Contract improvements are way past due.

Since 2014, Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants have only had contract extensions with minimal pay raises, all while we are forced into overtime and working on days off, separated from family and friends. Alaska Airlines management has yet to recognize our hard work, sacrifice, and increasingly demanding job. We have fallen far behind our industry peers despite the airline being #1 in a number of performance metrics and categories. Pay and work-rule improvements are long overdue.

Alaska Airlines promised “top of industry pay” and did not deliver: bait and switch?

At the start of contract negotiations, management proposed a deal: abbreviated talks addressing some of their issues in exchange for top-of-industry pay rates. We accepted the challenge but were left holding the bag.

We kept our end of the bargain and collaborated on innovative tentative changes to keep Alaska from running afoul of several states’ laws. However, when it came time for management to uphold its promise, they fell short. Their commitment evaporated, and they reneged on top pay to over 80% of Flight Attendants.

At Alaska Airlines, Flight Attendants work for free.

Alaska refuses to pay Flight Attendants for their time:

• During boarding
• During deplaning
• Waiting around the airport between flights
• During the hour before the first flight of the day

Flight Attendants are robbed of pay for several hours per day. We are only paid when the aircraft is in motion: from the aircraft parking brake release at departure until it is set upon arrival. This practice must stop, and all “free work” must be compensated.

Our sacrifices kept planes in the air during the pandemic.

Flight Attendants agreed to voluntary leaves of absence to help keep the company afloat during the pandemic. Those that stayed ensured passengers could get where they needed to go in the face of unprecedented dangers. We dealt with passenger rage and became the “mask police.” Because the future was uncertain, we also agreed to a contract extension which saved the company money, essentially holding off full-scale negotiating during the crisis. With the pandemic behind us and the company comfortably on solid footing, the time for a new contract is NOW!

Alaska Airlines continues to grow and rake in cash.

Alaska has plenty of money to fairly compensate its Flight Attendants who contribute so much to its success. In 2022, Alaska booked the highest profit margins in the industry and record revenues to boot. Q1 and Q2 of this year continue that solid economic showing. Alaska continues to invest in almost all aspects of their business (planes, route network, airports, lounges, technology, infrastructure)–but not their Flight Attendants.