Council Newsletter, Sept 2024
AFA Horizon – Council 16 Newsletter (BOI, PAE, SEA, GEG)
In case you missed it, check out the last newsletter.
Labor Day
Labor Day 2024 was marked by a profound sense of reflection and celebration as people across the country took a moment to honor the achievements and contributions of workers and unions. The holiday is an opportunity for us, the labor movement, to reflect on our past and give renewed focus on our future. Yesterday, saw gatherings and events that highlighted the progress made in labor rights while also bringing attention to ongoing challenges such as wage disparities and workplace safety. Many used the day to acknowledge the efforts of those who fought for fair labor practices in the past, while also advocating for continued improvements in working conditions. As families and communities came together, they not only enjoyed the festivities but also engaged in meaningful conversations about how to build upon the legacy of labor movements for a better future.
Hispanic-Latinx heritage month
Observed from September 15 to October 15, is a vibrant celebration of the rich cultures, histories, and contributions of Latinx communities. This annual observance highlights the diverse experiences and achievements of individuals from Latin American countries, including Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and Central and South America. Throughout the month, communities come together to honor their heritage through festivals, educational events, and cultural exhibitions that showcase everything from traditional music and dance to contemporary arts and literature. Latin Heritage Month not only provides an opportunity to celebrate the enduring impact of Latinx culture on American society but also fosters greater understanding and appreciation of the cultural richness and resilience of these communities.
Learn about mobilization
Joining mobilization efforts to secure a better Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) is a powerful way to ensure that your voice and concerns are heard. By participating in these collective actions, you contribute to a unified push for improved working conditions, fair wages, and enhanced benefits. This solidarity not only strengthens your negotiating position but also fosters a sense of community and shared purpose among workers. As you advocate for equitable terms, your involvement helps to drive meaningful change that can positively impact everyone in the organization. Ultimately, engaging in these efforts is a proactive step towards achieving a more just and supportive workplace environment.
Join us on October 10, 2024, to learn how YOU can be involved! Sign up now.
Attendance is open to everyone, even if you simply want to simply learn about how mobilization works.
AFA shadow opportunities
There is a unique opportunity to shadow AFA positions. These hands-on learning opportunities allow you to see firsthand what your volunteers do for you! If you would like to observe the pairing build process, let us know!
By observing the pairing build process, you will gain insight into how pairings are built. Shadowing this process equips you with practical knowledge and skills that can enhance your own contributions and foster a more collaborative and efficient work environment.
Let us know if there are any other AFA positions you would like to shadow and learn more about.
Calling all veterans
The Human Rights and Equity Committee wants to hear from you. Please contact Wendy Kaihara if you are a veteran.
Leadership activities
On September 21-22, your Local Vice President will be in Washington, DC. for the much-anticipated regional bargaining summit. Other AFA regional airline local officers will be attending the regional summit and they will be reviewing industry analysis, economic pressures, leverage points, decision-makers, and more. This is the period when we all get together to plan how to approach negotiations as a group. Following this event, on September 23-25, your Local Vice President will also be attending AFA’s advanced leadership training in Philadelphia.
Council newsletters
Signing up to receive our newsletters is a great way to stay informed and engaged with the latest updates, events, and insights from our union. By subscribing, you'll gain access to exclusive content, important announcements, and curated information that can keep you up-to-date with our initiatives and activities. Don't miss out on the opportunity to stay connected—sign up today and be part of our vibrant Council.
Also, visit our Council’s website.
Council Chat, Sept 17
Council Officers want to hear from YOU! This month’s chat will be held on September 17th at 16:00. This council chat will focus on NavBlue and bidding.
This council chat is held on the 3rd Tuesday of the month, time is subject to change.
Please join us on Google Meet.
Join by phone – 1 (401) 375-9299 PIN: 380 261 809#.
Scheduling Report, Oct 2024
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. Representing you at these meetings are Miria Davis (BOI), Heather Coleman (PAE), Vacant (SEA), Aaron Lucich & Shannon Powell (GEG), and Joshua Haimes (Chair).
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.
October 2024 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 session 10
Your AFA Negotiations Committee met with management for Negotiation Session 10 on August 13-15. Representing you at the table were Committee Members- Heather Coleman & Lexie Massey, MEC President- Lisa Davis-Warren, AFA Staff Attorney & Negotiator- Kimberley Chaput.
The Committee met with Vice President Station Ops & Inflight- Shelly Parker, Manager Inflight Labor & Performance- William Casalins Altamar, Managing Director, People and Labor Relations- Chéri Ruger, Financial Analyst- Mark Schuck, Senior Corporate Counsel, Alaska Legal- Latrice Lee, and Seyfarth Shaw LLP Partner, Labor & Employment- Molly Gabel. Director Crew Support- Mick Niemann also joined as a subject matter expert.
Much like the last session, we made very little progress. We discussed Article 6 (Crew Scheduling) and Article 7 (Reserve). On the positive side, management has withdrawn its proposal to terminate the SAP settlement. We had some good discussions about improving SAP, including allowing Flight Attendants to trade transition trips and increasing the amount of Open Time reserved to seed SAP. Those were both AFA proposals; management agreed if they could add additional blackout days. We left off with AFA proposing that all blackout days also be paid holidays. We are awaiting management’s response.
Beyond that, though, management is not interested in AFA’s proposals. In their view, all of them would be expensive and they do not want to put money into anything but wages. Make no mistake, wages are important—our premium pay, PBP, 401k, etc. all go up as wages go up. There are two problems here, however. First, our contract is more than our wage scale. We want and need flexibility in our schedules in order to have even some semblance of a personal life. Secondly, management has not made a wage proposal. We have no idea if they will propose a big increase or a small one. We cannot make any decisions based on a promise to “make it up in the wages.”
Our discussions on Reserve were just as fruitless. Management said it would agree to our proposal to eliminate extended reserve (ER), provided that they could change a reserve’s RAP on any day of the block. That’s arguably worse than potentially sitting ER twice a month, and of course we could not agree to that.
Further, management wants reserves to be assigned an initial duty period of 14 hours. Under the current contract, the maximum initial duty period is 12 hours. When we asked why they needed 14 hours, they said that if they deadhead a SEA reserve to ANC to work an ANC-FAI turn, the reserve must then be overnighted in ANC since a deadhead back to SEA would make the duty period 12:05. They could not name a single other scenario where they needed 14 hours. In short, they want us to change one of the foundations of our contract to make a single trip more efficient (for them). One would think that the obvious solution would be to place more reserves in ANC, but that’s not what management wants to do. And no matter what we say at the bargaining table, we can absolutely expect them to put together more trips that would exceed 12 hours if they had the right to do so. This, of course could happen after the reserve had already sat 12 hours on home reserve, or even 36 if they were on ER. That is clearly unacceptable. We did not respond to Article 7, as we would have rejected all of management’s proposals (like they rejected ours). We are adding Reserve to our list of deadlocked sections.
Management should be responding to Article 6 at our next session. They also owe us a response on Article 9 (Sick Leave), which AFA last passed them in May. We will see what happens, but we advise that no one gets their hopes up.
As you can see, things are starting to come to a head. AFA will be preparing a comprehensive proposal, covering the entire contract. Doing so will force management to give us a wage proposal. While we don’t expect their first offer to be their last or best offer, we will at least know how much of a fight we’re in for.
We will update you again after our next session, which will be September 17-19. Until then, Wear Your AFA Pin, and remember that we are Stronger Together, Better Together!
Until the next check-in, fly safe!
"Stronger Together, Better Together"
