AFA Horizon

Council Newsletter, July 2023

July 3, 2023

AFA Horizon – Council 16 Newsletter (BOI, PAE, SEA, GEG)

In case you missed our last newsletter

Independence Day
Aviation is one of our greatest symbols and expressions of freedom. As aviation’s first responders, we safely usher passengers to the big business deal, the family vacation, the times of celebration, times of grief and times of battle. We are the first impression and the smile of aviation connecting the people of our nations.

In the air or on the ground, we are in this together. Have a safe and happy July 4th!

2000
Back: Wendy Kaihara, Connie Wardlow (VP), Todd Anderson, Teresa Marble (S-T), Marilyn Fell
Front: Don Savoy, Bev Moss (Pres), Jenny Harris

Spotlight, Wendy Kaihara
Wendy joined Horizon in April 1999 after having worked almost three years for Pan American World Airways (Pan Am) from January 1989 until December 1991, when operations came to an end. Between Pan Am and Horizon, Wendy worked for an aerospace firm and Valley Medical Center. 

Upon joining Horizon, Wendy was an AFA member and actively involved, even though Horizon was an open shop.  Wendy spearheaded the initiative to establish the EAP committee at AFA Horizon in 2000.  Unfortunately, Wendy was hurt significantly in a severe turbulence incident in 2007, and she also suffered irreversible lung damage in a cabin air contamination event in 2009; both requiring a lengthy leave of absence. 

Upon her return in 2011, Wendy became involved with the Leaves/Benefits committee. The first person that most Members think of when they need help with benefits or a leave of absence is Wendy.  Having Wendy by your side helps most Members feel less stressed about the constantly changing Washington State laws involving FMLA/Workers Comp & Healthcare standards, CBA language, and more. 

“Wendy gives her 100% on everything she does with the biggest heart.  Flight Attendants are so lucky to have her.  Anytime I have questions, Wendy is always so knowledgeable; and if she doesn’t know the answers, she finds out and gets back to me so quickly.  Wendy is an absolute GEM!!” said Camille Abe (SEA FA)

Wendy decided in May to resign from her positions as Council 17’s Leaves/Benefits representative and MEC Leaves/Benefits Chairperson, both positions she has held since 2020.  Wendy made these choices to free up more time for her new position as Council 16’s ASHS Cabin Air Quality Event Chairperson as well as her existing roles as LEC Secretary and Council 16’s Leaves/Benefits Chairperson.

As always, Wendy can be reached day and night by Members needing help.  LEC16 thanks Wendy for her continued service to the Members of AFA Horizon Council 16!

SEA employee lot
For SEA employee parking north lot users arriving from I-5 and I-405 via west 518 – A long-term closure of the 24th Avenue South bridge over State Route 518 will begin at 8 p.m. Wednesday, July 5. The closure is expected to last four months.

Possible route options: (see map below)
Inbound from I-5 & I-405

Other detour routes available following detour signs

What to Expect
Employee Shuttles will use detour routes to enter and exit the NEPL. The routes could add an additional 4-8 minutes of travel time from NEPL to the Terminal, depending on the time of day. Please plan your commute time accordingly to get to work on time. 

This closure is beyond our control, please be kind to the drivers as they navigate the routes to get you to work safe and on time.

For more information on the closure please visit www.wsdot.wa.gov

Membership Meeting
There will be a Local 16 Membership Meeting on Thursday, July 6, 2023, at 15:00 via Microsoft Teams. This meeting is open to all AFA-CWA Council 16 members (BOI, PAE, SEA, GEG).

Click here to join the meeting
Or join by entering a meeting ID
Meeting ID: 271 642 456 587
Passcode: AHzJe3

Members volunteering
Council 16 Members Dawn Chaney (PAE) and Wendy Kaihara (GEG), joined by Council 17 Member Anneliese Chapman (PDX), traveled to Chapala, Mexico to volunteer at Operation Feed.

What is Operation Feed?
Every week volunteers donate their time to purchase, prepare, and distribute food packages to 90 families, approximately 720 people. Operation Feed not only feeds families in need in San Juan Cosala but they also help to cloth them, provide English lessons, offer mentoring to young adults, cultivate moringa for sale, provide toys and gifts at Christmas time, and ensures it’s members have blankets and towels.  Operation Feed also helps in the education of young people by providing shoes and school uniforms to hundreds of children.

If you are interested in helping support Operation Feed, email operationfeedsjc@gmail.com.

Did you know… SAP settlement
Many of you experienced the effects of the SAP outage that occurred during the recent Schedule Adjustment Period. Although this impacted some Seattle (SEA) based flight attendants who were unable to participate in SAP, the issue required that SAP be closed for everyone temporarily while the resolution was implemented. Those at Horizon in 2017 may remember that AFA reached a settlement agreement with management which awards Flight Attendants 12 credit hours when outages occur.

Management has provided a list of the scheduled-line holders who were impacted via company email. This will allow everyone to review and if anyone believes they were left off the list in error, complete the SAP Settlement form in Comply 365 (My Forms > Inflight Administrative) by July 11. The settlement will be paid to those who are eligible on the July 20th check.

SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT LANGUAGE
“VI. Should a similar SAP outage occur again in the future (multiple Flight Attendants restricted within the system or denied access to the system, or if the system is taken off line or does not open or close within prescribed timelines) all Flight Attendants eligible to participate in SAP will be paid and credited twelve (12.0) credits in compensation for such outage/delay.”

Did you know… Hotel information
Although eCrew is the place to go to find out your show time and updated schedule information, eCrew is not where to verify hotel accommodation while on a trip. Check CrewConnex app when you land in the overnight city to confirm hotel and transportation information just in case the hotel has changed.  Situations can arise which require management to move crews to alternate properties.

CrewConnex will have the most current hotel and transportation information.

If you have any questions/comments/concerns, reach out to Local Hotel Committee Chairperson – Anne Strand, or file a report in CrewConnex.

Know your contract

  • Article 7.D.1.d
    • “A Reserve will be responsible to respond with a call to Crew Scheduling within fifteen minutes (:15) of the calls when both numbers have been provided. If only one (1) number has been provided, the Reserve will be responsible to respond, within fifteen minutes (:15), when that number is called. For failure to respond in such time, the Reserve will receive an Unable To Contact (UTC).”

Upcoming calendar: 

  • Scheduling committee meeting, July 3
  • Membership meeting, July 6
  • CWA Convention, July 10-12
  • AFA & Inflight management, July 11
  • ASHS committee meeting, July 13
  • ASHS committee & Management, July 13
  • AFA & Sr. leadership, July 20
  • Scheduling committee & Management, July 25
  • LEC 16 Officers meeting, July 26

Until our next check-in, fly safe!

“Stronger Together, Better Together”