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Joint Contract Negotiations Session 16 – July 2026

This message is for both pre-merger Alaska and Hawaiian Flight Attendants

  • Our JNC met with management this week on July 1 to July 3 in Seattle; our next negotiation session is scheduled for July 21 to July 23
  • A Tentative Agreement has been reached for Section 35 (Flight Attendant Jumpseat and Pass Privileges) and LOA 9 (Flight Attendant Jumpseat)

Negotiations Update

Our AFA Alaska + Hawaiian Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) met this week for three days of collective bargaining with management. The JNC met with management from July 1 to July 3 in Seattle, WA. At the negotiating table for this session were:

Representing AFA and our Flight Attendants  Representing Management
Tim Green, Joint Negotiating Committee ChairpersonAllen Thieman, Vice President of Inflight, Alaska
Martin Gusman, Joint Negotiating Committee MemberRyan St. John, Vice President, Finance, Planning and Investor Relations, Alaska
Jeffrey Fuke, Joint Negotiating Committee MemberJoe Wonderly, Vice President, Labor Relations, Alaska
Virginia Fritz, Joint Negotiating Committee MemberCarmen Williams, Managing Director, Labor Relations, Alaska
Heather Reier, Joint Negotiating Committee MemberKalani Sloat, Senior Director, Labor Relations, Hawaiian
Paula Mastrangelo, AFA Senior Staff NegotiatorMike Link, Labor Relations Program Manager, Alaska
 Karen Themelis, Senior Labor Relations Business Partner, Alaska

This week, the JNC has reached a tentative agreement on Section 35 (Flight Attendant Jumpseat and Pass Privileges) and Letter of Agreement (LOA) 9 (Flight Attendant Jumpseat). These provisions cement protections governing Flight Attendant Jumpseat usage and establish the priority order for Flight Attendant assignment to the jumpseat. The LOA further secures jumpseat assignment order and availability ensuring access and guidelines for Flight Attendant pass travel. The JNC also received the first proposal from management on Section 23 (Insurance Benefits) and spent a considerable amount of time analyzing and consulting with our subject matter experts to prepare a comprehensive counter proposal. The JNC also passed a proposal on Section 30 (Training) and is continuing to make progress forward.

Section by Section Progress

The Alaska CBA is being used as the basis of the joint contract for language purposes. Each section and provision from both contracts will be reviewed individually to incorporate and amend the strongest elements from each agreement.

Sections discussed in this session:

  • Insurance Benefits (AS CBA Section 23 and HA CBA Section 32)
  • Training (AS CBA Section 30 and HA CBA Section 26)
  • Flight Attendant Jumpseat and Pass Privileges (AS CBA Section 35 and HA CBA Section 30)
  • Commuter Policy (AS CBA Section 36 and HA CBA Section 34-28)

Sections in ongoing discussion:

  • Vacations (AS CBA Section 14 and HA CBA Section 18)
  • Sick Leave (AS CBA Section 16 and HA CBA Section 19)
  • Leaves of Absence (AS CBA Section 15 and HA CBA Section 17)
  • General and Miscellaneous (AS CBA Section 24 and HA CBA Section 27)
  • Domiciles (AS CBA Section 28 and HA CBA Section 5, 14, and 27)

Sections listed below are on hold until discussions regarding future sections, which affect specific provisions, take place.

  • Seniority (AS CBA Section 6 and HA CBA Section 9)
  • Grievance Procedures (AS CBA Section 19 and HA CBA Section 23)
  • Charters (AS CBA Section 33 and HA CBA Section 12)

What’s Upcoming

Our next session with management is scheduled for July 21 to July 23.

Save the Date: Reserve Webinar – Thursday, August 6

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants

Pre-merger Alaska Reserve Flight Attendants: Have you ever had Crew Scheduling call you with a change to your assignment and wondered, “Can they do that?” Lineholders, have you flown with a Reserve Flight Attendant and found yourself asking the same question? You’re not alone! Our Reserve Committee is excited to launch a brand-new, limited-run series of Reserve Webinars in August to answer your most pressing reserve questions and bring clarity to the topics that matter most to you.

Mark your calendar for Thursday, August 6, at 1 PM PT for our first Reserve Webinar, titled “Can they do that?” Join us as we answer your questions and share practical, contractual insight into both everyday scheduling situations and those rare curveballs that come your way. This webinar is for everyone: Reserve Flight Attendants and lineholders alike. We encourage you to come ready to learn, connect, and ask anything on your mind. Registration details and a Zoom link will be shared as soon as August bidding opens.

