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Open Time Tentative Agreement Presentation

Date: Tuesday, April 30, 2019

Time: 9 AM ~ 11 AM PT (morning session) and 1 PM ~ 3 PM PT (afternoon session)

Location: Four Points by Sheraton Seattle Airport South, 22406 Pacific Highway South, Des Moines, WA 98198

Parking: Free parking is available at the Four Points hotel in the parking deck on the back side of the hotel and in the adjacent lot. 

Transportation: If you are attending from out-of-town, please call the hotel directly at (253) 642-0100 to arrange for free hotel shuttle service once you arrive at the airport.

Open Time TA broadcast

We will broadcast the presentation sessions live on the AFA Alaska YouTube Channel.

Link to morning session: https://youtu.be./AxHJ76cZidQ
Link to afternoon session: https://youtu.be/tYk34EZzvdk

TA information is found on the Open​ Time ​TA 2019 info page. You can ask questions using Slido during the presentation (Slido instructions). Please make sure to enter your first and last name followed by your base (e.g. Jane Doe SEA). Questions will only be answered if you follow this format. Any questions asked prior to the start of the event will be deleted. You have the ability to review other questions asked, and upvote anything you would like to see answered. We will endeavor to answer as many questions as possible during the presentation. We will recap and answer more questions on the blog.

Open Time TA video

AFA also plans to release a recorded compilation video of the two sessions so that all Flight Attendants will have access to the OpenTime TA presentation no matter where you are and whenever you have free time.​

Voting

Voting opens on Monday, May 6 at 9 AM PT and closes on Friday, May 31 at 9 AM PT. Once your ballot is cast, you may not change your vote. You must be an active member in good standing* at AFA Alaska on the day of the ballot count in order for your vote to be tallied. Please vote!

In Solidarity,

Your Negotiating Committee – MEC President Jeffrey Peterson, Kristy Stratton, Lisa Pinkston, Christina Frees and AFA Senior Staff Attorney Kimberley Chaput

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

* Active member in good standing: AFA-CWA member, actively flying or continuing to pay dues each month while on a leave of absence, and dues no more than 30 days in arrears.) For additional information or assistance regarding dues or balloting, contact AFA-CWA Membership Services at 800-424-2401, Monday through Friday (closed major holidays) from 9 AM to 5 PM ET.

Open Time Negotiations Update – Tentative Agreement

A (not so) brief history of Open Time

Due to Flight Attendant dissatisfaction with Open Time that existed at the time, AFA and management negotiated a new Open Time trading system in the 2014-2019 Collective Bargaining Agreement. Because the parties were unsure how well the new system would work for everyone, we agreed to a trial period, in which we could try out the system before it became permanent. 

AFA heard loud and clear after several months of surveying that a majority of Flight Attendants were dissatisfied with the new system, so the Master Executive Council (MEC) cancelled the trial in July 2016. Under the terms of the contract, that meant AFA and management would start negotiating a new Open Time system, which began in November 2016. Meanwhile, management was supposed to have the trip trading system roll back to the prior Open Time trading rules (known as “Back to Book”) while the parties negotiated another system.

Flash forward to the present

If only it were that easy. The path to a new Open Time system has been challenged at nearly every turn: numerous programming delays, transition to a brand-new trip trading system, returning to a second round of negotiations with a mandate to achieve implementation guarantees, and an intervening merger. After nearly two and a half years, AFA and management have finally reached an Open Time tentative agreement (TA) that has been approved by the MEC for membership ratification.

Before starting negotiations in late 2016, AFA surveyed Flight Attendant to determine which features a new Open Time system must have and which would be unacceptable. The Negotiating Committee believes we have achieved an Open Time system that is worthy of your consideration. 

TA details

Click here for the Open Time TA 2019 info page >

This is a one-stop shop for all the resources you will need:

  • Important dates
  • Full text language of the Open Time TA 2019
  • Supplemental documents
  • Links to historical Open Time negotiations updates
  • Details about the Open Time TA presentation
  • The Negotiating Committee’s contact info
  • Voting info

Open Time TA live presentation

Date: Tuesday, April 30, 2019

Time: 9 AM ~ 11 AM PT (morning session) and 1 PM ~ 3 PM PT (afternoon session)

Location: Four Points by Sheraton Seattle Airport South, 22406 Pacific Highway South, Des Moines, WA 98198

Parking: Free parking is available at the Four Points hotel in the parking deck on the back side of the hotel and in the adjacent lot.

Transportation: If you are attending from out-of-town, please call the hotel directly at (253) 642-0100 to arrange for free hotel shuttle service once you arrive at the airport.

