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AFA Online Issue Reporting Is Here!

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Your AFA Alaska Master Executive Council (MEC) is excited to introduce the new AFA Alaska online support center.  This new system is designed for you to document and report scheduling and reserve concerns, situations where you might be facing discipline, potential contractual grievances, and any other issue where you might need AFA support.  The system will also allow AFA representatives to better track issues that are occurring, identify trends, and address and resolve issues with management.

You can access the system using the following link:

http://support.afaalaska.org

Reporting New Issues

You can report a new issue in the system by opening a ticket, just follow these steps:

  1. Visit http://support.afaalaska.org/
  2. Click the blue “Open a New Ticket” button
  3. Fill in your personal information (including a non-company email address)
  4. Select the help topic that relates to the issue
  5. Fill in the issue-specific information and provide details

From this screen, you’ll also be able to attach pictures, PDF files, screenshots, and other information that will help your AFA representatives to have more information available about the issue.

Once you’ve opened a ticket, you’ll receive a confirmation email and with a ticket number.  Behind the scenes, your ticket will be assigned to an AFA representative who will assist you with the issue.

Checking on Open Issues 

With your ticket number, you’ll be able to track the status of the ticket online, add additional information and attachments for your AFA representative to have available.  To check on your ticket:

  1. Visit http://support.afaalaska.org
  2. Click the green “Check Ticket Status” button
  3. Enter your email address and ticket number
  4. Click the “View Ticket” button

Questions?

If you have any questions about the AFA online support center or need assistance with an issue, you can always contact your LEC Officers.

In Solidarity,

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

[AS] Jeppesen Crew Access Update

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This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants

This evening at 10 PM, the largest update for Crew Access to date will be installed.  The update, which should take approximately 40 minutes, includes a combination of fixes and new items.  Included are approximately 30+ fixes will directly affect our workgroup.

The most anticipated and long awaited installation is the ability for Reserves to Advertise and Trade in Crew Access. Reserves will no longer have to use the “Reserve Trading Board” after this evening.  Attached to this communication is a PDF which gives instructions on how to Advertise, Grab, Trade, Shift, and Split Reserve blocks and days.

Below is the list of the fixes and enhancements that are included in this evenings update.

  1. Will no longer see Pilot flying preferences when logging into Crew Access.
  2. Lineholder will no longer be able to self-assign trip longer than the reserve block picked up.
  3. Lock on last 5 days of month functional
  4. Hotel reservations no longer lost on call-out
  5. Server clocks are now synced
  6. FA now able to advertise SIP departing more than three hours out
  7. Quick Trip Report – TFP now showing and Times displayed
  8. Premium trips on Published Roster will now show 1.5, 2.0, 2.5 etc.
  9. Hotel information no longer lost on SIPs
  10. “Ignore” button added to Notification window in Crew Access
  11. Days will now show as limited at 10am day prior once self-assigning starts
  12. Sipped trips that do not report on same day as original trip will now show correct day and trip number
  13. Addition of vertical delineation between calendar days
  14. HomeBase filter will no longer show all bases
  15. LAX no longer listed as Co-Terminal on LTFA
  16. Charter rest rules being applied correctly
  17. Notifications that were acknowledged but still popping up will go away
  18. “HTTP method POST not supported” message resolved
  19. Issue of check in time same as departure resolved
  20. Limiting FAs to single session. If logged in twice, you will have some functionally in the first session but will NOT be able to process transactions.
  21. “Enter” key no longer functional when trying to complete consecutive trades

Reserve Specific Changes

  1. Ability to Grab, Trade, Split Reserve days now functional
    • Ability to Direct Trade multiple reserve blocks with another FA
    • Ability to Advertise end of month and/or beginning of next month’s reserve blocks individually.
    • Reserve FAs able to give away their FAS to another FA with the same reserve block and classification
    • Able to direct trade multiple reserve blocks
    • Able to grab multiple reserve blocks
  2. LTFA will recognize start time based on release time of previous trip. 11.5 hours and 9 hours if waived rest.
    • New FAs will now show on LTFA Report
  3. Standalone airport standbys will receive 5.0 TFP
  4. Reserves that self-assign Premium trips will no longer see “1.5, 2.0, 2.5” in Roster or “Premium” in Published Roster

After this installation, we will be receiving regular updates from Jeppesen every six weeks. We still have a laundry list of items and we have been working hard with Alaska Airlines management as well as Jeppesen management to resolve these issues quickly. We appreciate your patience and we will continue to advocate for Flight Attendants and use all resources available to ensure timely fixes.

