Alaska Airlines pilots vote 99% to strike – Liberation News

For extra details about this battle, learn “1000’s of Alaska Airways pilots to take strike vote”

In a close to unanimous 99% strike authorization vote that noticed 96% turnout, the three,100 pilots at Alaska Airways voted Might 25 to strike if needed in opposition to their employer. The pilots have been in grueling contract negotiations with the corporate for 3 years now and are ready to interrupt new floor to win a good contract by occurring their first strike.

Understaffing disaster deepens

On the forefront of the combat are the pilots’ calls for to deal with worsening understaffing and retention points, and to finish the dehumanizing scheduling system that has taken away their management over their lives. As understaffing will get worse, so too does the workload on pilots.

These points have solely deepened over the course of negotiations with Alaska hemorrhaging new and veteran pilots to different airways. Captain Will McQuillen, a pilot for 16 years at Alaska, stated that “Throughout exit interviews, time and time once more pilots are leaving to different carriers for higher high quality of life.”

Because of this, the airline has been compelled to cancel increasingly flights. Notably, when the pilots held their largest ever 1,500 particular person informational picket on April 1, the airline was compelled to cancel 9% of all flights. Alaska is presently trying to rent one other 150 new pilots and scale back the flight schedule in June, however it’s uncertain they’ll have the ability to fill these positions till Alaska agrees to a good contract for pilots.

With the fast rise in air journey, there’s a quick rising demand for pilots. Corporations are saying aggressive hiring plans totaling greater than 8,000 pilot jobs by the tip of the 12 months. These are the identical jobs that Alaska pilots are dropping their seniority to take. Economists name this a “tight labor market,” however to working individuals, this implies further leverage in opposition to the boss. 

Strike or bust

Labor legislation within the airline business is roofed by the Railway Labor Act, which places unjust extra restrictions on how unions working with =transportation infrastructure go on strike. Because of this, the Alaska union should now enter into mediation till the federal mediator deems that additional talks is not going to be productive, a chance for intervention by a Presidential Emergency Board, after which a 30-day “cooling off” interval. If that every one fails, the union can lastly go on strike.

This combat by Alaska pilots echoes the current battle by 17,000 railroad engineers at BNSF taking place in parallel this 12 months. BNSF employees have equally been in contract negotiations to deal with draconian attendance insurance policies and worsening understaffing points. After being blocked from occurring strike by a choose, the union continued to place public strain on BNSF to cave to their calls for. 

Since BNSF enacted the brand new attendance system in February, 700 of their employees have give up to discover a higher high quality of life elsewhere. Beneath vital public strain and to cease dropping their workforce, the corporate caved in and reversed the brand new attendance coverage.

Alaska pilots have demonstrated their unity and resolve with this vote and can proceed to construct strain on the airline. The proper storm is brewing for the employees. With mounting public strain on the corporate, fixed attrition of pilots to their rivals, and the huge strike risk simply on the horizon, the airline will likely be below immense strain to simply accept the employees’ simply calls for.