Alaska Airlines flight attendants reject new collective agreement

Summary

Negotiations continue as Alaska Airlines flight attendants reject tentative agreement.
68 percent of union members voted against the agreement and demanded improvements.
The Alaska Airlines flight attendants union has outlined steps for further talks.

Alaska Airlines is facing further negotiations after flight attendants rejected the tentative collective bargaining agreement. The airline’s cabin crew have been trying to negotiate a contract for some time and even authorized a strike earlier this year.

Negotiations continue

Alaska Airlines Cabin crew members have rejected the tentative collective agreement, which included an average wage increase of 32 percent. The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, which represents Alaska Airlines flight attendants, said it would speak with its members about the remaining issues.

An Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-900ER parked at an airport

Photo: Ryken Papy | Shutterstock

In an online statement, the union said there was a 92.4% turnout in the vote to ratify the Provisional Agreement (TA) for 2024. Of these, 68% voted against the agreement, while 32% voted in favor.

The union stressed that there is still a lot to be done and that the airline’s flight attendants “Improvements as soon as possible”, Calling the process “Democracy in action.” Alaska Airlines also released a statement on the development, saying:

“We remain committed to reaching an agreement that reflects the critical role of our flight attendants and is beneficial to Alaska’s long-term success. We will review the details available to us and meet again with AFA to discuss next steps.”

A preliminary agreement was reached in June

In June, the union announced that a federal mediation had resulted in an agreement on a three-year contract that addressed various issues related to salary increases and other benefits. Key elements of the agreement included average salary increases of 32% (over three years), pension subsidies, back pay and relocation subsidies if management is unable to meet schedules.

Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 at BFI shutterstock_2427066119

Alaska Airlines flight attendants could expect 32% pay increase under new contract

On July 24, the flight attendants will begin voting on the provisional agreement (TA).

The agreement on boarding pay was seen as a significant step forward, as it provides for a surcharge of 5 to 34 percent – up to 150 percent – if there are schedule changes for flight attendants in the middle of a flight.

What happens next?

The provisional agreement was reached in June after a year and a half of negotiations, followed by roadshows where the union presented the details of the agreement to its members. However, given the results of the last round of voting, a majority clearly had problems with some of the terms.

The union has outlined the steps it will take to advance this dialogue, including, but not limited to, creating and sending a survey to members, analyzing the survey results and drafting revised proposals, submitting the revised proposals to the MEC for feedback and approval, and requesting additional mediation appointments with management and the National Mediation Board (NMB) mediator.

Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-700 parked at a gate in SEA shutterstock_1706501302

Photo: Wangkun Jia | Shutterstock

The union is prepared to take several further steps to reach a favorable agreement. It also intends to “Plan for additional mobilization efforts that will be necessary to put pressure on management, increase our leverage, and bring additional money into a new tentative agreement.”

It will be interesting to see how this develops over the next few days.