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Follow Up To AAG Non-Revenue Travel “Embargo”

Last week on Wednesday, January 24, Alaska Air Group management issued an Alaska’s World article (AAG sign-on required) indicating that the company would be implementing an “embargo” on non-revenue travel in conjunction with the cutover to a single Passenger Service Computer System (PSS) at the end of April.  AFA subsequently posted a response to this embargo and committed to addressing the issue with management.

Shortly after the original Alaska’s World article was posted, management updated the article to provide additional clarification that the “embargo” is in fact a voluntary request by management for employees not to engage in non-rev travel during the week of the PSS cutover.  Commuters, those traveling for company business, and those who have booked PST tickets are not being asked to avoid travel during this period.  Non-revenue travel pleasure (including employees traveling with companions) will not be restricted during this time period. The only actual travel that will be embargoed will be guest pass travel (referred to as buddy pass travel under the VX travel program) and non-rev travel by employees of other airlines, who will not be permitted to travel from April 24 through April 30.

Management has provided email addresses should you have any questions regarding employee travel during the PSS cutover or need support.  For Alaska and Horizon travel, contact employee.travel@alaskaair.com; for Virgin America travel, contact vx.team.travel@alaskaair.com.  You may also contact your Local Council Officers should you need assistance.

In Solidarity,

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

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

Filing an Individual Grievance in Regards to Applying Alaska Air Group Date of Hire to Non-revenue Travel Priority

Flight attendants have requested to file individual grievances per Section 19 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement in regards to Applying Alaska Air Group Date of Hire to Non-revenue Travel Priority.  If any member would like to utilize this provision, this is a reminder to contact the MEC Grievance Chair Jennifer Wise MacColl (jennifer.wisemaccoll@afaalaska.org) as soon as possible to receive a grievance number and instructions that will be sent to you during normal business hours. The issue is timely as management notified Flight Attendants on September 1, 2015, of the roll back.   In order to file a grievance per the 30 business days required by the contract, individual grievances should be filed by close of business at 5pm PT this coming Wednesday, October 14, 2015. 

 

If you have any questions or concerns, contact your Local Executive Council president: ANC | SEA | PDX | LAX | SAN.

 

In solidarity,

 

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Gesch, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow and Stephen Couckuyt; MEC Grievance Chairperson Jennifer Wise MacColl and AFA Senior Staff Attorney Kimberley Chaput

AFA Alaska

[Revised] Applying Alaska Air Group Date of Hire to Non-revenue Travel Priority Grievance Update

[Note: Individual grievances must be filed by close of business at 5pm PT Wednesday, October 14, 2015.]

 

Management unilaterally changed the employee travel pass policy on May 1, 2012

 

On May 1, 2012, Alaska Airlines management unilaterally made a significant change to the employee travel pass policy. Effective that day, almost all Alaska Airlines employees who had previous service with Horizon Air had their year of hire adjusted to their Alaska Air Group (AAG) date of hire for the purposes of non-revenue travel priority. AFA and ALPA filed grievances in response to the May 1, 2012, change.  More detailed background information can be found after the signature block and AFA Alaska logo below.

Recent developments

 

In recent developments ALPA settled its grievance, and management granted the AFA grievance. Management announced the intent to roll back the Alaska Flight Attendants and Pilots who are former Horizon employees and to return their travel priority to their Alaska Airlines date of hire. While all employees (formerly from Horizon) hired after July 2012 and those in the Flight Attendant and Pilot work groups are being handled consistently, a small number of employees remain in the other work groups who were not rolled back to their Alaska Airlines date of hire for travel seniority.

 

Flight Attendants impacted by this decision were notified in early September that their date of hire for travel would revert to the Alaska Airlines hire date and that they would receive new badges. This has caused understandable disappointment and frustration for our members impacted by the change.

 

AFA’s assessment

 

AFA advised management that it does not believe that the resolution allowing a small number of employees to retain a date of hire boarding priority that is unavailable to the rest of the employees in the company is equitable and just, or a full resolution of the grievance. In our opinion the overall implementation of the policy changes since the original change in May of 2012 has been badly mishandled. The failure to fully review the original policy change, failure to consult with the Labor groups involved or to assess the potential conflict with their Collective Bargaining Agreements is unacceptable.

 

Difficult decision

 

AFA was left with the difficult decision on how to proceed. The Master Executive Council (MEC) consulted with our AFA staff attorney to determine if filing a new grievance in order to pursue a uniform policy for all employees, while upholding our contractual language regarding benefits and company seniority, was possible. Ultimately the advice was that a grievance initiated by AFA would be unlikely to succeed, as it would be attempting to change the policy for employees in other work groups, who are covered by their own collective bargaining agreements.

 

After much discussion, the MEC decided that no further grievances would be filed on this issue, and that the rollback for flight attendants would stand (as will the rollback for pilots, based on ALPA’s settlement). This was a very challenging conclusion for all and the vote was not unanimous. The MEC has spent over three years attempting to resolve this difficult issue, constantly operating with the knowledge that no matter the resolution, one portion of our membership would be negatively impacted.

