Horizon Air flight attendants seek federal mediation in fight for "fair" contract

A union representing flight attendants at Alaska Airlines' regional subsidiary, Horizon Air , confirmed it filed for federal mediation on January 17th in an ongoing push to equalize wages between crews at the regional subsidiary and those on Alaska's mainline fleet.

The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA), which represents Horizon Air flight attendants, announced this week that it is taking the next step in its ongoing compensation negotiations by filing for federal mediation with the airline.

The case will now go to The National Mediation Board (NMB), the national mediator for the airline and railroad industries, which facilitates the resolution of disputes between labor and management.

Horizon Air is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alaska Airlines and operates regional flights for the oneworld Alliance carrier. Executives at the AFA argue that Flight Attendants at Horizon Air provide the same service as their mainline counterparts while being paid significantly less.

Although Horizon Flight Attendants work for the regional airline, the Alaska Air Group ultimately decides their pay and working conditions.

According to the union, Alaska's management has "So far failed to offer meaningful pay increases for all Flight Attendants in the workgroup."

The group, which represents a portion of Horizon's 3,500+ employees, argues that Alaska's management is content to maintain a two-tiered "exploitative" regional airline business model that leaves regional flight attendants behind instead of raising the standards to equal those of their mainline counterparts.

While an Alaska Airlines spokesperson could not immediately be reached for comment, Horizon AFA President Lisa Davis-Warren expressed her hope that the mediators will help both parties come to a mutually agreeable solution:

“Flight Attendants at Horizon Air and in the regional airlines deserve fair compensation.

“The company needs to recognize the contributions we have made to its continued growth. We are hopeful that with the help of a federal mediator we will work with urgency to get the pay, benefits, and scheduling provisions we have earned.”

Mediation marks the next escalation in trying to come to an agreement and proceeds any strikes, lock-outs, and other forms of industrial action.

These may occur only after the NMB has determined that further mediation would not be successful and after a cooling-off period of 30 days following a release from mediation.

Filing for federal mediation with the National Mediation Board is the next step in negotiations under the Railway Labor Act (RLA), which helps support maintaining an uninterrupted flow of US commerce across the airline and railroad industries.

The RLA requires labor and management to make "every reasonable effort" to create and maintain collective bargaining agreements within the airline and railroad industries without disrupting transportation services.

The NMB will now oversee negotiations, assign a federal mediator, and schedule mediation sessions between Alaska Airlines management and the AFA.

The Board will employ various methods to help the two parties reach an agreement, including, but not limited to, traditional mediation, interest-based problem solving, or facilitation to conclude collective bargaining peacefully.

The NMB will conduct mediation meetings until an agreement is reached or the Board concludes no deal can be reached despite its best mediatory efforts. At this point, both sides are urged to resolve their dispute through binding arbitration.

There is no time limit for the mediation process. The NMB indicates the process can take just a few meetings or many months, depending upon "the complexity of the negotiations and many other factors unique to each contract negotiation."

Should either party reject the proffer of arbitration, the NMB would release the parties into a 30-day cooling-off period, during which neither side can alter the status quo by making unilateral changes in wages, benefits, or working conditions.

At the end of 30 days, the parties either reach an agreement or are released to engage in self-help activities, including strike action.

Alaska Airline's mainline flight attendants notably requested mediation last year. The first round of mediation took place in November, followed by one in December and another this month.

The union previously indicated that progress had been made on both sides to build a better contract.