Alaska Airlines flight attendants have authorized their first strike in more than 30 years following a horrific mid-air door explosion that temporarily grounded some of the airline’s planes.
Tuesday’s near-unanimous vote to strike by thousands of Alaska Airlines flight attendants, represented by the Flight Attendants Association-CWA, came after a year of negotiations that failed to reach an agreement.
Flight attendants and flight attendants from 24 other airlines picketed airports in the United States, United Kingdom, and Guam.
U.S.-based flight attendants are less likely to quit their jobs because the complex labor process makes it difficult for airline employees to strike.
But Alaska’s strike order, the first since 1993, reflects workers’ widespread demands for higher pay at a time when the majority of flight attendants in the United States are in contract negotiations, according to the Flight Attendants Association. That’s what it means.
The average annual salary for first-year flight attendants at the airline is less than $24,000, union officials said.
Meanwhile, pilots at major airlines have won new collective agreements that include big pay increases and other benefits, but some flight attendants have not received a raise in five years, the AFA said. .
An Alaska Airlines spokesperson said the airline has met with union leaders twice in the past three weeks and “continues to negotiate and meet with mediators.”
“For months, we have offered industry-leading pay with an immediate 15% overall pay increase and additional pay increases,” an Alaska Airlines spokesperson told the Post on Wednesday.
“We remain optimistic about the negotiation process. The airline has recently concluded six collective agreements and reached a tentative agreement on new contracts for technicians in January, and we hope to do the same for cabin crew as soon as possible.” That’s what I think.”
The Post has reached out to AFA-CWA for comment.
Last month, budget-friendly Southwest Airlines approved a new collective bargaining agreement that provides about 50% raises over five years to the roughly 11,000 pilots in the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association. This also called for enhanced retirement benefits, disability insurance, and other benefits. Review of scheduling process.
Pilots at the Dallas-based airline will receive a 29.15% raise immediately, followed by 4% raises in 2025, 2026 and 2027. The agreement stipulates a 3.25% wage increase in 2028.
Last year, United Airlines Holdings Inc. pilots approved a contract that includes cumulative pay increases of 34.5% to 46% over four years and other benefits, following deals from American Airlines and Delta Air Lines.
Expensive pilot contracts raise costs for airlines and prompt other work groups to demand similar benefits.
In December, Southwest Airlines flight attendants voted against a five-year contract that would have made them the highest-paid flight attendants in the industry.
“We fought both pay cuts and furloughs, endured historic operational failures, and negotiated five years of lengthy negotiations that included working without raises to combat inflation and compensate for the extensive duties our members had to perform. After all this, Southwest Airlines flight attendants have come to the following conclusion: It is clear that this proposed contract will not heal wounds,” said Lynne Montgomery, president of the union TWU 556.
Alaska Airlines was operating a Boeing 737 MAX 9 that took off from Portland, Oregon, last month and climbed to an altitude of 16,000 feet before a nearly catastrophic explosion forced an emergency landing.
The threat of a strike against Alaska Airlines comes after National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said last week that a mid-air door explosion like the one on a Boeing 737 MAX 9 plane could “could happen again”. It came after a warning was issued.
There are only two U.S. airlines operating the MAX 9 model: Alaska Airlines and United Airlines.
with post wire