Have a “can they do that?” question of your own? We want to hear from you! Use the link below to submit your questions in advance. While you’ll also have the opportunity to ask live during the webinar, the more questions we receive ahead of time, the better we can tailor the session to what matters most to you.

Click here to submit your question now ➔

Stay tuned—more details coming soon!

Joint Contract Negotiations Session 15 – June 2026

This message is for both pre-merger Alaska and Hawaiian Flight Attendants

  • Our JNC met with management this week on June 2 to June 4 in Seattle; our next negotiation session is scheduled for June 30 to July 3
  • A Tentative Agreement has been reached for Section 37 (Temporary Duty Assignments)
  • Our JNC made progress on vacation and staffing provisions, having discussions with both Alaska and Hawaiian stakeholders

Negotiations Update

Our AFA Alaska + Hawaiian Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) met this week for three days of collective bargaining with management. The JNC met with management from June 2 to June 4 in Seattle, WA. At the negotiating table for this session were:

Representing AFA and our Flight Attendants  Representing Management
Tim Green, Joint Negotiating Committee ChairpersonAllen Thieman, Vice President of Inflight, Alaska
Martin Gusman, Joint Negotiating Committee MemberJoe Wonderly, Vice President, Labor Relations, Alaska
Jeffrey Fuke, Joint Negotiating Committee MemberCarmen Williams, Managing Director, Labor Relations, Alaska
Virginia Fritz, Joint Negotiating Committee MemberBrittany Audette, Managing Director, Operations Staffing and Resource Management, Alaska
Heather Reier, Joint Negotiating Committee MemberKalani Sloat, Senior Director, Labor Relations, Hawaiian
Paula Mastrangelo, AFA Senior Staff NegotiatorMike Link, Labor Relations Program Manager, Alaska
 Karen Themelis, Senior Labor Relations Business Partner, Alaska

Prior to this week’s session, the JNC held a small group meeting with Alaska and Hawaiian crew-planning stakeholders to explore vacation and staffing options in preparation for our joint session.  This week, the JNC continued the conversation with management to review the Alaska and Hawaiian vacation systems. We discussed how the Alaska vacation provisions are currently applied and how the different Hawaiian vacation provisions are used. Brittany Audette, Managing Director of Operations Staffing and Resource Management, joined us for this discussion.

The JNC also continued to work through Section 14 (Vacations). Recognizing that Hawaiian Flight Attendants currently have more flexibility with their vacation benefits, we are exploring ways to incorporate those benefits into the JCBA for the combined workgroup.

The JNC reached a tentative agreement on the new Section 37 (Temporary Duty Assignment). This new section primarily incorporated language from the Hawaiian CBA and added protections from other airlines’ Flight Attendant contracts. TDY (Temporary Duty Assignment) allows the company to establish a temporary base at a non-domicile location or to supplement staffing at an existing base temporarily. This section ensures Flight Attendants financial protection, including around-the-clock per diem, hotel stays for the duration of the TDY period, space-positive travel, and improved expense reimbursement. The goal is to ensure assignments are fair and Flight Attendants are supported, while also meeting operational and staffing needs.

We exchanged proposals for Section 35 (Flight Attendant Jumpseat and Pass Privileges) and Letter of Agreement 9 (Flight Attendant Jumpseat Occupancy). We are working to codify our travel benefits, including priority access to Flight Attendant jumpseats.

We also continued to exchange proposals on Section 16 (Sick Leave), but there are still significant differences between the two parties.

Section by Section Progress

The Alaska CBA is being used as the basis of the joint contract for language purposes. Each section and provision from both contracts will be reviewed individually to incorporate and amend the strongest elements from each agreement.

Sections discussed in this session:

  • Vacations (AS CBA Section 14 and HA CBA Section 18)
  • Sick Leave (AS CBA Section 16 and HA CBA Section 19)
  • Flight Attendant Jumpseat and Pass Privileges (AS CBA Section 35 and HA CBA Section 30)
  • 🆕 Temporary Duty Assignments (AS CBA does not address these provisions and HA CBA Section 15)

Sections in ongoing discussion:

  • Leaves of Absence (AS CBA Section 15 and HA CBA Section 17)
  • General and Miscellaneous (AS CBA Section 24 and HA CBA Section 27)
  • Domiciles (AS CBA Section 28 and HA CBA Section 5, 14, and 27)
  • Training (AS CBA Section 30 and HA CBA Section 26)
  • Commuter Policy (AS CBA Section 36 and HA CBA Section 34-28)

Sections listed below are on hold until discussions regarding future sections, which affect specific provisions, take place.

