Negotiation Session 20

• Management shared their first economic counter-proposal since June, which triggered us to cancel our November session.
• They proposed a 1% increase adjusted for inflation, proving they do not value Flight Attendants.
• They refused to adequately address necessary improvements to other pay and work rule provisions (e.g., reassignments, MPR/RIGs, open time, ER conversions, vacation, 401k match, 480/960, longevity, per diem, “A” pay, holiday, etc.).
• We will meet again in December when the assigned mediator can be present.

Negotiations Update: AFA Cancels November Session

This week, our Negotiating Committee and Mobilization Committee Chairperson met with management for Negotiation Session 20. *Our Negotiating Committee is supported during this process by AFA International Collective Bargaining and Legal departments.

Management has not shown up to the table with proposals that reflect our value. We shared our outrage with what they have proposed. The Negotiating Committee was incensed and canceled our scheduled November session. We will not return to the table until December 12-14, when our assigned mediator will join the session.

Management is setting us up to fall behind again. They finally responded with their first economic counter-proposal since June. They made two changes from their initial proposal:

• 15% increase to every step on the wage scale – when adjusted for inflation (CPI-W) from late 2019-present this is only a 1% increase
  • Previously: approximately 9% increase, top of scale increase of 12.2%
    • When adjusted for inflation (CPI-W) from late 2019-present this is a 5.4% decrease or 2% decrease at top of scale
• Took back their offer of lump sum payment/ratification bonus
  • Previously: proposed lump sum payment

The remainder of their proposal (no changes from June):

• 4-year agreement
  • Pilots have a 3-year agreement
• 2% downline increase or market review, whichever is higher
  • Market review only every other year
  • Pilot contract includes 4% downline increases or market review every year
  • The pilots just received an 11.2% downline increase from an improved market review (excluded Southwest, included Agreements in Principle for United and American pilots)
• No boarding pay
• No improvements to vacation provisions
• No increase to longevity premium
• No additional holiday
  • Pilots gained an additional holiday in their agreement
• Block or Better RIG at a lower rate than our proposal
  • No other RIG/MPR improvements
• Only 0.5% increase in retirement match
• Only $0.10 per diem increase
• Only up to a $1.20 “A” pay increase
• Only 1 TFP per reassigned sequence
  • Pilots receive at least 1.5x pay for the entire sequence with reassigned flying, and 2x pay if not returned to domicile within 5 hours of original release time

We are sure you will agree this proposal is hardly better than where we were in June. Although management continues to praise the value of our Flight Attendants, that value is not reflected in their compensation proposals. We continue to push for many essential improvements, including but not limited to MPR/RIG improvements, top of industry wages, downline increases higher than projected inflation, premium pay for reassignments, and more.

They are setting us up to fall behind again:

• Pay that is still not industry leading across the entire scale
• Several carriers are currently in negotiations that will certainly include raises
• Downline increases that don’t adequately account for inflation

We deserve a contract that shares the economic success of Alaska Airlines – success in which we play a major role, as many in management are quick to say. Anything less is unacceptable.

Stay Connected

The Session 20 Recap Video and Podcast will publish at a later date.

Make sure you and your flying partners are signed up for AFA emails. Review the Contract 2022 Website for additional resources, including the Negotiations Dashboard for a summary of progress to date. Thank you for staying engaged and informed. Our solidarity is one of the best ways to leverage our power at the negotiating table.