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AFA Update – April 6, 2020

In This Edition

  • Cancellation of April & May Recurrent Training
  • Reminders About Layover Transportation and Meals
  • Reporting Uniform Reactions
  • Voluntary Benefits Updates & Information
  • AFA EAP Support Services
  • CWA/NETT and LinkedIn Learning

Cancellation of April & May Recurrent Training

On Friday, management announced that they would be cancelling recurrent training (RT) for the months of April and May as a precautionary measure in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak.    Along with the cancellation announcement, management also provided information about an FAA temporary exemption granting a two-month extension to Flight Attendants with April and May base months (as well as some Flight Attendants scheduled for RT at the end of March).  This exemption will give affected Flight Attendants an additional two grace months during which to complete RT in 2020 (e.g. a Flight Attendant whose base month is April and grace month is May will now have June and July as additional grace months this year).

AFA representatives have requested that management remove the April cancelled classes from rosters in Crew Access as soon as possible in order to allow Flight Attendants to manage their schedules and trade and/or pick up flying if desired.  Crew Planning is also in the process of removing RT pre-planned absence from NavBlue to allow Flight Attendants who were scheduled for class in May to bid normally.  Management has indicated that they will contact Flight Attendants whose RT class has been cancelled to discuss rescheduling options but they have not yet provided AFA with specifics on what the process for rescheduling will be.

If you have questions about the April/May recurrent training cancellations, please contact Inflight Training management directly at inflight.training@alaskaair.com.

Reminders About Layover Transportation and Meals

Hotel Committee

Dedicated Crew-Only Layover Hotel Transportation

The AFA Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update – March 19, 2020 provided information about the temporary implementation of dedicated crew-only layover hotel transportation.  Management also communicated this information in bulletin #2020-0016, issued on March 17.  As a reminder, this crew-only transportation may be either hotel-provided van that is dedicated for crewmembers only or separate contracted transportation.  Please reference your trip information in Crew Access to determine whether the hotel or a contracted vendor will be providing layover hotel transportation.  You can also find a complete list of dedicated transportation providers on the Inflight website > Hotel, Travel, & Station > Hotel News > Dedicated Transportation.

As always, if you encounter any issues with a transportation provider, please notify your AFA Hotel Committee by filing a CrewCare report.

Food Availability on Layovers

At the request of AFA, management has compiled a list of food availability at each layover hotel throughout the system.  This list is updated regularly to ensure the most up-to-date information.  It can be found on the Inflight website > Hotel, Travel, & Station > Hotel News > Food Availability.

Questions?

Your AFA Hotel Committee is here to assist and support you in all matters related to layover hotels and transportation.  You can find contact information for your Local Hotel Committee by clicking here.

Reporting Uniform Reactions

Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC)

With the launch of the new Unisync uniform, our AFA Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC) and Uniform Committee would like to offer a reminder about how to report reactions or safety concerns related to the new uniform pieces.  Management has outlined the process for reporting these concerns in a document that is housed on the uniform subsite of Alaska’s World.  You can access the document directly by clicking here (AAG sign on required).

Questions?

If you have questions about how to report uniform reactions or need assistance in navigating the process, please contact AFA Uniform Safety Representative Deb Wallstrom at uniform.reactions@afaalaska.org.

Voluntary Benefits Updates & Information

Benefits Committee

Our AFA Benefits Committee has received information that Alaska employees who have either 401(k) through Vanguard or Alaska Credit Union loans may be eligible for modified payment arrangements.  National Group Protection (NGP) has also provided information about continuation of coverage for anyone enrolled in the NGP/CAIC supplemental benefits program who takes a leave of absence.

Vanguard – 401(k) Loans

  • You can suspend a loan for up to 12 months
  • It can take up to two pay periods to process the suspension
  • Once the request has been processed, the 12 month suspension begins
  • You can reinstate payments earlier without penalty
  • You can also make payments during the suspension of any amount without penalty.  If you choose to do so, it will not restart your loan.
  • You will accrue interest during that time – but this is interest you pay yourself.  This may adjust your loan payment amount once your loan is reinstated.