  • Seniority (AS CBA Section 6 and HA CBA Section 9)
  • Grievance Procedures (AS CBA Section 19 and HA CBA Section 23)
  • Charters (AS CBA Section 33 and HA CBA Section 12)

Crew Meal Survey

Thank you to everyone who took part in the Crew Meal Survey. We received 3,323 completed surveys from Flight Attendants, along with 509 partial responses. The JNC will review all feedback, including the partial surveys, as we evaluate the results. Your input helps us keep advocating for you.

What’s Upcoming

Our next session with management is scheduled for June 30 to July 3.

To get things started, the JNC met with our MEC Reserve Chairpersons to talk about current reserve rules and possible improvements for our combined workgroup. We are finalizing a Reserve survey that will go out to the Membership later this month. Thank you to pre-merger Alaska MEC Reserve Committee Chairperson, Julie Thornton and pre-merger Hawaiian MEC Reserve Committee Chairperson, Kela Chong for sharing their expertise.

Scheduling Committee Meeting Recap – May 2026

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants

On Tuesday, May 26, our pre-merger Alaska AFA Scheduling Committee Chairpersons and Representatives met virtually to discuss their ongoing work to represent our Flight Attendants and push for improvements in our workplace. Representing you at the meeting were Rebekah Olds (ANC), Rita Tillou (SEA), Melodie Anderes (PDX), Jaqui Bellenie (SFO), Kanako Yamado (LAX), and Kitty Cohen (SAN). MEC Scheduling Committee Vice Chairperson—Pairing Construction Karen Ferrell, MEC Scheduling Committee Vice Chairperson—PBS Virginia Fritz, and MEC Scheduling Committee Chairperson Jake Jones were also present.

The Committee met with Managing Director of Inflight Performance & Crew Scheduling Sara Cook, Manager of Inflight Crew Scheduling Goose Hlaingmyint, Director of Crew Planning Trisha Bennett, Manager of Crew Planning Colin Beard, ITS Technical Product Owner Nathan McFerren and other management representatives from Crew Planning, Crew Scheduling, information technology (ITS), payroll.

The Committee is next scheduled to meet on Tuesday, June 23.

Topics of Discussion

The Committee reviewed several topics during internal AFA-only conversations and when meeting with management. Some items discussed include:

Local Committee Chairperson Discussions

  • Pairings Concern: Ongoing issues with pairings. 
  • Block2Block (B2B)- suggested implementing an audible alarm system for check-in to assist Flight Attendants.
  • Charter Operations: Charter timing issues are causing passenger frustration. Recommendations include timely scheduling and rebidding, with a commitment to improve pre-boarding processes. Communication with charter coordinators is planned.
  • Redeye Flights: Mention of numerous redeye flights affecting flight schedules.
  • D Position Flying: Noted aircraft downgrades affecting pairing operations, leading to reassignments rather than pre-cancellations. The contract had an incorrect citation, and our MEC and management are reviewing examples to determine a path forward.  
  • Crew Rest Areas: Concerns about long sits at PAE field; questioning the availability of adequate rest areas for crews.
  • Reassignment Pay Denial: Issues with reassignment pay being denied for specific city pairings. The Committee continues to discuss these issues with payroll. 
  • NAVBLUE Issues: Password reset issues were reported, and the PBS Subcommittee has been designated to assist Flight Attendants.
  • Pairing Preferences: Desire for more turns, specifically one-day trips with only two legs.

PBS Subcommittee Update

  • Bidding Overview June Bidding: High activity was noted even before the bidding period opened. Concerns over high line averages and reserve percentages.
  • Bid Awards: Smooth process despite needing to adjust minimums for reserve coverage. Technical issues with the inflight website caused accessibility problems for Flight Attendants, requiring workarounds.
  • Bid Protests: Record high of over 200 protests regarding bid awards, primarily due to perceived errors linked to website issues and high line averages.
  • Meetings: Multiple meetings held throughout April and May, including low bid research and PBS focus groups.
  • Other Updates: Testing of software updates (26.1-MX-UAT) commenced with plans for implementation in July or August.

