AFA Alaska

Representing the Flight Attendants of Alaska + Hawaiian

Click here to report an issue to AFA
Menu
  • Local Councils
    • Anchorage (Council 30)
      • Officers
      • Committees
    • Honolulu (Council 43)
    • Los Angeles (Council 18/pmAS)
      • Officers
      • Committees
      • Los Angeles (Council 47/pmHA)
        • Officers
      • Portland (Council 39)
        • Officers
        • Committees
      • San Diego (Council 15)
        • Officers
        • Committees
        • Seattle (Council 19)
          • Officers
          • Committees
        • San Francisco (Council 35)
          • Officers
          • Committees

        • More About Local Councils >>
        Close
      • Master Executive Council
        • Officers
        • Close
      • Committees
          • Air Safety, Health, & Security (ASHSC)
            • Air Quality
          • Benefits
          • Communications
          • Employee Assistance Program & Professional Standards
          • Government Affairs
          • Grievance
          • Hotel
          • Human Rights & Equity
          • Inflight Service
          • Inflight Training
          • Membership
          • Membership Engagement
          • Reserve
          • Retirement
          • Scheduling
            • Pairing Construction
            • Preferential Bidding System (PBS)
          • Uniform

        • More About Committees >>
        Close
      • Contract
          • Contract Home
            • 2025 Alaska TA2 (Ratified)
            • 2018 Alaska JCBA
            • 2020 Hawaiian Contract
            • Ask Contract Questions
          • Contract Resources
          • Alaska Contract Negotiations (2022-2025)
        • Close
      • Resources
          • What To Do If You Encounter Contaminated Cabin Air
          • Issues & Campaigns
          • Newsroom
            • AFA News Now
          • Event Calendar
          • Membership Services
          • New Members
          • About
          • Links
          Close
        • Merger
          • Joint Negotiating Committee
          • Close
        • Contact Us
        You are here: Home / Archives for understanding AFA

        Understanding Our Union: How AFA Works at Our Airline

        May 4, 2022 17:00

        Communications Committee

        • Representation within our Union starts at the domicile level with your Local Council.  Local Executive Council (LEC) Officers are directly elected from among your fellow Flight Attendants who are members of the same Local Council.
        • LEC Officers work to resolve concerns specific to Flight Attendants from your base with local management.  Your LEC President also represents your base at the airline level as a member of the Master Executive Council (MEC). 
        • The LEC Presidents from all six bases together form our MEC, which works to coordinate the activities of our Union at the airline level.  They make decisions on our behalf and give direction to the MEC Officers, who represent the MEC to management.

        AFA is first and foremost a union organized by Flight Attendants for Flight Attendants.  The structure of AFA, as laid out in the constitution and bylaws, is designed to be democratic and driven by Members. A single Member has the power to bring forward ideas to change the course of our Union, to elect the officers who directly represent us, and to serve in any elected or appointed position within our Union.

        At Your Base—Your Local Council

        Each Local Council is made up of the AFA Member Flight Attendants within a given domicile.  In the case of a new or smaller domiciles where the number of active Members does not meet the constitutional threshold, multiple domiciles may be grouped together into one Local Council for purposes of representation. At Alaska Airlines, each base is represented by its own AFA Local Council.

        At Your Base—Your Local Executive Council (LEC)

        AFA Member Flight Attendants in each Local Council directly elect Local Executive Council (LEC) Officers to represent them.  These Local Executive Council Officers consist of a President, Vice President, and Secretary.  In some Local Councils, additional officer positions called Council Representatives may also be elected to the LEC.

        The LEC Officers are responsible for representing Flight Attendants directly.  They are who a Flight Attendant goes to when there is a question, when assistance is needed, or when they want to make a suggestion for change.  The LEC Officers primarily work with local management and other immediate supervisors to address and resolve Flight Attendant issues that are specific to the domicile they represent.  

        LEC Decision Making

        When a decision needs to be made at the LEC level, the LEC Officers work together to come to consensus.  If consensus can’t be reached, the LEC President makes the final decision.

        At Our Airline—the Master Executive Council (MEC)

        The LEC Presidents from each of our Local Councils come together to form the Master Executive Council (MEC).  The MEC is responsible for coordinating the activities of AFA across our entire airline and administering the collective bargaining agreement.  Each LEC President serves as a voting member of the MEC, directly representing the members of the Local Council that elected them.

        The voting members of the MEC (the LEC Presidents) elect three MEC Officers: a President, Vice President, and Secretary-Treasurer.  These MEC Officers administer the day-to-day business of AFA at our airline and represent the MEC in interactions with company management.  They do not have a vote on the MEC with the exception of the MEC President, who votes only to break a tie.

        MEC Decision Making

        The MEC frequently makes decisions ranging from granting contractual exceptions, approving letters of agreement (LOAs), determining MEC priorities, and providing direction to the MEC Officers.  Often times, the MEC is able to come to consensus and decisions are agreed upon by all.  If there is not consensus on an issue, the voting members of the MEC (the LEC Presidents) will vote to determine the outcome.  If there is a tie, the MEC President is responsible for casting the deciding vote.

        Questions?

        If you have questions about how our Union works at the local or airline levels, please reach out to your LEC President.


        View this post on Instagram

        A post shared by AFA Alaska (@afaalaska)

        Filed Under: AFA News Now, Communications Committee, Master Executive Council (MEC) Tagged With: understanding AFA

        Need Help?

        Have an issue or concern to report to AFA?  Click here to access the AFA Alaska online support center.

        Latest News

        • Refreshed Inflight Mobile Device (IMD) Distribution
        • AFA News in Review – September 26, 2025
        • Scheduling Committee Meeting Recap – September 2025
        • Meet Our Pre-Merger Alaska Committee Chairperson & Representatives
        • Inflight Service Committee Meeting Recap – 3rd Quarter 2025
        • Vacation Survey Closing Soon
        • Meet Our Merged MEC Committee Chairpersons
        • Human Rights & Equity Committee Meeting Recap – 3rd Quarter 2025
        • AFA News in Review – September 19, 2025
        • Pre-Merger Alaska MEC Committee Election Results

        Refreshed Inflight Mobile Device (IMD) Distribution

        October 2, 2025

        This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants Management has recently informed our Master Executive Council (MEC) that they are distributing new Inflight Mobile Devices (IMDs) to Flight Attendants with devices nearing the end of their lifecycle. The specific schedule for this distribution will be communicated by management separately. Flight Attendants with the oldest devices […]

        Scheduling Committee Meeting Recap – September 2025

        September 25, 2025

        This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants On Tuesday, September 23, our pre-merger Alaska AFA Scheduling Committee Chairpersons and Representatives met in person at Alaska Airlines Corporate Headquarters to discuss their ongoing work to represent our Flight Attendants and push for improvements in our workplace. Representing you at the meeting were Heather Reier (ANC), […]

        Meet Our Pre-Merger Alaska Committee Chairperson & Representatives

        September 24, 2025

        This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants We’re excited to introduce the first group of pre-merger Alaska MEC Committee Chairpersons and Representatives for the upcoming MEC Officer term. They’ll begin transitioning into their roles over the next few months and officially start their terms on January 1, 2026. Below, you’ll find brief biographies that […]

        Inflight Service Committee Meeting Recap – 3rd Quarter 2025

        September 24, 2025

        On Thursday, September 18, our AFA Inflight Service Committee Chairpersons met to discuss their ongoing efforts to represent our Flight Attendants and advocate for improvements in our workplace. Although our Inflight Service Committee has now merged, meetings with management continue to focus primarily on the Alaska or Hawaiian brands individually. This particular meeting was centered […]

        Vacation Survey Closing Soon

        September 23, 2025

        There’s just 1 DAY LEFT to complete the crucial vacation survey that will help shape future provisions—your insights are essential for advocating the best outcomes for all Flight Attendants. The survey is currently open and will remain available until Wednesday, September 24 at 12 PM PT.

        Recent Posts

        • Refreshed Inflight Mobile Device (IMD) Distribution
        • AFA News in Review – September 26, 2025
        • Scheduling Committee Meeting Recap – September 2025
        • Meet Our Pre-Merger Alaska Committee Chairperson & Representatives
        • Inflight Service Committee Meeting Recap – 3rd Quarter 2025
        • Vacation Survey Closing Soon
        • Meet Our Merged MEC Committee Chairpersons
        • Human Rights & Equity Committee Meeting Recap – 3rd Quarter 2025
        • AFA News in Review – September 19, 2025
        • Pre-Merger Alaska MEC Committee Election Results
        • Merged MEC Committee Chairperson Election Results
        • Election Notice: Alaska + Hawaiian MEC Officer Elections
        • SEA Domicile Negotiations – September 2025 Update #2
        • Reserve Committee Meeting Recap – 3rd Quarter 2025
        • Celebrating Hispanic-Latinx Heritage Month

        Local Councils

        • Anchorage
        • Honolulu
        • Los Angeles (pre-merger Alaska)
        • Los Angeles (pre-merger Hawaiian)
        • Portland
        • San Diego
        • San Francisco
        • Seattle

        Master Executive Council

        • MEC

        Negotiations

        • Contract 2022 Home
        • Negotiations News
        • TA2 Information

        Contract

        • Contract Home

        Committees

        • Air Safety, Health, & Security
        • Benefits
        • Communications
        • EAP/Professional Standards
        • Government Affairs
        • Grievance
        • Hotel
        • Human Rights
        • Inflight Service
        • Mobilization
        • Reserve
        • Retirement
        • Scheduling
        • Uniform

        News By Month

        News By Category

        AFA News Now Air Quality Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC) Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) AS/HA Merger AS/VX Merger Benefits Committee Committees Communications Committee Contract Contract 2014 Negotiations Blog Council 15 SAN Council 18 LAX Council 19 SEA Council 30 ANC Council 35 SFO Council 39 PDX EAP/Professional Standards Committee Extension 2021 Blog Featured Government Affairs Committee Grievance Committee Hotel Committee Human Rights & Equity Committee Industry News Inflight Service Committee Inflight Training Committee JNC Blog Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) Latest News Local Councils Master Executive Council (MEC) Membership Committee Membership Engagement Committee Message from the MEC President Mobilization Committee Negotiations Pairing Construction Preferential Bidding System (PBS) Press Releases Reserve Committee Retirement Committee Scheduling Committee Uniform Committee
        • Email
        • Facebook
        • Instagram
        • YouTube

        Want To Stay In The Loop?

        Stay up-to-date on AFA Alaska news and information by signing up for our email and text message updates. Click a button below to get started or update your preferences if you're already a subscriber.
        Sign Up for Emails
        Sign Up for Text Updates

        Connect With AFA

        • Contact Us
        • Online Support Center
        • AFA International
        • CWA
        • AFA Alaska Social Media Guidelines
        • AFA-CWA Mutual Respect Policy

        Copyright © 2013-2025 Alaska Airlines Master Executive Council, Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO