Alaska Airlines flight attendants reject tentative contract agreement

Alaska Airlines flight attendants on Wednesday voted to reject their union’s tentative agreement.

“This is democracy in action and flight attendants always have the final say on any contract,” the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, representing Alaska Air flight attendants, said in a statement to reporters.

The decision continues a disagreement that has dragged on for close to two years as the airline’s flight attendants have sought to negotiate their first new contract in a decade.

They say Alaska Airlines has awarded large pay increases to pilots but does not provide a livable wage to some of its flight attendants.

“There is more work to do,” the statement said. “Flight attendants need improvements as soon as possible. Our union will continue to fight for the contract Alaska flight attendants deserve.”

The tentative, three-year deal that was rejected called for a 32% pay increase over the life of the agreement, payment for boarding time before the plane leaves the ground, and 21 months of retroactive pay to cover the time spent negotiating.

Alaska Airlines continues to negotiate and has offered what the airline calls an industry-leading proposal, including an immediate 15% increase to the wage scale, according to an online statement from the airline.

AFA Alaska represents more than 6,500 flight attendants.

The vote of flight attendants that ended on Wednesday saw a 92.4% participation rate of eligible voters, the union in an online statement.

Sixty-eight percent of the voters opposed the agreement, and 32% voted for it, the union said.

The union plans a member survey to determine key issues that need to be addressed in negotiations, the union said.

Alaska Airlines flight attendants in February authorized a strike for the first time in three decades. But before a strike can occur, the National Mediation Board must declare that negotiations are deadlocked, placing both parties in a 30-day “cooling off” period leading to a strike deadline.

Future steps could also include additional “mobilization efforts which will be necessary to put pressure on management, increase our leverage, and get additional money into a new tentative agreement,” the union said.