Pairing Construction and Crew Planning

  • July Pairing Selection: Discussions around payroll, hotel, and transportation costs. Flexibility in trip distribution and lengths noted, with management using the optimizer for pairing construction.
  • Crew Planning Analysis: July block hours are up to 365K from 347K in June. 20% reserve ratio, 81.1 average line value. Offering no staffing adjustments for July. Pairings are red-eye: ANC 36%, SEA 30%, SAN 27%; lowest is SFO at 12%, LAX/PDX at 20%. The July trip distribution was reviewed for actual and percentages. Commuting SEA/SAN/ANC for 3 days is best; SEA/ANC/PDX for 4 days. PDX/SFO/LAX are the most challenging. 
  • RAVE Language: Discussion on improving four-day trips and TFP in the optimizer through computer data programming. 

IRROPS (Irregular Operations)

  • Updates on various duty starts and operational requests due to construction delays and ATC issues, affecting multiple airports.
  • Crew connections increased due to delays, with specific minimum rest requirements for certain routes.
  • Current IRROPS:
    • SAN start of duty for JFK/BOS/IAD/MCO/DCA – construction delays
    • EWR is still at 12 hours for ATC delays
    • End of duty AM departures for EWR to LAX/PDX/SEA/SFO
    • Increased crew connections due to delays
    • Required duty start for LAS-ANC – Operational request.
    • PHX star flights have 11:30 minimum rest
    • 0500 departure GEG-PDX when operating increased to 12 hours rest
    • End of duty for DLG-ANC and AKN-ANC for summer TSA mitigation.
    • Flight Attendant teaming is still in effect.

Crew Scheduling Report

  • Absence Rates: Sick leave at 12.1%, trending down, with lineholders slightly higher than reserves.
  • Reserve Utilization: System-wide utilization at 92.4%, with SEA highest at 98%.
  • Fatigue Reports: Noted fatigue incidents for both AS and HA, with overall trends of concern.
  • Reassignments and Deadhead Conversions: System-wide reassignments noted, with significant numbers in specific bases.
  • Specific Data:
    • Sick Leave – Absent rate for May is trending about 12.1%. Trending down in the overall count. Lineholder are 12.5%, and reserves are 10.5%.
    • Sick online 80 Flight Attendants and canceled 20 flights
    • Reserve Utilization – System is 92.4%, SEA is highest for May at 98%.
    • Premium Pay – Awarded: 85%; contractual: 15%. Significant days were Mother’s Day, Cinco de Mayo, and Memorial Day. For June, we have 24% reserve coverage. Management moved people to reserves instead of offering SALs. They are looking at cost-saving tips for contractual premiums, conversions, premiums, daily last flights, adding more personal drops, increasing TSN, and providing flexibility. They need to perform well in sick leave to help staff the operation. Launching initiatives to reduce over-duty premium. The high cost of fuel and the need for greater efficiency are driving these cost initiatives across all departments.
    • Personal Drops/TSN/Flexibility – Creating goals and incentives to produce flexibility.
    • Reassignments 10.R.4 – System-wide in May was 478, SEA was 191 compared to the other bases.
    • Deadhead conversions 10.X.7 – system-wide at 219
    • Fatigue – Total is 18 for the month. 12 reserves and 6 lineholders. We ended with 21 in April 2026.
    • Crew Schedulers – 2 in July, 1 in August, 3 in late August. 6 awarded positions are on hold due to a 120-day hiring freeze.

Information Technology (ITS) Updates

  • Friendly reminder: Please ask Flight Attendants and AFA Representatives to create Cherwell tickets for all ITS-related issues so we can track them. Use the ITS help desk to file the concerns.
  • NAVBLUE/PBS:
    • Release 26.1.883 UAT Testing – In Progress.
    • Automation Updates:
      • 261 Test cases automated out of 269 [97% completed] – Web automation.
      • 234 Test Cases automated out of 269 [86% completed] – iOS automation.
  • Open Time Trade Analysis: 
    • 93,696 total trades, both legal and illegal
    • 91,940 (98.1%) of the total trades (illegal + legal) had a response time less than 10 seconds
    • 1756 (1.9%) completed in a response time greater than 10 seconds
    • May’s trade volume was higher than April’s.
    • Transaction times remained steady.
  • JCTE Releases:
    • Upcoming Releases
    • JCTE 10.0 MR24 – 6/2
      • FER bug fixes
      • Bid Period Drop Down Menu Selection Replaces Calendar Date Selection for Published Roster.
      • Published Roster for another crew member pulling the current bid period + 2 bid periods in the past.
      • Alert for schedulers to add when a Flight Attendant is contacted more than once during their rest period, and did not receive 10 hours rest prior to the second call, and has not received 10 hours rest since the second call
      • Fix for min/max TFP text messages and min/max duty period text messages.