For assistance with Vanguard 401(k) loan suspensions, contact Vanguard Participant Services at (800) 523-1188 (available Mon-Fri, 5:30 AM to 6 PM Pacific time).  You can also reach out to Jamie Smalley with specific questions at jaime.smalley@alaskaair.com.

Alaska Air Group Credit Union Loans 

The Alaska Air Group Credit Union (AAGCU) is offering an emergency skip-a-payment option that may allow customers to skip to three monthly payments on certain AAGCU loans.  For more information about this program, including a link to apply, please visit the AAGCU website by clicking here.

AFA Supplemental Benefits – National Group Protection

National Group Protection (NGP) has provided information for those who are enrolled in the NGP/CAIC supplemental benefits program and take a Leave of Absence (LOA).  These special provisions include:

  • Coverage will continue without interruption during the LOA
  • Premiums are not due during the LOA
  • CAIC will honor claims during the LOA
  • No action is required on your part to maintain your coverage

Complete information can be found in this document.  If you have any questions, please contact National Group at (800) 344-9016 or service@ngp-ins.com.

AFA EAP Support Services

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)/Professional Standards Committee

AFA EAP has put together several resources to help Flight Attendants manage their personal mental health and wellness during the COVID-19 outbreak.  All services are available in either a telephone or online format.  For a complete list of support services being offered, schedules, and access information, please click here.

Questions?

Please contact your Local EAP Committee for more information or assistance.

CWA/NETT and LinkedIn Learning

AFA International

As a part of CWA, AFA members are entitled to take advantage of complimentary online learning through CWA/NETT.  CWA/NETT provides you and your family with access to hundreds of online training courses through LinkedIn Learning. This might be the perfect time to brush up on existing skills or learn new ones. 

Examples of learning titles include:

  • Zoom Meetings
  • Microsoft Collaboration
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Sharepoint

You can get started by completing this form.  The form requires your CWA local number, which you can find on the Contact Us page of the AFA Alaska website under FAQs > Membership and Dues Questions > What’s My CWA Local Number.

Questions?

If you have any questions, please contact your LEC Officers.

Recurrent Training 2020 – Part 7

The Master Executive Council (MEC) was planning to meet with one of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Cabin Safety Inspectors assigned to Alaska Airlines this week during the regular February MEC meeting.  The intent of the meeting was to allow the MEC to gain a better understanding as to how the FAA interprets and applies the Code of Federal Regulations (CFRs) and other guiding documents to Flight Attendant recurrent training.  More specifically, the MEC is seeking more information about what drove the changes that were made to Recurrent Training 2020 when it initially launched in January.

Unfortunately, not all of the required representatives from the FAA’s Certificate Management Office (CMO) could be available for the scheduled meeting last Wednesday and the meeting was canceled.  The MEC is actively working with the FAA to reschedule the meeting to another time as soon as all required attendees from both AFA and the FAA are available.  More information will be communicated once the meeting is able to be rescheduled.

In Solidarity,

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

Recurrent Training 2020 – Part 6

Breaking news!

Limited self-correction during door evacuation drills

The Master Executive Council (MEC) has been informed that limited self-correction is now allowed during door evacuation drills in one specific circumstance. Flight Attendants are expected to come to Recurrent Training (RT) prepared to demonstrate proficiency by using verbatim evacuation commands. However, if the (incorrect) command “STAND BACK” is corrected to “STAY BACK, STAY BACK, STAY BACK…” during an evacuation drill evaluation, then this will be considered successful.

If self-correction occurs as described above, then the Inflight Instructor will debrief with the student after the evaluation is complete. The purpose of the debrief is to ensure the student is clear on the Flight Attendant Manual (FAM) standard of “STAY BACK – STAY BACK” (no “STAND BACK”). For now, this will be the only self-correction allowed during evacuation drills.

Proposed redesign of the Special Track Training submitted to the FAA

Management submitted the proposed redesign of the Special Track Training to the FAA today. The FAA has up to 16 working days to accept or reject the proposal. In the interim, AFA and management have agreed to not allow any Flight Attendant to proceed to the fourth drill attempt; affected FAs are currently being pay protected while we wait for the FAA’s response.