Open Time TA presentation broadcast and compilation video

Although there have been local “save the date” communications regarding a presentation on April 30th, AFA understands this is the first confirmed notice. No worries if you cannot make it because we will also broadcast the presentation sessions live on the AFA Alaska YouTube Channel, which may be accessed via the Open Time TA 2019 info page. AFA also plans to release a recorded compilation video of the two sessions so that all Flight Attendants will have access to the Open Time TA presentation no matter where you are and whenever you have free time.

Voting

Voting opens on Monday, May 6 at 9 AM PT and closes on Friday, May 31 at 9 AM PT. Once your ballot is cast, you may not change your vote. You must be an active member in good standing* at AFA Alaska on the day of the ballot count in order for your vote to be tallied. Please vote!

In Solidarity, 

Your Negotiating Committee – MEC President Jeffrey Peterson, Kristy Stratton, Lisa Pinkston, Christina Frees and AFA Senior Staff Attorney Kimberley Chaput

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

* Active member in good standing: AFA-CWA member, actively flying or continuing to pay dues each month while on a leave of absence, and dues no more than 30 days in arrears.) For additional information or assistance regarding dues or balloting, contact AFA-CWA Membership Services at 800-424-2401, Monday through Friday (closed major holidays) from 9 AM to 5 PM ET.

[AS] Open Time Negotiations Update – June 1, 2017

For release to pre-merger AS councils only

Open Time Tentative Agreement reached

Your Negotiating Committee recently reached an agreement in concept with Alaska Airlines management regarding a new Open Time system. As a reminder, the Master Executive Council (MEC) ended the Open Time Trial last July (see “Open Time Trial Cancellation” for additional background). The MEC’s decision was based on overwhelming membership feedback from the Open Time satisfaction surveys and pursuant to Collective Bargaining Agreement §12.F.9 [Exchange of Sequences: Open Time Trial]. The parties have been negotiating a potential successor Open Time system ever since AFA provided notice to management of the cancellation last summer.

The Negotiating Committee presented a draft full text Open Time Tentative Agreement (TA) for the MEC’s consideration two weeks ago. The MEC was impressed with many elements of the proposed new Open Time system, which is in many ways a fusion of the 2012-2015 “Back to Book” Open Time system and the current system. Some highlights of the proposed Open Time system include incorporating the beloved “day for day or greater” trading of Back to Book with the ability to drop into Open Time much like the current system.

The MEC unanimously voted against releasing the Open Time TA due to a lack of implementation guarantees

Despite the Negotiating Committee’s best efforts, management would not agree to implementation guarantees. The MEC and the Negotiating Committee held a special conference call meeting last week to discuss our concerns with a lack of such guarantees. After much consideration, the MEC has unanimously voted against releasing the Open Time TA for membership ratification.

The MEC has heard loud and clear that you expect meaningful and specific implementation guarantees. Therefore, the MEC is sending the Negotiating Committee back to the table to achieve implementation guarantees, and management has been informed of our expectations. Management acknowledged receipt and is planning to meet with Jeppesen in the coming week or so to discuss options.

What is “Back to Book”?

The “Back to Book” Open Time system is the trading system outlined in the 2006-2010 Flight Attendant Agreement as modified by the 2011 AFA Arbitration Award No. 6-99-2-18-11 “Withholding Open Time.” This modified trading system was in place 2012-2015. The contractual language associated with this system is found in CBA §12.F [Exchange of Sequences – Back to Book: Open Time Trading]. The “Back to Book” Section 12 Exchange of Sequences follows the regular Section 12 and precedes Section 13 Uniforms in your contract. The arbitration award follows LOA 6 Contract Implementation Schedule and precedes the index.

Where is “Back to Book”?

Flight Attendants have been inquiring where is the “Back to Book” Open Time system. Management has been citing “IT limitations” as the reason for why reverting “Back to Book” is still delayed: “If reverting, the timeline for rolling back will be dictated by IT limitations” (§12.F.9.a [Exchange of Sequences: Open Time Trial]). Management says that Jeppesen has not had the resources to program “Back to Book” due to all available resources being allocated to implementation of the new crew tracking and trip trading system. However, the next scheduled update to the trading system places Alaska onto the “main branch” of the program, which is more or less the stock version.

Therefore, it seems obvious to AFA that IT limitations can no longer be used as an excuse for why “Back to Book” is delayed. We will be filing a contractual grievance disputing the “Back to Book” implementation delay in the coming days.

AFA will provide an update once management formally responds to the grievance and has an opportunity to meet with Jeppesen to consider implementation guarantees. After all the disappointments with extremely delayed implementation timelines and a disastrously executed transition to the new trip trading system, it’s time to make a stand!

