See what several years of talking will get? The non-threat of a strike and both sides which are okay with the outcome of the contract.
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Alaska Airlines flight attendants approved a contract that raises pay, shortens workdays and enhances profit sharing after nearly three years of talks, the workers' union said Thursday.
The Association of Flight Attendants and Alaska Airlines, the 10th-largest U.S. carrier, reached the four-year tentative contract agreement last month. A vote tally wasn't immediately available, the union said Thursday.
Alaska Airlines has been trying to reduce costs as competition from low-fare carriers such as Southwest Airlines increases. Alaska Air, which also owns commuter carrier Horizon Air, posted $21.2 million in losses during the past two years.
"This has been a long process, but we feel that the needs and concerns of our members have been addressed," Veda Shook, the head of the Association of Flight Attendants, said in a statement.
Alaska Air Chairman and Chief Executive Bill Ayer said the new agreement "offers stability for our flight attendants and is consistent with our desire to provide competitive pay and benefits."
"Customers love our flight attendants, and they continue to set the industry standard for professional and engaging passenger service," Ayer said.
Alaska Airlines' attendants rejected a previous tentative contract in July, partly because it didn't provide raises for the highest-paid attendants. The two sides had been in talks since August 2003.
Under the contract approved Thursday, workers will get a 3 percent pay raise, retroactive to the previous 18 months. In 2008, they'll receive a 2 percent pay raise.
In 2009, flight attendants making top scale will receive a 1 percent raise if the company is unprofitable, and a 2 percent raise if the company is profitable.About 40 percent of the flight attendants are at top scale, said Shook, the union leader.
"Due to the enhanced profit-sharing opportunities in this agreement, as front-line employees we will now be able to share in the wealth that we help create for our airline," Shook said.
The contract also places caps on medical premiums and protections against jobs being contracted out to other companies, said the union, which represents 2,500 attendants.
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