Additional approved exceptions to the verbatim evacuation commands

Again, Flight Attendants are expected to come to RT prepared to demonstrate proficiency by using verbatim evacuation commands. However, one more variant on “plane” that is used throughout the British Commonwealth has been added to the approved exceptions: aeroplane. Flight Attendants will be deemed proficient and therefore successful in completing their evacuation evaluation if they inadvertently use any of the now five approved exceptions: “the,” “airplane,” “aeroplane,” “aircraft” and “jump.” Italicized text inside of parenthesis indicate the approved exceptions to the verbatim evacuation commands:

“Heads down, stay down” / “Open seatbelts — Open seatbelts” / “Stay back — Stay back” / “You two, stay at the bottom” / “Help (the) people off” / “Send them away from the plane (/ airplane / aeroplane / aircraft)” / “Leave everything” / “Exit here” / “Jump (Jump)”.

The MEC anticipates publishing another RT update following our meeting this coming Wednesday with one of the FAA Cabin Safety Inspectors assigned to Alaska Airlines or pending any new developments.

In Solidarity,

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

Recurrent Training 2020 – Part 5

During the two-week pause of Recurrent Training (RT), management has redesigned the program with the assistance of a vendor that was contracted to help facilitate the process changes. Many of those changes were solidified through an alpha test of the redesigned RT 2020 and subsequent beta test over the past week. AFA leadership participated in the tests along with senior Inflight Instructors and a small group of line Flight Attendants.

Management sent an “RT Improvement Plan” email (February 8, 2020) on Saturday that outlined what Flight Attendants can expect for the relaunch of RT on Monday, February 10. Not surprisingly, many of you had questions or concerns about that communication.

Summary of and commentary about the RT Improvement Plan

Hands-on time has increased from 90 minutes with no time allocated for emergency equipment to 2.5 hours including doors and emergency equipment.

However, 2.5 hours is still not enough because of resource constraints. Once one factors in the number of students, instructors, drills, etc., an individual FA will likely have only a few minutes for any particular door drill. The Master Executive Council (MEC) strongly believes management should allocate more hands-on time.

Thirty minutes of hands-on training is now available before the start of every RT class.

AFA has lingering concerns with the emphasis on voluntary uncompensated training outside of negotiated training hours. This is not an acceptable long-term solution due to the totality of the circumstances.

Scheduled open houses to allow for voluntary practice time on equipment.

Same objection as above: Voluntary uncompensated training outside of negotiated training hours is not an acceptable long-term solution.

The completion packet has been streamlined by condensing the number of drills from 31 to 20.

Condensing is good, but AFA has advocated for more trimming where allowed by regulation.

The instructors are again able to provide direct feedback after unsuccessful drill attempts.

Direct feedback should never have been eliminated in the first place. The MEC believes this is an epic fail on management’s part.

Instructors audited the program content for accuracy. 

Excellent! However, who thought it was a good idea to not have the instructors audit the program content for accuracy before now?

Upgraded the RT website to enhance the user experience.

The upgrades are subtle, so the MEC questions how much this will actually enhance the user experience. However, we do appreciate the effort.

Pre-class material, videos, and classroom content has been audited to ensure accuracy.

Is it painfully obvious that quality assurance is extremely under-resourced in Inflight Training?

Topics still being actively explored

Separately, the Master Executive Council (MEC) has taken part in several meetings with management this past week for continuing discussions about the evolving RT situation. A key discussion occurred on Thursday with Vice President of Inflight Ron Calvin, VP Labor Relations Jenny Wetzel, VP Safety & Security Max Tidwell, VP Flight Operations John Ladner, MD Inflight Operations Michaela Littman and MD Labor Relations Carmen Williams.

Topics of particular interest that are still being actively explored:

  • Revamping the “Special Track Training” program. (A Flight Attendant is currently put into Special Track Training following the third unsuccessful attempt of any drill evaluation.)
  • AFA’s grave concerns regarding potential termination of employment following a fourth unsuccessful attempt.
  • Whether self-correction during drill evaluations was possible. Management committed to clarifying with the FAA and to report back as soon as possible.

