Flight attendants at Twin Cities-based Sun Country Airlines have overwhelmingly voted to strike.
The move comes after the airline reported revenue of $1 billion for the first time last year and record revenue in the first quarter of this year. The airline has not given its flight attendants a pay increase since 2016, said the union, which represents 558 flight attendants.
“We voted to strike for one simple reason: Sun Country is dragging out the bargaining process and we are fed up,” said Tanya DeVito, a flight attendant and member of the bargaining committee for Sun Country Teamsters Local 120. “We expect a solid economic package to be presented to us at the September mediation meeting, or we will take this to the next level.”
DeVito said 99 percent of flight attendants voted to strike and “that’s a number that Sun Country cannot and should not ignore.”
Union officials said the current pay of flight attendants leaves them “far behind” their colleagues at similar airlines. The collective bargaining agreement for flight attendants is subject to change in December 2019, the union said.
“The people who run this company want to sit back and do nothing but collect a fat check while everyone else at Sun Country toils hard for a pittance,” said Tom Erickson, president of Local 120 and vice president of the Teamsters Central Region International. “They are in for a rude awakening. Our members are angry and will do anything to get what they deserve.”
An email requesting a comment from the airline has not yet been responded to.