If you have any questions about this update to Crew Access, please contact your Local Scheduling Committee.

In Solidarity,

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

Interim Reserve Trade Board Now Active

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Management launched an online trade board as an interim solution to facilitate reserve trading as Jeppesen Crew Access (JCA) does not support reserve trading at this time.  The trade board can be accessed from the Inflight website > Scheduling & Bidding > Reserve Trading Board.  Instructions for use of the reserve trade board were posted earlier today by management in informational bulletin #2017-0030 (Reserve Trading Board).

Though the interim reserve trade board will help reserve Flight Attendants to exercise their contractual right to trade, it does not solve the greater issue of a fully automated reserve trading system as required by the contract (section 11.H.7).  AFA will continue to take necessary steps through the grievance process to compel management to comply with this requirement and the remainder of our contract.

Questions?

If you have questions about the reserve trade board, please contact your Local Reserve Committee.  Contact information can be found on the Reserve Committee page of the AFA Alaska website.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Tim Green, Brice McGee and MEC Reserve Committee Chairperson Jarod McNeill

Reserve Contractual Violations in Jeppesen Crew Access

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The cutover to Jeppesen Crew Access has not been very kind to Reserves

The Master Executive Council (MEC) is very frustrated that the cutover from Jeppesen Maestro/eMaestro to Jeppesen Crew Access (JCA) has not been very kind to Reserves. Although self-assignment has finally been implemented after a long delay (the original estimate was by the end of 2nd quarter 2016), there are numerous other reserve-specific contractual violations due to JCA. For the life of a Reserve, it has been one step forward and at least two steps back.

Reserve contractual grievances recently filed

AFA has recently filed the following Reserve-specific contractual grievances on your behalf:

  • 36-99-2-43-16 Violation of CBA §11.H.8 Reserve Exchange of Days, Pick-ups and Trades (January 4, 2017)
  • 36-99-2-6-17 Violation of §11.E Low Time First Available (LTFA) Out of Order Assignments January 31 to February 2, 2017 (February 10, 2017)
  • 36-99-2-7-17 Violation of §11.E Low Time First Available (LTFA) Out of Order Assignments Post Jeppesen Crew Access (JCA) Cutover (February 10, 2017)
  • 36-99-2-10-17 Violation of §11.F.15, §11.H.7 & §11.H.8 Failure to Provide Automated Ability for Reserve Flight Attendants to Self-assign and Trade APSB (February 10, 2017)

Reserve-specific JCA updates

Management has been developing an interim reserve trade board to provide a platform for posting and trading reserve blocks/days until the function can be programmed in JCA. The MEC has been pushing management to get the interim trade board up and running as soon as possible. Based on recent progress, we are hopeful it will be available for use sometime this coming week.

Management has provided a disturbing estimate to AFA regarding implementation of the permanent reserve trade board. Right now management is saying April or so, which is completely unacceptable of course.

In slightly better news, management has informed the MEC that the ability to post and trade Airport Standby (APSB) may be functional by next week.

Scheduling notifications are active for Reserves

The MEC has received feedback that there may be confusion about whether or not the scheduling notifications are active for Reserves. They definitely are. That means if you accept the scheduling notification, Crew Scheduling has officially notified you of the scheduling event (e.g. reserve assignment, change to report time, et cetera). If you wish to decline the scheduling notification, you must click the little “X” in the corner of the notification window; then Crew Scheduling will contact you using the traditional methods (e.g. calling your number(s) on file, et cetera).

AFA will continue to push management to make the situation right

AFA will continue to advocate on behalf of the Reserves and push management to make the situation right as soon as possible. If the parties cannot reach an acceptable resolution to these violations, AFA is fully prepared to go to arbitration if necessary in order to defend our contract.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Tim Green, Brice McGee; MEC Reserve Committee Chairperson Jarod McNeill; MEC Scheduling Committee Chairperson Jake Jones; and MEC Grievance Committee Chairperson Stephanie Adams

I’m a Reserve. What Does Jeppesen Crew Access Going Live Mean for Me?