Management intends to submit a proposal to the Federal Aviation Administration for a redesigned Special Track Training program early this week that will hopefully resolve the first two issues above. The FAA has up to 16 working days to accept or reject the proposal. In the interim, AFA and management have agreed to not allow any Flight Attendant to proceed to the fourth drill attempt; affected FAs are currently being pay protected, but this doesn’t lessen the emotional impact.

Accountability and oversight

AFA has asked management to disclose which specific changes to the RT program were required by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as a result of its audit of the Inflight training program last fall and which changes were management’s discretion. The parties will continue that conversation this week. Additionally, the MEC is scheduled to meet with one of the FAA Cabin Safety Inspectors assigned to Alaska Airlines this coming Wednesday.

We anticipate publishing another RT update in the coming days pending any new developments.

In Solidarity,

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

AFA Update – February 7, 2020 *REVISED*

**Revised with new information as of February 7, 2020 6 PM PST**

In This Edition

  • Recurrent Training 2020 – Interim Update
  • Flight Attendants Call for Responsible Halt to China Flights
  • Maternity Roundtable Event

Recurrent Training 2020 – Interim Update

Master Executive Council (MEC)

Since last week’s AFA update on Recurrent Training (RT), management has been working to make changes to the program based on feedback from Flight Attendants and our AFA representatives.  Several AFA officers and representatives have been observing and auditing this process to ensure contractual compliance and to advocate for positive changes to the program for all Flight Attendants.

Management has advised the Master Executive Council (MEC) that they will be releasing several communications over the next few days related to the status of the RT program and the timeline for classes to be relaunched.  The MEC plans to release an additional update early next week in response to management’s communication.

Flight Attendants Call for Responsible Halt to China Flights

Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC)

AFA International issued this statement following last night’s travel advisory change by U.S. State Department to “do not travel to China” and the declaration by the World Health Organization (WHO) that the coronavirus is a “global health emergency”:

“AFA is calling for clear direction from our government to U.S. airlines to pull down all travel to China until the spread of coronavirus is contained. The government must work with our airlines to discontinue all service, with consideration for evacuation of flight crew, and with consideration to service that facilitates efforts by public health officials to contain spread of the virus,” stated Sara Nelson, AFA-CWA International President.

“The coronavirus may be spread by infected persons not yet displaying symptoms. For this reason, it is critical that any crew potentially infected through travel to and from China not be assigned to any additional flights until safely through the fourteen day incubation period. These crews must be pay protected for any scheduled flights and provided with the means to get food and other supplies while remaining out of public contact. This action is also on the AFA communicable disease checklist provided to all of our airlines again on January 21, 2020.

“We need responsible leadership from our government and we need it now. We will continue to work with our airlines, who have been exceeding precautions suggested by the administration – albeit now these actions are clearly not enough. This must end now. This is an emergency and our government must take a leadership role, in consultation with all stakeholders, in order to end this public health threat and protect American workers.”

Maternity Roundtable Event

Benefits Committee

Are you having a baby in 2020 or just thinking about it?  AFA Council 19 (Seattle) will be hosting a Maternity Roundtable event on March 27 from 11 to 3 PM.  Come have your questions answered related to maternity leaves, benefits, and other work-related considerations.  Though the event will be held in Seattle, it is open to all Flight Attendants regardless of base.

Location

SeaTac Office Center South Tower
18000 Pacific Highway South 
Earhart Conference Room, Lower Plaza Level 
SeaTac, WA 98188

The building is a short walk from the airport, located in the same building as 13 Coins Restaurant (between the Hilton and Radisson hotels).  Free parking is available.

Conference Call Option

For those who are interested in participating but are unable to attend in person, a conference call option will be available.  Please indicate your interest in participating by conference call when sending your RSVP and the call-in information will be provided to you.

RSVP

Please RSVP to SEA Local Benefits Committee Chairperson Kathy O’Malley by email at benefitsassist@hotmail.com or by text at (425) 238-8219 if you are interested in attending.

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