 

Filing an individual grievance

 

The MEC understands that our members who were formerly employed by Horizon feel very strongly about the issue.   Many have requested to file individual grievances per Section 19 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. If any member would like to utilize this provision of the contract and file an individual grievance they have the ability to do so and should contact the MEC Grievance Chair Jennifer Wise-MacColl (jennifer.wisemaccoll@afaalaska.org) to receive a grievance number and instructions. The issue is timely as management notified Flight Attendants on September 1, 2015, of the roll back.   In order to file a grievance per the 30 business days required by the contract, individual grievances should be filed by close of business at 5pm PT this coming Wednesday, October 14, 2015.

 

* * *

 

If you have any questions or concerns, contact your Local Executive Council president:

ANC | SEA | PDX | LAX | SAN.

 

In solidarity,

 

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Gesch, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow and Stephen Couckuyt; MEC Grievance Chairperson Jennifer Wise MacColl and AFA Senior Staff Attorney Kimberley Chaput

 

AFA Alaska

Additional Background Information

 

On May 1, 2012, Alaska Airlines management unilaterally made a significant change to the employee travel pass policy. Effective that day, almost all Alaska Airlines employees who had previous service with Horizon Air had their year of hire adjusted to their Alaska Air Group (AAG) date of hire for the purposes of non-revenue travel priority. Prior to this change there was a long standing past practice that any employee who entered a work group covered by a Collective Bargaining Agreement did not retain their AAG date of hire for non-revenue travel priority. The May 1st change directly affected over three hundred (300) employees and their travel seniority changed—approximately one hundred fifty (150) of them flight attendants.  Some of those employees now had travel seniority greater than Alaska Flight Attendants who had been hired at Alaska before the former Horizon employees transferred to Alaska. In effect, the change impacted all Alaska Flight Attendants.

 

Then in July of 2012 management changed its policy again and determined that all former Horizon employees hired after July 1, 2012, would receive only their Alaska date of hire as their travel seniority. This left the group of 300 as the only employees utilizing their AAG date of hire for non-revenue travel priority. There have been numerous questions regarding longevity for retirement and if this change negates previous service with Horizon Air for purposes of retirement eligibility. The short answer is that this changes impacts date of hire only for non-revenue travel priority.

 

AFA and ALPA filed grievances in response to the May 1, 2012, change.  This was not something we undertook lightly, because many of our flight attendants are former Horizon employees.  Ultimately, however, the Master Executive Council (MEC) filed the grievance because we felt—and still feel—that the Company’s actions abrogated our seniority.  Seniority is the bedrock of our contract and the guiding principle governing our work rules.  The grievance was intended to protect our contract and the workgroup as a whole, not to hurt a group of flight attendants.  In addition the MEC weighed the decision of taking no action and the implication that would have if AAG were to acquire new carriers.   The MEC was concerned that not grieving the May 1, 2012, change would adversely affect our ability to protect the travel seniority of our Flight Attendants—including former Horizon flight attendants.

AFA Alaska MEC Grievance Update August 2015

 

The Master Executive Council (MEC) has recently filed numerous grievances on your behalf.

 

Grievances Settlements

 

First and foremost, we filed and settled two very important grievances:

 

Grievance No. 36-99-2-17-15: Assigning a Failure to Report after Successful Check In.

 

This grievance was filed due to the Company’s violation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, Section 32 [Attendance Policy], when it assigned failure to report occurrences after a Flight Attendant’s successful check in.

 

In certain circumstances management had been assigning a “Late Report” when a Flight Attendant arrived late to the gate or arrived late to the gate at RON, this was after a successful scan in at the beginning of her/his sequence. AFA’s long-standing position has been that “Late Report” occurrences only applied when a Flight Attendant failed to scan in at domicile. All other situations, which might result in a Flight Attendant arriving late to the aircraft, were handled as general performance issues; these will now be referred to as “Late Arrival to Aircraft”. Please note this does not change a Flight Attendant’s requirement to be at the aircraft 45 minutes prior to departure.

 

Management agreed and a settlement was reached with the following clarifications:

 

1) A Flight Attendant may only be assessed a Late Report (formerly Failure to Report) when s/he checks in after the scheduled check in time and has not been assessed a No-Show for the same event;

 

2) When a Flight Attendant is late to the aircraft at any time during a scheduled sequence, s/he will not be assessed any attendance points, these occurrences will be considered a performance issue and will be handled under the Company’s progressive discipline policy; and

 

3) The Company agrees to remove attendance points from any Flight Attendant who received them for being late to the aircraft during a scheduled sequence, provided the points were assigned in the 18 months preceding May 19, 2015.

 

If you believe that you may have been assessed a Failure to Report incorrectly and it occurred after November 19, 2013, please reach out to a local grievance representative for assistance.

 

A copy of the settlement language can be found by clicking here.

 

Grievance No.: 36-99-2-26-15: Quarterly Productivity Premium.

 

The second grievance settlement involved Section 21.R [QPP]. It was filed due to Management’s position that Flight Attendants who had not received a PBS bid award for one or more months of the quarter were excluded from the Quarterly Productivity Premium. A copy of the settlement language can be found in its entirety here.

