3 stages of compliance checks:

• 2019:  a Flight Attendant found wearing a non-compliant uniform will be subject to a “conversation” with base management regarding current uniform policy.  
• January 1, 2020 –  launch of the new/custom uniform:  a Flight Attendant found wearing a non-compliant uniform will be issued a Record of Discussion (ROD) which will be documented in the FAs personnel file.
• Custom uniform launch and beyond: a Flight Attendant found wearing a non-compliant uniform that is not “fixable” will be sent home.

Clean Slate for 2020

Flight Attendants who…

1. achieved 480 TFP (L-VX exempt in  2019)
2. had 4 or fewer attendance points at the end of 2019
3. and who did not accrue any points in November and December 2019

…will start 2020 with zero points.  This process is defined in the JCBA S32.G.4.  The adjustment is a manual process done by the performance supervisor team, so please allow until mid-January for the process to be complete.  After the adjustments have been made, any discrepancies should be brought to the attention of the SFO performance supervisor, Raquel Wehrwein. 

Clock Resets for 480 on January 1

All Alaska Flight Attendants (including L-VX) will be required to achieve 480 TFP for the year 2020 to maintain the following benefits:

1. Uniforms  §13.D.6
2. Vacation §16.L.4
3. Health Insurance §33.B.1-4
4. Attendance year-end record improvement §32.G.4 

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

November Update:

Trending Discipline: Commuter Travel

Performance has initiated an investigation of commuter travel for Flight Attendants.  Recent travel audits have revealed that use of the D8Y travel designation has been used for flights other than commuting between registered cities for work.  The investigation has included all bases to include SFO and have resulted in discipline.  For more information please review the commuter policy in §28.G of the JCBA. The policy indicates that only travel between registered cities for work is allowable.  The D8Y listing is not  permitted when dropping a deadhead or picking up out of base if the cities pairings are not the registered cities. The performance team has indicated that the audits will occur monthly so this will be an ongoing investigation. If you have any questions regarding travel while commuting to/from work, please reach out to FCABPS@alaskaair.com or your Council 35 officers.  L-VX Transition Agreement.

480 Reminder 

The JCBA defines the 480 requirement for maintaining certain yearly benefits, and now is the time to make up any hours before the year ends. Flight Attendants with less than 480 total hours will not be eligible for benefits the following calendar year.   As a reminder, L-VX FAs are exempt from the 480 requirement in 2019 to retain benefits for the year 2020. However beginning January 1, 2020, all FAs (including L-VX) will be required to accrue 480 hours to retain benefits in 2021.  For more information please reference the

PPP Collective Block Payout Coming up!

JCBA §21.R outlines the Premium Productivity Program for FAs.  The collective block months will be complete at the end of November, and the payout will be December 20th.  Earlier this month the January information was missing from L-VX FA calculators however the issue has been resolved.  To see your actual accruals, please visit:

Alaskasworld>>Inflight Page>>Administration>>Calculators 

Delta Organizing

Call Professional Standards first!

Professional Standards (PS) should always be the first contact whenever Flight Attendants find it difficult to work together.  In the event you find yourself contemplating “turning someone in” to management, please consider Professional Standards as the first step in this process. Part of the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) committee, PS committee members are trained to help facilitate a conflict resolution process between the affected Flight Attendants.  All this is done in a safe and confidential environment, without involving management.  PS can also facilitate conflict resolution with other Alaska Airlines work groups, such as pilots and Tech Ops.  For a confidential consultation, please contact EAP/Professional Standards Committee at sfo.eap@afaalaska.org.

Council 35 Advanced Secretary/Treasurer Training with AFA

-by James Ikehara Kevin Creighan, Secretary-Treasurer for AFA International, hosted a 2 day Advanced Secretary-Treasurer training session for local councils in San Francisco on November 14-15. Local council officers from United, Frontier, Air Wisconsin, Spirit, and Alaska were in attendance, in addition to Alaska’s MEC officers Brian Palmer, Vice President, and Linda Christou, Secretary-Treasurer. Both Brian and Linda were guest speakers and shared best practices for budget planning. Council 35 was represented by Melissa Osborne, President, and James Ikehara, Secretary. The training provided a deeper understanding of financial tools as well as matters pertaining to membership data, council elections, conducting meetings, constitutional provisions, parliamentary procedures, Department of Labor regulations, and building power through other AFL-CIO affiliations. 

Next CBT due December 31, 2019

-by James Ikehara
The Annual Compliance Training (ACT) from Legal is due December 31, 2019. Failure to complete the required quarterly trainings by the deadline can result in discipline. To access the training module, open the Cornerstone App on your IMD. After logging in, all uncompleted courses will show on the main page. Remember, it’s always a good idea to take screen shots of your completed courses as backup. If your main screen is blank, you can double check your completed courses by clicking on the 3 dots in the upper right hand corner and choosing the Completed tab which will show all of your completed courses. All non-completed courses will be under the Active tab. If you have any concerns regarding the current trainings contact your SFO supervisor.

Boeing 737 MAX Update:  10/25/2019

-information provided by Brad Young

FAA Statement on Lion Air Flight 610 Accident Report

The FAA’s first priority is always safety. The Indonesian National Transportation Safety Committee’s accident report on Lion Air Flight 610 is a sober reminder to us of the importance of that mission, and we again express our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of those who were lost in that tragic accident. We welcome the recommendations from this report and will carefully consider these and all other recommendations as we continue our review of the proposed changes to the Boeing 737 MAX. The FAA is committed to ensuring that the lessons learned from the losses of Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 will result in an even greater level of safety globally. The FAA continues to review Boeing’s proposed changes to the 737 MAX. As we have previously stated, the aircraft will return to service only after the FAA determines it is safe.

AFA’s response to the Boeing MAX can be found here.

Did You Know? 

No Badge? No Problem!

Recent trends have emerged with SFO-based Flight Attendants forgetting or misplacing their badges while on duty.  If an FA finds themselves without a badge, contact Crew Scheduling for a temporary replacement.  The temp ID will be validated for the duration of the trip and allow the FA to work and get through security without the need for a gate pass, which can be a time consuming process.  For Flight Attendants that discover the missing ID in one of the six Alaska domiciles, base inflight management is available to print the temp badge in the office.  If the discovery occurs in a non-domicile location, please coordinate with the CSA team lead to print the badge provided by Crew Scheduling.  If an FA discovers the missing ID after boarding an A/C or performing duties, please remember to file an ASAP regarding the incident.  Following procedures for this type of incident will protect FAs from potential discipline.  If you have any questions, please reach out to your supervisor or Council 35 officers.

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 (only if situation requires 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