The flight attendants of Anchorage took to the streets on Tuesday, demanding more pay at Alaska Airlines. The protest was just one of several across the nation that same day, as part of an organized effort to challenge the airline.
A plethora of flight attendants and even a few pilots were seen carrying banners and shouting slogans as they marched through the snow in front of Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport.
The protestors yelled out slogans such as, “What do we want? Contract! What time do we want it? Now! And if we don’t get it? Turn it off!”
Thresia Raynor works as the Alaska flight attendant, who manages local union-led mobilization efforts and was dissatisfied with the fact that her 14-month-long negotiations haven’t yielded more results. Raynor stated that the minimum wage for an airline flight attendant who is full-time is approximately $24,000 annually and a lot of her coworkers are homeless or dealing with food poverty.
“Many airline attendants live in poverty, and are facing Eviction notices posted at their front doors,” she said. “They’re real people living in Anchorage and throughout all of Alaska and throughout in the Pacific Northwest that are unable to survive on the wages they earn by working only an employment.”
Raynor stated that the wages will increase as you age, but many veterans who have more than a decade’s experience are eligible for subsidized healthcare as well as food allowance.
The Alaska Airlines flight attendants said Tuesday that they would be able to approve the strike. The decision will require approval from mediators from the national level, so Raynor explained that the process could last for months, but they’ll be prepared for the day that arrives.
The protest on Tuesday comes just a few days before Alaska Airlines announced plans to acquire Hawaiian Airlines for $1.9 billion. Raynor claimed that this could aid in speeding things up since a merger cannot proceed until the contracts are all in place.
“But in the same way it’s like putting bittersweet when a company states that it’s not financially feasible in order to provide us with a decent wage, but they are able to make two billion in cash to fund an airline,” Raynor said.
Alaska Airlines referred inquiries to an blog posting which stated that the company respects the right of employees to protest and recently presented a plan which included pay increases of 15%.
Raynor was not happy with the airline’s message, saying flight attendants have a commitment to vote for a strike, and creating “chaos” until they get an income that is livable.
