Alaska Airlines flight attendants authorized a strike for the first time in more than three decades in the wake of a terrifying midair door blowout that temporarily grounded part of the carrier’s fleet.
The near-unanimous vote to strike Tuesday by thousands of Alaska Airlines flight attendants — represented by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA — comes after a year of negotiations failed to produce a deal.
Flight attendants and cabin crew from 24 other carriers picketed at airports across the US, UK and Guam.
US-based flight attendants are unlikely to walk off the job because of a complex labor process that makes it difficult for airline workers to strike.
However, the first Alaska strike mandate since 1993 reflects labor’s broader demands for higher pay at a time when a majority of US cabin crew are in contract talks, the Association of Flight Attendants said.
The average annual pay for a first-year flight attendant at the airline is less than $24,000, union officials have said.