Alaska Airlines flight attendant Rebecca Owens works 10 hours a day but is only paid for half that time—a legacy of the US airline’s standard policy of paying cabin crew members only when flights are in flight. Owens, and thousands of cabin crew like him, want that to change.
In August, 68% of Alaska Airlines workers in a ratification vote rejected a contract that would have increased average wages by 32% over three years. It was also the first labor agreement that would legally require airlines to start the clock to pay flight attendants when passengers board, not when the plane starts taxiing on the runway.
Delta Air Lines, the only major U.S. airline with non-unionized flight attendants, instituted a fare hike for its flight attendants at half of their hourly wages in 2022 while trying to organize.
Alaska and union leaders resumed collective contract negotiations this week.
“I want to be compensated for my time at work and I want a salary that can be earned so that you can be independent while working this job,” said Owens, 35. She said that without her husband’s salary, her family would not be able to. to pay for basic needs.
Negotiations in Alaska are closely watched because a single airline contract is often the industry standard. Cabin crews at United Airlines, Frontier and American Airlines’ regional subsidiary PSA Airlines are also negotiating new labor agreements.
Southwest Airlines workers rejected two contracts before securing a deal in April that included a 22% pay increase this year and a 3% annual increase through 2027.
Airline workers have been negotiating with more confidence this year, buoyed by improved airline wages and larger pay deals negotiated by pilot unions over the past two years with Boeing factory workers this year, according to interviews with a dozen airline workers and union officials.
Airline workers told Reuters the talks were also informed by years of resentment over pay falling behind inflation while working hours increased, hurting their quality of life.
Cabinet workers in Alaska and United have authorized their unions to call strikes if negotiators cannot reach a contract agreement.
Alaska Airlines responded to a question from Reuters saying that its goal is to provide “flight attendants — and all employees — with market-competitive wages and benefits.” United did not respond to a request for comment.
He was burned
In previous contract negotiations, airlines won concessions from workers as the industry struggled due to the recession or collapse due to the COVID pandemic.
However, this year, many US airlines have posted healthy profits and cabin crew feel they have more than earned a bigger piece of that pie.
United’s cabin crew have not been promoted since 2020. The Chicago-based airline in October unveiled a $1.5 billion stock buyback plan. “Flight attendants are really angry,” said Sara Nelson, international president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA), which represents more than 50,000 workers at 20 airlines including Alaska and United.
“They can’t pay their debts.”
Some new hires are forced to live in their cars because they can’t afford the rent, said Ken Diaz, head of the United flight workers union. The starting wage at United is $28.88 an hour. In Alaska, the base rate of pay for a newly hired flight attendant is $27.69.
The top of the waiting list is paid for hours worked, not just when the flight departs. One San Francisco-based United flight attendant told Reuters she makes just $2,400-$2,500 a month before taxes despite working more than 200 hours. Several of his colleagues supplement their income by driving for Uber and DoorDash, he said.
A flight attendant aboard the Alaska Boeing 737 MAX plane that lost a door panel mid-air in January has found a second job as an Amazon delivery pilot, according to testimony released by investigators. The employee on the flight, who has not been named, worked two shifts delivering packages on the day of the blast.
Some airlines do not charge additional fees to pay flight attendants for tasks such as boarding passengers and waiting around the airport before and between flights. The American union has estimated that workers will earn an additional $4.2 billion under the new five-year air travel contract, including round trip and boarding wages, as well as compensation for certain hours between flights.
Owen says airlines need to rethink their strategy or face a backlash from employees.
“People can only take so much,” Owens said. “They are tired. They are burnt.”
-Rajesh Kumar Singh, Reuters
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