Grievances Upheld

 

Management granted the following two grievances:

 

Grievance No.: 36-99-2-11-15: Violation of Section 27.N [New Hire Initial Training Presentation].

The Company’s violation of Section 27.N, when it failed to provide the Association one hour for the purpose of new hire orientation during a regularly scheduled training day.

Resolution: Management has agreed to ensure that a full hour is provided.

 

Grievance No.: 36-99-2-13-15-Failing to Provide Automated Trading of 4K Pairings.

The Company’s violation of Section 10.DD.6 [Long Stage Length (“4K”) Duty Period] and 12.C.1 [Trading Procedures], when it failed to automate trading of Long Stage Length Duty Period (“4K”) Pairings. In addition when it violated the Contract Implementation Schedule Letter of Agreement paragraph numbers six* (“One-hundred and twenty days after DOS-but no later than May 1, 2015,…”) and nine* (“The Company agrees to make a good faith effort to meet the above implementation time frames…”), when it failed to notify the Association of the delay and discuss the circumstances and necessary adjustments to the implementation schedule.

Resolution: Manual trading is in effect until the next emaestro release scheduled for September 15, 2015. Bulletin 2015-0182 issued on July 16, 2015, addresses how to manually trade “4K” pairings.

 

Grievances Pending

 

The following grievances have been filed and are still pending:

 

Grievance No.: 36-99-2-15-15-Limiting Access to the SAN Domicile.

The Company’s violation of Section 28.I [Company Provided Computers and Printers at Domiciles], when it limited access to the SAN Domicile including contractually required resources to only those Flight Attendants based in SAN.

 

Grievance No.: 36-99-2-19-15-Failing to Pay Flight Attendants for Reasonable Suspicion Drug/Alcohol Testing.

The Company’s violation of Addendum to Section 21 [Compensation], when it failed to pay Flight Attendants for reasonable suspicion drug & alcohol testing.

 

Grievance No.: 36-99-2-20-15-Converting a Line Holding Flight Attendant to ER Reserve Outside of her/his Contactable Period.

The Company’s violation of Section 11.C.3.b.6 [Conversion of Reserves to ER] and 11.C.3.c [ER Contactibility], when it converted a line holding Flight Attendant to ER Reserve outside of her/his contactable period.

 

Grievance No.: 36-99-2-21-15-Section 21.M Compensation.

The Company’s violation of Section 21.M [Pay Protection Due to Weather, Mechanical or to Suit Company Convenience], when it removed a Flight Attendant from a trip and failed to pay protect her.

 

Grievance No.: 36-99-2-22-15-Violation of Past Practice Regarding Manual Revision/Emergency Interim Bulletin (EIB) Insertion Timelines.

The Company’s violation of past practice regarding manual revision/emergency interim bulletin (EIB) insertion timelines, which fails to provide Flight Attendants sufficient time to thoroughly read and insert their revisions and/or EIB’s. Long standing past practice is articulated in the Flight Attendant Manual 6.500 page 1, dated July 6, 2012, which states: “Insert, post and record manual revisions within 14 days of receipt, no later than 30 days after distribution.” A new EIB 14-40 effective November 25, 2014, now states: “The holder of the FAM shall insert revisions/EIBs on or before the effective date or prior to the first assignment following the effective date, whichever comes first.”

 

Grievance No.: 36-99-2-23-15-Beyond Service Training Exceeding Contractual Training Hours.

The Company’s violation of Section 30.A.2 [Recurrent Training and Other Company-Required (Non-Computer-Based) Training; Hours], by conducting Beyond Service Training after 5:00PM local time, failing to provide a clear break between required training and the optional “Happy Hour” and failing to provide transportation information to Flight Attendants who choose to depart promptly at 5:00PM.

 

Grievance No.: 36-99-2-24-15-Ground Floor Lodging While on Company Business.

The Company’s violation of Section 34 [Hotels], when it failed to avoid ground floor lodging for Flight Attendants attending company required Beyond Service training.

 

Grievance No.: 36-99-2-29-15-Section 28.G.6 Commuter Boarding Priority. The Company’s violation of Section 28.G.6 [Commuter Policy], when it allowed Company employees (and their dependents) on pleasure travel to be given higher boarding priority than commuting Flight Attendants.

 

* * *

 

The next step is to move forward to arbitration on any grievances that cannot be resolved appropriately. In addition, we continue to file disciplinary grievances, which occur on a near daily basis.   Many of these will move forward to arbitration as well.   All Flight Attendants system wide are impacted when AFA cannot resolve issues with management prior to arbitration.   AFA is committed to resolving these issues and will soon be scheduling new arbitration dates for the year 2016. Periodic grievance updates will follow; however should you have questions on specific grievances, please reach out to your local grievance representative.

 

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Gesch, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow and Stephen Couckuyt; MEC Grievance Committee chairperson Jennifer Wise MacColl, MEC Grievance Committee member Stephanie Adams and AFA Senior Staff Attorney Kimberley Chaput

AFA Grievance No. 36-99-2-17-15 Failure to Report or Late Report Settlement

AFA Alaska

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