Alaska Airlines’ flight attendants on Wednesday rejected their union’s tentative contract with the SeaTac-based airline, forcing union and company leaders back to the bargaining table.
Alaska and the Association of Flight Attendants, which represents 6,900 Alaska employees, reached the tentative agreement in June after a year and a half of negotiation. Union members then attended roadshows with union leaders outlining details of the tentative agreement and had three weeks to vote whether to ratify the contract.
According to the union, 68% of members who voted rejected the agreement. Turnout was 94% of eligible voters when voting closed Wednesday.
“This is democracy in action and Flight Attendants always have the final say on any contract,” AFA said a in a news release. “There is more work to do.”
AFA says it plans to survey members and return to bargaining. The union did not offer additional details on timing.
The rejection doesn’t mean flight attendants will strike. Any flight attendants strike would require a long process under the Railway Labor Act, which governs airline employees and is meant to avoid interruptions in interstate commerce, including air travel.
“We remain committed to reaching an agreement that reflects the critical role of our flight attendants and is good for Alaska’s long-term success,” Alaska Airlines said in a statement. “We will assess the details available to us and reconvene with AFA to discuss next steps.”
In the months of negotiations, Alaska flight attendants spent off-duty days picketing outside airports. They also threatened to employ a tactic called CHAOS, or “Create Havoc Around Our System,” where flight attendants on individual flights declare a strike and walk out. This tactic was last used by Alaska flight attendants 30 years ago before a contract victory.
The tentative contract included raises — an average of 32% over the three-year contract — and “boarding pay,” which would mark the first time a U.S. carrier mandated in a contract that flight attendants be paid for their time as passengers are boarding. Alaska flight attendants aren’t paid for this time even as they greet passengers, make sure meals were set and do preflight safety checks.
In rejecting the contract, members signaled they believe the contract offer didn’t go far enough to address issues in an industry characterized by unpredictable schedules and pay that can be so low for newer workers that some say they qualify for welfare benefits.
Some Alaska flight attendants report taking second jobs to make ends meet.
One flight attendant who was onboard Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 when a fuselage panel blew out of the plane also worked as an Amazon Flex delivery driver, they told federal investigators after the Jan. 5 flight, according to transcripts released last week.
On the day of the blowout, the flight attendant had woken up at 5 a.m., then worked two package-delivery shifts before heading straight to the Portland airport around 2:30 p.m. for the Ontario, Calif., flight. They had been with Alaska for four years and another airline four years before that.
Flight attendants who voted “no” said the airline could afford to pay more, pointing to Alaska’s planned merger with Hawaiian Airlines and the salaries of the airlines’ top leaders, like CEO Ben Minicucci, whose total compensation last year was $10.3 million.
“We are severely underpaid and our CEOs are severely overpaid,” said one Seattle-based flight attendant who asked to remain anonymous to avoid conflict with his colleagues. “We aren’t at industry-leading pay, which is what the company promised.
“This is not it.”
Alaska and its 3,600 pilots took nearly three years to negotiate a contract, which was ratified in 2022 and included a 23% pay boost. Under the three-year contract, first-year first officers earn $100 per flying hour, according to Alaska, and “top-of-the-scale” captains are paid $340 an hour.
A host of U.S. airlines have been in negotiations with unions this year as the aviation industry recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on air travel. American Airlines reached a tentative contract with its union in July.
United Airlines and its union remain in negotiations; union members are voting whether to authorize a strike should negotiations fall with the airline. The Frontier Airlines flight attendants union will vote this month whether to authorize a strike.
This article originally appeared on The Seattle Times
Image Source: Wikimedia Commons
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