Virgin America

Introducing Your Merger Representatives

April 15, 2016 20:00

Your Master Executive Council (MEC) conducted interviews this week for the two open merger representative positions. The MEC would like to thank the 33 candidates who demonstrated willingness to represent our Flight Attendants. Of the initial candidates, 6 finalists were selected. After thorough deliberation, the MEC has appointed Sandra Morrow and Marie Maxwell to the positions.

Sandra Morrow is a Los Angeles-based Flight Attendant currently serving as Council 18 LEC President. Sandra was hired in 1984 as a Jet America Flight Attendant and came to Alaska when the two carriers were later merged. After the merger, Sandra represented the Flight Attendants of the Long Beach-base and has held a variety of different Union positions. Sandra’s previous merger experience makes her uniquely qualified to take on the role of merger representative.

Marie Maxwell is a San Diego-based Flight Attendant hired in 2012. Previously, Marie spent over 20 years working with Microsoft. During her time at Microsoft, Marie held a variety of sales, marketing and operations roles, managed teams ranging between 5 to 25 people, and presented plans, programs and results to her senior leadership. She was involved in multiple reorganizations, which included merging teams as well as integrating diverse organizations. She was recognized for her ability to collaborate across teams, drive results through ambiguity and for her focus on customer satisfaction.

In their roles as merger representatives, Sandra and Marie will be responsible for ensuring compiling the necessary information to merge the Flight Attendant seniority lists in the upcoming Alaska Airlines/Virgin America merger. They will work closely with Virgin America’s merger representatives, the MEC, and the AFA International Office.

Current information about the Alaska Airlines/Virgin America merger can be found at http://afaalaska.org/merger.

In Solidarity,
Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Satterlee, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow, Stephen Couckuyt; and LEC Presidents-elect Tim Green & Brice McGee

Alaska Airlines and Virgin America Merger Update – April 8, 2016

April 8, 2016 17:00

Numerous Merger Representative applications

The AFA Alaska Master Executive Council (MEC) has received numerous applications for the two Merger Representative positions. We thank all the applicants in advance for their willingness to serve. The MEC will be conducting a conference call later this evening to review the applications and to select those who we will schedule for a phone interview during our MEC meeting next week.

Union representation

AFA and the Transport Workers Union of America (TWU), the union representing the Virgin America Inflight Team Members (ITMs), have been in touch to discuss a smooth transition for the Virgin America (VX) ITMs should the merger achieve proper approvals from the VX shareholders and the appropriate regulatory agencies. Our unions have a history of working together to address issues for Flight Attendants in a merger, and this is good news for all Alaska F/As and Virgin America ITMs. AFA and TWU will meet to discuss issues in greater detail in the coming weeks.

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Stay tuned for additional updates as more details become available!

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Satterlee, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow, Stephen Couckuyt; and LEC Presidents-elect Tim Green and Brice McGee

Get Involved: Seeking Two Merger Representatives

April 5, 2016 05:00

One of the most important aspects of any merger of airlines is the integration of the seniority list. The AFA Constitution and Bylaws provides for the Master Executive Council (MEC) to appoint two merger representatives. Merger representatives have complete and full authority to act on behalf of the Flight Attendants of their respective airline for the purpose of compiling necessary employment data and a single flight attendant seniority list. More information about duties and responsibilities of merger representatives are spelled out in Section X.C of the AFA Constitution and Bylaws.

Duties and Responsibilities

Determine seniority numbers for each flight attendant by reviewing and determining date of bidding for seniority, initial training date, number of days of initial training, and if seniority was accrued for training (and if so, how many days were accrued)
Evaluate all protests to determined seniority, determine validity, and adjudge accordingly.
Compile and certify a combined system seniority list

Qualifications

Must be a current Alaska Airlines Flight Attendant and AFA member in good standing (dues current)
Ability to analyze written data and information with high attention to detail
Ability to commit time necessary to complete assigned responsibilities, including flexibility to meet on short notice. Some travel will be required.

Application Process

Interested candidates should submit an expression of interest and resume to MEC Secretary-Treasurer Yvette Satterlee at yvette.satterlee@afaalaska.org. The deadline for applications is Friday, April 8 at 5 PM PDT.
A member of the MEC will contact finalist candidates to schedule a telephone interview. Telephone interviews will be conducting during next week’s MEC meeting on April 12^th or 13^th.
Merger representatives will be selected by the MEC by the conclusion of the MEC meeting

Questions

Any questions regarding merger representative positions or the application process should be directed to MEC President Jeffrey Peterson at jeffrey.peterson@afaalaska.org.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Satterlee, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow, Stephen Couckuyt; and LEC Presidents-elect Tim Green and Brice McGee

Alaska Air Group Acquisition of Virgin America and Merger with Alaska Airlines

April 4, 2016 22:00

Your AFA Alaska Master Executive Council (MEC) met today in Seattle to discuss the impending acquisition of Virgin America by Alaska Air Group (AAG) and the planned merger with Alaska Airlines. Your union leaders know that everybody has many questions about the implications of this new direction for Alaska Airlines and its parent AAG. Be aware that the respective Board of Directors at both companies as well as the appropriate regulatory agencies must approve the acquisition and merger, which will take time. We are at the very beginning of this transaction.

The MEC held a conference call with our International President Sara Nelson and members of staff at AFA headquarters in Washington, DC. Please be assured that AFA Alaska has the full support and resources of our union at the highest levels. We are here to represent you through the entire process, which is likely to last many months and almost certainly a year or two, and you will receive updates all along the way.

What is the difference between a merger and an acquisition?

At the most basic level, an acquisition is a purchase. Alaska Air Group, the parent or holding company of Alaska Airlines (AS), is acquiring Virgin America (VX). AAG executive management is planning to operate AS and VX under one certificate, so we’re also talking about a merger between the two carriers. In this case, it is both an acquisition (VX by AAG) and a merger (between AS and VX). After all the transactions have been completed, employees of Virgin America and Alaska Airlines will all be working for the same carrier.

What are the next steps in the process?

Start becoming familiar with the relevant AFA Alaska Collective Bargaining Agreement language, specifically in Section 4 – Status of Agreement. Also check out Section X – Merger Policy and Related Employee Protective Provisions in the AFA-CWA Constitution & Bylaws (C&B).

The MEC will be posting a call tomorrow morning for two Merger Representatives pursuant to the AFA-CWA Merger Policy. As outlined in the AFA-CWA C&B Section X.C.1, the Merger Representatives “shall have the complete and full authority to act for and in behalf of the flight attendants of their respective airlines for the purpose of compiling necessary employment data and a single flight attendant seniority list.” Obviously, seniority is an extremely important factor in a merger, so the MEC would like to hit the ground running.

Consequently, there will be a very tight turnaround on expressions of interest for these positions. Applications should be submitted by close of business (5PM Pacific Time) this coming Friday. More information will be in the full posting tomorrow.

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If you have any questions, contact your Local Executive Council president.

Until the next update in the near future…

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Satterlee, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow, Stephen Couckuyt; and LEC Presidents-elect Tim Green and Brice McGee

Alaska Airlines and Virgin America!!!

April 4, 2016 04:00

It’s official! Alaska Air Group is slated to acquire Virgin America, pending the approval of their respective boards and the Department of Justice. Your AFA Alaska Master Executive Council (MEC) officers are very, very pleased that executive management is intending to combine the two carriers and operate under a single certificate. In other words, we’re looking at a merger!

Alaska Airlines and Virgin America are both known for providing an exceptional in-flight experience, thanks in large part to the dedication of our respective flight attendants,” said Jeffrey Peterson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA Master Executive Council at Alaska Airlines. “The combination of these two award-winning airlines provides an exciting opportunity for our members and for the Virgin America flight attendants, or Inflight Team Members. We look forward to joining together and building on our legacies of customer satisfaction to the benefit of both companies’ passengers.”

The MEC knows everybody has a ton of questions. Please be assured that AFA is here to represent you through the many steps in this process. We are holding a special MEC meeting later today in Seattle in order to review recent events and discuss the go forward plan.

For now, we invite you to start getting to know the new members of our Alaska family. If you see Virgin America (VX) Inflight Team Members (ITMs) or employees in the airport, greet them just like you would any Alaska Airlines Flight Attendant or employee. Strike up a friendly conversation if you have time.

If you are interacting with VX ITMs on social media, take the opportunity to start understanding their rich and unique culture and share ours with them. Although our groups might appear to be very different initially, the MEC believes that you will discover both feel a passionate ownership of and pride in our respective cultures. We also share many of the same core values and an emphasis on customer service.

These are very exciting times we are in. Keep your focus on doing what we do well: operating a safe and on-time airline and providing award-winning customer service. The MEC will be communicating more following our meeting later today.

Congratulations to Alaska Airlines and a warm welcome to Virgin America!

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Yvette Satterlee, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Sandra Morrow, Stephen Couckuyt; and MEC officers-elect Tim Green and Brice McGee

Introducing Your Merger Representatives

Alaska Airlines and Virgin America Merger Update – April 8, 2016

Numerous Merger Representative applications

Union representation