Council Newsletter, Mar 2025

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

In case you missed it, check out the last newsletter.

Women's History Month
During Women’s History Month, we honor the founding Flight Attendants of our Union.

These fearless women provided the foundation for AFA to fight against discrimination on the job including age, weight, race, marital status, having children, for men to have the same rights as women.

AFA Alaska success, our contract fight ahead
Congratulations to the dedicated AFA Alaska Flight Attendants on securing a strong new contract! This is an industry-leading three-year agreement that provides an immediate, double digit wage increase for the 7,000 Flight Attendants, boarding pay, and retroactive pay. Their hard work, perseverance, and unity have paid off, setting a powerful example of what can be achieved when workers stand together. This victory is a testament to the demand for fair wages, better working conditions, and the respect Flight Attendants deserve. This shows that when Flight Attendants fight for what’s right, real change happens.

Now, it’s our time to do the same. We urgently need a CBA that treats us like Flight Attendants, not like regional Flight Attendants. Whether mainline, regional, or charter, a Flight Attendant is a Flight Attendant. We must take inspiration from AFA Alaska’s success and channel that momentum into our own fight for a fair contract. Just like them, we deserve better pay, improved benefits, and a contract that truly reflects our value. By standing together, staying strong, and demanding what’s fair, we can achieve the contract we deserve. Let’s make our voices heard and show that we, too, are ready to win!  

Your Negotiations Committee, assisted by your Mobilization Committee, must take the lead in getting everyone engaged, energized, and ready for the fight ahead. They are at the forefront, fighting on our behalf, strategizing, and ensuring our voices are heard. They are our guides through this process—you know they can’t do it alone and you are ready to rally alongside them. It’s not enough for just a few to be involved—every Flight Attendant has a stake in this contract, and we all need to be informed, active, and united. Through clear communication, workplace actions, and mobilization efforts, these committees must energize and empower the entire group to fight together and fight now. When we all participate—whether by attending meetings, wearing union pins, or showing solidarity on the line, we will send a powerful message that we are strong, united, and ready to win. Now is the time to build momentum and ensure every Flight Attendant is engaged in this fight! You are standing united and are waiting to send our powerful message that we are ready to fight for the contract we deserve. Let’s stay strong, stay informed, and stand together to win!

Crew Resource Management 
Crew Resource Management (CRM) is crucial among flight crews as it enhances communication, teamwork, and decision-making, ultimately improving flight safety. CRM focuses on optimizing human factors such as leadership, situational awareness, and workload management to ensure that all crew members work cohesively under normal and emergency conditions. By fostering a culture of mutual respect and open communication, CRM helps prevent errors, mitigates risks, and enhances overall operational efficiency. Effective CRM training equips pilots, flight attendants, and other aviation professionals with the skills to recognize and respond to potential threats proactively, reducing the likelihood of accidents caused by human error. In the fast-paced and high-stakes environment of aviation, CRM plays a pivotal role in ensuring safe and efficient flight operations.

In any workplace, you will encounter different personalities—some may be easy to work with, while others might be more challenging. People have different communication styles, attitudes, and opinions, but allowing those differences to affect your performance can be counterproductive. Instead of getting distracted by someone's personality, stay professional, adapt when necessary, and prioritize your responsibility as a Flight Attendant. By keeping your attention on your work rather than personal dynamics, you can maintain productivity and contribute to a positive environment.

FAIF compliance

There continues to be a magnitude of a lack of FAIF compliance, including disciplines being issued for failures to sync and comply with must read FAIFs. Please stay vigilant and continue to 'SYNC - COMPLY - SYNC' after you check-in for each trip, and also consider good CRM by reminding your flying partners during the crew brief.

Council meeting, April 1

In advance of the AFA-CWA Board of Directors (BOD) meeting in April, your Local Council Officers will be conducting a Local Council meeting on April 1, 2025.  During this meeting participants will review the proposed AFA-CWA budget for fiscal year 2025-2026, which will be considered during the April BOD meeting, and any other local advanced agenda items submitted for Membership consideration.  

Please keep an eye out for additional information including the time and meeting link.  We look forward to seeing you!

Scheduling Report, April
Your Council 16 Scheduling Committee meets monthly with the MEC Scheduling Chair & Crew Planning Liaison to discuss the ongoing work representing your interests in line holder schedules and raise your concerns about how the pairings were built that month. The Committee also meets with management quarterly to receive updates and discuss issues and problems Flight Attendants face with scheduling, pairings, and bidding. 

The committee has long heard from you that pairings are not being built to your satisfaction. In general, you want high credit pairings (5+ credits a day avg.), limited/no sits over 2 hours, overnights of 12 hours or greater, limited overnights in another base, and better distribution of pairing lengths (base specific). Continue to let your bases scheduling rep(s) know how satisfied you are with the pairings, and any issues faced with scheduling, pairings, and bidding.

April Pairing Build

Council Status Report

If you have an unresolved outstanding balance pay online.  Flight Attendants who have taken any unpaid leaves, including CLOA, union dues must be paid manually. If you happen to find yourself in an arrears situation and do not know the amount owing or have any questions regarding what months you owe, please contact Council leadership.  We are here to help!

Negotiations update
No update available.  Your negotiations committee is still awaiting for mediation sessions to be scheduled

Until the next check-in, fly safe!

"Stronger Together, Better Together"