What The Committee Is Working On

  1. Resolving Pyramiding Pay Disputes: Discussions are ongoing through the Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) process to clarify payment rules for over-duty pay and day-off violations. Our Grievance Committee is filing grievances regarding several concerns with pyramid pay. These discussions are still ongoing with Labor Relations management. 
  2. Vacation Bidding: Representatives from the Committee met with management to discuss the new vendor, AI Crew Solutions. It was determined that when a Flight Attendant either doesn’t hold a bid or forgets to bid, they will be allowed to bid in the 2nd round of vacation. The current process assigns slot 1 and slot 2. We will provide educational material and information when bidding begins next year on the new platforms. We have additional meetings to discuss implementation and buddy bidding. We are currently testing and reviewing the User Acceptance Testing (UAT) environment. 
  3. Flow Charts: These are posted on the AFA website to help guide you through contractual understanding and irregular ops here: 2025-2028 AFA Alaska CBA Reference Documents 01.26.2026
  4. Block2Block (B2B) Contactability: Implemented on February 1, 2026. Please familiarize yourself with the contractual language and bulletin bundle. Every Flight Attendant must check B2B at the end of every duty period (not trip) and make positive contact if a message is sent prior to block-in of the last flight of the duty period per §8.Q.2.e.
  5. Chime (Microsoft Teams): Implemented on February 9, 2026. This will allow Flight Attendants to contact Crew Scheduling for additional resources. Please refer to the letter of agreement and the bulletin bundle.
  6. Compensation: Follow up on crew pay issues and reassignment policies.
  7. Pairings: Continue to address pairing and scheduling concerns with management.
  8. Software: Monitor upcoming software implementations and their impacts on operations.

We Want to Hear From You!

Whether you have feedback for the Committee, concerns to share, or items you’d like brought up with management – don’t hesitate to let us know. Your Local Scheduling Committee is here to be your voice to management. You can easily open a support ticket on the AFA Alaska Online Support Center or directly contact us using the information provided on the Scheduling Committee page of the AFA Alaska + Hawaiian website.

Crew Meal Survey Closing Soon

This message is for both pre-merger Alaska and Hawaiian Flight Attendants

  • Crew Meal Survey now open, survey will close on Tuesday, May 26 at Noon PT

Our Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) is committed to prioritizing your nutrition during the work day through our crew meal provisions. We are eager to hear your thoughts on which elements of crew meals are most meaningful to you, as we continue to advocate for your needs.

The survey is currently open and will close on Tuesday, May 26 at Noon PT. We strongly encourage you to take part in this brief survey, as your input is invaluable in helping us create a supportive environment for all.

If you have any questions regarding the survey feel free to contact the JNC at jnc@afaalaska.org.

Wrapping Up Membership Engagement Focus Month: Stronger Together

July was a remarkable month for our Membership Engagement Committee. We set out with a clear purpose: to bring our Flight Attendant community closer together, share valuable resources, and build authentic connections throughout our system. Over the past four weeks, we explored what it means to be engaged in our AFA family. We kicked things […]

Benefits Committee Meeting Recap – July 2026

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants On Wednesday, July 22, our pre-merger Alaska Benefits Committee Chairpersons met for their regular monthly meeting. This meeting was an internal AFA-only meeting and did not involve management.  Representing you at the meeting were Ava McWilliams Ellington (LAX), Linda Gunselman (PDX), Sonia Quackenbush (SAN), Kathy O’Malley (SEA), […]

Discover The AFA Online Learning Academy

As part of Membership Engagement Committee Focus Month, we’re excited to spotlight one of our core missions: empowering you with knowledge and confidence to participate more fully in our Union. When we understand how our Union works, we strengthen our collective voice and create a more engaged community. To help you on this journey, we’re […]

Scheduling Committee Meeting Recap – July 2026

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants On Tuesday, July 21, our pre-merger Alaska AFA Scheduling Committee Chairpersons and Representatives met in person at Alaska Global Training Center to discuss their ongoing work to represent our Flight Attendants and push for improvements in our workplace. Representing you at the meeting were Rebekah Olds (ANC), […]

Joint Contract Negotiations Session 17 – July 2026

This session, the JNC focused on refining the Reserve survey to ensure a comprehensive representation of member concerns. Significant progress was also made on Section 23 (Insurance Benefits), with proposals aimed at enhancing Flight Attendant protections and securing tailored insurance provisions. Additionally, productive discussions continued on Section 30 (Training). Further improvements are anticipated pending management’s response to our latest proposal.

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