by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 11:05 AM ET, Wed February 14, 2024
Alaska Airlines is in active contract negotiations with its flight attendants following the recent news that the attendants, under the union of the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), had agreed they would strike should the negotiations fail.
According to Alaska’s statement, a deal is likely to be made and a strike by Alaska Airlines flight attendants averted.
“We remain optimistic in the negotiations process,” said the statement. “With six recently closed labor deals at the company and a tentative agreement reached in January for a new contract for our technicians, we’re hopeful to do the same for our flight attendants as soon as possible. AFA and Alaska leadership have met twice in the last three weeks and are continuing to bargain and meet with a mediator. Discussions have been productive and in the last two sessions, we reached four tentative agreements.”
Flight attendants from three different unions walked a picket line at thirty different U.S. airports on Tuesday, February 13, demonstrating for better wages, new contracts and better working conditions.
“While talk of a strike is concerning, especially for our guests and the communities that rely on our service, it would not happen quickly,” the statement said. “Many more steps would need to take place over many months, if not longer, before a strike is even possible.”
The U.S. isn’t the only place where flight attendants and airport staff are threatening or actively participating in labor strikes: Lufthansa recently canceled hundreds of its flights last week as a 27-hour labor strike at multiple German airports by ground staff. According to their statement, the airline was only able to operate around ten percent of scheduled flights during the strike period.
Additionally, airport staff throughout Italy, including baggage handlers and ground staff, walked out on a January 8 strike, mainly at popular airports in Venice, Milan, Florence and elsewhere.
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