Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants Ratify Merger Contract

SEATTLE, April 3, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants, represented by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO (AFA), today voted by 75 percent to ratify a joint collective bargaining agreement (JCBA) covering over 5,700 Flight Attendants at Alaska Airlines and former Virgin America.

"In just twelve negotiating sessions and one year after the close of the merger transaction, Flight Attendants at the new Alaska Airlines have a joint contract that provides the roadmap to full integration. This contract is significant because it's a first for the former Virgin America Flight Attendants and provides pay and work-life improvements for all Alaska Airlines cabin crew. Not only is this a step forward for the 5,700 Flight Attendants at Alaska, it raises the bar for all Flight Attendants in the industry with over 1,200 families newly benefiting from a union contract. Flight Attendants across the industry are cheering this step forward for our careers," said Sara Nelson, AFA International President.

The JCBA, amendable in December 2021, provides contractual improvements and pay increases for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants, immediate parity on pay rates for pre-merger Virgin America Flight Attendants who will transition onto the Alaska JCBA, and significant enhancements in maternity leave, schedule flexibility and work rules effective with full integration.

Virgin America Flight Attendants gained AFA representation in April 2017.

The Association of Flight Attendants is the Flight Attendant union. Focused 100 percent on Flight Attendant issues, AFA has been the leader in advancing the Flight Attendant profession for 72 years. Serving as the voice for Flight Attendants in the workplace, in the aviation industry, in the media and on Capitol Hill, AFA has transformed the Flight Attendant profession by raising wages, benefits and working conditions. Nearly 50,000 Flight Attendants come together to form AFA, part of the 700,000-member strong Communications Workers of America (CWA), AFL-CIO. Visit us at www.afacwa.org.

SOURCE Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA)