Alaska Airlines flight attendants voted Wednesday to reject the union’s tentative agreement.
“This is democracy in action and flight attendants always have the final say in contract matters,” the Association of Flight Attendants, which represents Alaska Airlines flight attendants, said in a statement to reporters.
The decision continues nearly two years of disagreement as the airline’s flight attendants seek to negotiate their first new contracts in a decade.
Alaska Airlines has given its pilots big raises but is not paying some flight attendants a living wage.
“There is still work to be done,” the statement said. “Flight attendants need immediate improvements, and our union will continue to fight for the contract Alaska’s flight attendants deserve.”
The tentative three-year agreement that was rejected called for a 32 percent wage increase over the life of the agreement, payment for time spent on the plane before it took off, and 21 months of retroactive wages to cover time spent negotiating.
Alaska Airlines is continuing negotiations and has presented what it calls an industry-leading offer, which includes an immediate 15% pay increase, according to an online statement from the airline.
AFA Alaska represents more than 6,500 flight attendants.
The union said in an online statement that 92.4% of eligible voters turned out to vote in the flight attendant poll that ended on Wednesday.
The union said 68 percent of voters opposed the agreement, while 32 percent voted in favor.
The union said it plans to survey its members to determine key issues to address in negotiations.
Alaska Airlines flight attendants authorized a strike in February for the first time in 30 years, but before the strike can take place, the National Conciliation Board must declare negotiations at an impasse and give both parties a 30-day “cooling off period” before the strike deadline.
Future steps could also include additional “mobilization efforts” needed to pressure management, increase influence and inject additional funding into a new tentative agreement, the union said.