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When the switch is flipped to make Jeppesen Crew Access (JCA) trading go live, Reserve self-assignment and automated Reserve repositioning will finally be implemented. In fact, we are expecting JCA to go live at 11am Pacific Time (PT) despite the fact that in the opinion of the Master Executive Council there has not been adequate notice. There was an alert posted on the Inflight webpage this morning around 7am PT along with an alert to the Inflight Mobile Device (IMD); however, the text alert and email notification that was just sent out was done so at the request of AFA. It is extremely disappointing that something of this magnitude was not communicated using all of the channels available to Inflight management with the full four-hour notice as promised.

Reserve self-assignment

Reserve self-assignment will be available between 10am and 2pm Pacific Time, and the contractual rules associated with the assignments are found in CBA §11.E.1 [Reserve: Order of Assignment].

Automated reserve repositioning and the Cabin Service Report

Automated reserve repositioning is outlined in CBA §11.J [Reserve Repositioning]. The ‘Reserve repositioning calendar’ is found in the report “Cabin Reserve Coverage Report.”

The Cabin reserve coverage report is the equivalent to a reserve-repositioning calendar, showing you what days are open or closed. To access this report, login to Crew Access, click on the hamburger menu (the icon in the upper left corner that has three parallel horizontal lines stacked like a meat patty between two buns) -> Reports -> Reports on Demand -> Cabin Reserve Coverage report. Choose a range of dates (we suggest the entire month so you can see all days that are open at once) and choose your base. This report can be confusing at first glance, so below is a brief overview on how to read it.

When looking at the report, start in the left column. It will show “FAM” and “FPM” (AM or PM reserve). Just below that it will say if the day is open or closed. The next two columns show the threshold that Crew Scheduling (CSKD) follows when opening and closing the days. The “Actual” column shows how many FAs are currently on the LTFA list for that day and the “Available” column shows how many spots are actually available.  The “Available” column will change based on how many trips are currently in Open Time for that particular day.

In order to reposition into a day, the “Available” number needs to be less than the “Maximum” number. In order to move out of a day, the “Available” number needs to be more than the “Minimum” number.

AFA has requested that this be an actual calendar since day one, but our request was not accepted. We have already suggested that this be moved to an easy to read calendar, and we will keep you posted on any movement in this area.

Reserve Trading

Unfortunately, the ability to post and trade reserve days/blocks has not been implemented. Management has advised AFA that a delay of one month is expected. Be assured that AFA will be filing a grievance today.

For now, Reserves will need to send an Outlook email for trade requests to CrewSked.ReserveDesk@alaskaair.com. Include the following information in your email:

  • Both Flight Attendant’s names and Peoplesoft numbers
  • Is it a Trade of Giveaway
  • Base
  • Month in which you want to trade
  • Reserve day(s)
  • Reserve classification
  • Are you waiving duty or rest limitations to approved the trade?

If you would like to “advertise” (post) reserve blocks reserve, send an Outlook email to: CrewSked.ReserveDesk@alaskaair.com.   In order to view the Reserve trading bulletin board, you can either utilize the classic or web version of FirstClass system.

Reserve trades will be processed manually in the order they are received, by Crew Scheduling.

[Update (2/3/2017): The “Reserve Trade Board” in First Class cannot be viewed in the web version–only in the discontinued “classic” version that many do not have. AFA and management are aware of the issue. Management is actively working on a fix as soon as possible. AFA has already filed a grievance on this issue and will continue to push management to restore the ability to post reserve blocks/days. ^jtp]

How do I access the Trade Bulletin Board to advertise a reserve trade?

  • Click on the World of Inflight icon.
  • Click on FA Trading.
  • Pick the folder for your base.
  • Here you can post your days for trade on the bulletin board so other can view.
  • You can also post a request for reserve days you may want to pick up.
  • When sending in a request you must use the following email: CrewSked.ReserveDesk@alaskaair.com.

Fasten your seat belts!

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Tim Green, Brice McGee; MEC Reserve Committee Chairperson Jarod McNeill, MEC Scheduling Committee Chairperson Jake Jones and MEC Grievance Chairperson Stephanie Adams

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