Sisters and Brothers:
The joint Alaska Airlines Negotiating Committee opened negotiations with Alaska Airlines management this week in San Francisco, California.
Represented by the Company were: Wayne Newton, Vice President/AOCS; Jeff Butler, Vice President of Inflight and Call Centers; Jason Berry, Managing Director/Cargo; Denise Kliskey, COPS Labor Manager; Rebecca Meissner, Senior Attorney; and Melinda Maher, Division Controller.
Joining your Negotiating Committee were: James Carlson, Assistant Airline Coordinator; Kris Hannah, Grand Lodge Representative; and Rich Pantoja, Special Representative.
Your committee presented the Company with a counter-offer to the comprehensive ‘Proposal for Settlement’ provided by the Company in October. Our Comprehensive contained all outstanding items not yet agreed to in these negotiations for both the COPS and RSSA agreements, respectively. Among the items discussed were:
- Enhanced Scope (job and work protections)
- Wages and Benefits
- Retirement
- Insurance
We were able to have great discussion relating to Job/Work Protections. The Committee stressed to the Company how protecting the hard fought careers of their award winning employees is of the utmost importance to you, the membership. After all, retirement, wages and benefits only matter as long as we own our work and the thought of outsourcing is no longer present.
Due to the scale of your Union’s proposal, the Company was unable to prepare a counter offer during this session. The Company has committed to performing their due diligence in costing out the proposal and will counter at our next session.
The next negotiations session is scheduled for January 15-17, 2019, in New York, New York.
There is one source of official communications regarding these negotiations – that is those issued by your Negotiating Committee.
Remember: United we stand, divided we beg.
In Unity,
Jeff Tobius
GENERAL CHAIR
Justin Bates (ANC) Jesse Wilson (ANC) Jason McAdoo (JNU) Dan Suafoa (SEA) Enrique Rebollo (SEA) Nisha Chaudry (SFO) Jennifer Araujo (LAX) Jackson Hartsfield (LAX)
Joe Shultz (PHX) Linda Romaniello (FLL)
NEGOTIATING COMMITTEE