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Melissa Osborne, Tim Green and Brice McGee

Your Negotiating Committee – MEC President Jeffrey Peterson, Kristy Stratton, Lisa Pinkston, Christina Frees and AFA Senior Staff Attorney Kimberley Chaput

[AS] Adjusted Trip Trading Dates

For release to pre-merger AS councils only

Trip trading using the new Jeppesen Crew Exchange system continues to be extremely frustrating for everyone—especially on Open Time day. AFA has filed several more grievances related to Jeppesen Crew Access (JCA) since our last communication on the subject. AFA will highlight the status of JCA-related grievances in a separate communication shortly.

AFA and management have agreed to adjust the trip trading dates so that Flight Attendant-to-Flight Attendant trades will no longer occur on the same day as Open Time. This is effective in June for July trading. Because Flight Attendants did not have an opportunity to bid for the new trading dates in June, the parties have agreed to keep Open Time trading on the 15th and instead move FA-to-FA trading up a day to the 14th. Starting in July for August trading and beyond, FA-to-FA trades will go back to the contractual trading date of the 15th and Open Time trading will occur a day later on the 16th.

Click here for the “Adjusted Trading Dates” Letter of Agreement (5/25/2017) >

June 2017 (for July trading)

Posting of Trips FA to FA Open Time & Recurrent Trip Drop Coupons
All bases 13th 20:00 SEA 14th 14:00 SEA 15th 14:00 Due 13th 06:00
    ANC 14th 10:00 ANC 15th 10:00 Results 13th 08:00
    PDX 14th 10:00 PDX 15th 10:00    
    LAX 14th 12:00 LAX 15th 12:00    
    SAN 14th 09:00 SAN 15th 09:00    

 

Out of domicile FA to FA & OT Pickups 17th 09:00 PT

 

July 2017 (for August trading)

Posting of Trips FA to FA Open Time & Recurrent Trip Drop Coupons
All bases 14th 20:00 SEA 15th 14:00 SEA 16th 14:00 Due 14th 06:00
    ANC 15th 10:00 ANC 16th 10:00 Results 14th 08:00
    PDX 15th 10:00 PDX 16th 10:00    
    LAX 15th 12:00 LAX 16th 12:00    
    SAN 15th 09:00 SAN 16th 09:00    

 

Out of domicile FA to FA & OT Pickups 17th 09:00 PT

The AFA Alaska Contract page has been updated with this latest letter of agreement. AFA will continue to advocate to management that improvements to JCA are not occurring fast enough and that management needs to make things right with the Flight Attendants.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Melissa Osborne, Tim Green and Brice McGee

Open Time Negotiations Update – March 3, 2017

Open Time negotiations this week

The AFA Negotiating Committee (NC) and Alaska Airlines management met again February 28-March 1, 2017, in Portland to negotiate a new Open Time system. As you may recall, our current open time system was implemented on a trial basis. AFA chose to end the trial, which put us into negotiations for a new system. Our contract states that we will revert “Back to Book,” which was the Open Time system in effect under the previous contract. For information, see “Back to Book” following the signature block below.

Meanwhile, the parties will negotiate a new system. However, this cannot be accomplished until some computer programming is done, which may take several months. The current system remains in effect until then.

We are very close to reaching a tentative agreement

The NC is pleased to report that we are very close to reaching a tentative agreement (TA) with management. Both sides have worked hard to create an Open Time system that is easier to understand than the current one, gives Flight Attendants more schedule flexibility and does not negatively impact the operation. The parties will meet again on April 18th in Seattle, and we hope to be able to announce a TA after that session.

Master Executive Council approval, membership ratification and roadshows

If everything goes according to plan, the NC will present the Open Time TA to the Master Executive Council (MEC) at the scheduled meeting April 25-26. The Local Executive Council (LEC) presidents will vote whether or not to accept the TA for membership ratification. If the MEC approves the TA for membership ratification, all members in good standing (dues current) will have the right to vote on it. Assuming the TA is approved by the MEC for a membership vote, the NC is anticipating roadshows sometime during the month of May.

The Negotiating Committee thanks you for your support and patience, and we hope to see you at a roadshow somewhere around the system in May!

In Solidarity,

Your Negotiating Committee – MEC President Jeffrey Peterson, Kristy Stratton, Lisa Pinkston, Christina Frees and AFA Senior Staff Attorney Kimberley Chaput

 

Back to Book

AFA has received several requests from our members to refresh the group on the “Back to Book” provisions. We are definitely intending to put together a membership release dedicated to that topic as soon as we get a chance. As you can imagine, the Jeppesen Crew Access (JCA) cutover and the subsequent fallout has kept AFA busier than usual. If you would like to familiarize yourself with “Back to Book,” refer to Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) §12 Exchange of Sequences: Back to Book, which follows the regular CBA §12 of your contract; most of the related provisions are in CBA (BTB) §12.F [Trades with Open Time]. See also AFA Grievance No. 36-99-02-18-11 “Withholding Open Time Award” at the back of the contract immediately following LOA 6 [Contract Implementation Schedule].

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