SEATAC, Wash. — Several hundred members of the Association of Flight Attendants, their families and supporters rallied outside Alaska Airlines headquarters here for a new contract Aug. 15. Similar actions took place at the airline’s facilities in San Diego; Los Angeles; San Francisco; Portland, Oregon; and Anchorage, Alaska.
The old contract dates back nine years. It was extended twice — once due to a merger with Virgin America airlines and the second time because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This means flight attendants are working under a wage structure and working conditions set almost a decade ago.
Association of Flight Attendants national President Sara Nelson spoke at a rally held in nearby Angle Lake Park. “This is a movement. This is the working class fighting together,” she said. “We have more in common than anything that could ever divide us.”
Ian Haywood, a flight attendant for six years, told the Militant Alaska Airlines has only offered a 9% raise in recent negotiations. And flight attendants face a lot of unpaid work, he said. They aren’t paid when they’re checking people onto the flights during boarding, and only start getting paid when the cabin door is shut and the plane is in the air. One of the most popular signs at the rally was “We demand boarding pay without delay.”
“Last week I worked an L.A. turn which was 10.5 hours,” Haywood said, “but was only paid six hours because 4.5 hours were on the ground.” And attendants aren’t paid between flights when they’re stuck away from home.
“We only work about 75-80 hours a month. Working 25 hours in the air in a week is a good week, and getting 75 hours makes you full time.”
There are 1,000 Alaska Airlines flight attendants in the Seattle area alone, he said, and all the hundreds at the action were ones who happened to be in town and on their own time between flights at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. This Militant worker-correspondent saw some carrying luggage with them to the rally and picket lines down International Boulevard.
One attendant said she wasn’t sure what kind of response they would get to holding a picket, but she was pleasantly surprised. Drivers passing by constantly honked in support.
Two days of negotiations were taking place, including on the day of the rally, Haywood said. “We do all the care for our guests and the airline needs to take care of us.”
Flight attendant Justin Wetherell said the airline keeps announcing higher profits. Overall, it reported a record revenue of $9.6 billion in 2022. “Enough is enough!” he said.
Some flight attendants printed up T-shirts for their kids at the protest, with demands supporting their parents. Most flight attendants are women.
A number of uniformed pilots joined the picket, along with representatives from UNITE HERE, International Association of Machinists, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, SMART-TD rail conductors’ union and International Association of Fire Fighters members from the Gig Harbor fire department.