December Negotiations Update -

AFA, management, and our NMB mediator met in Seattle, December 16-18. The AFA Committee consists of MECP Lisa Davis Warren (PDX), Heather Coleman (PAE), Lexie Massey (SEA), who are all current Flight Attendants; and our Staff Attorney and Negotiator, Kimberley Chaput. Management was represented by Robin DeMan, Managing Director, Inflight; Mark Schuck from Finance; Latrice Lee, Senior Corporate Counsel, Alaska Legal; and Cheri Ruger, Vice President, People and Labor Relations, Inflight Ops. Horizon’s President, Andy Schnieder, stopped by briefly on the second day to meet the negotiators and the mediator.

The mediator is encouraging us to use interest-based bargaining (“IBB”) to work through any remaining non-economic issues. This process requires us to have open discussions about why an item is important to us, propose options, and determine which are workable for both management and AFA. It is more time-consuming than traditional negotiations, but it does force both sides to consider each other’s positions. We were able to put into the contract the current practice of calling Scheduling once you reach the terminal to adjust your duty time after a hard stand. We also reached an agreement on limiting management flying.

In addition, we discussed other issues, including RON and domicile rest, our bidding calendar, and the use of golden days adjacent to holidays. Unfortunately, these discussions were not productive, as they all had economic repercussions. 

We are fast running out of issues that are not tied (directly or indirectly) to our paychecks. IBB doesn't work well when the union wants more money, and the Company doesn’t want to spend it. When we reach this point (presumably after one or two more sessions), we will revert to traditional bargaining, and the real fight for a living wage begins.

By now, everyone should have a red "CONTRACT NOW" lanyard. We strongly encourage all Flight Attendants to wear it at work. Passengers, co-workers, and management notice. They need to see that we are united and will do what it takes.

That said, we have heard rumblings that Flight Attendants are taking matters into their own hands. We wanted to take a minute to review how the Railway Labor Act works and what we can and cannot do under it.

Under the RLA, the parties begin in direct negotiations (just management and the union). If those discussions do not lead to a tentative agreement, one or both parties can file for mediation, as we did at the beginning of 2025. The NMB assigned us a mediator, who then took control of the process. The mediator decides when, where, and even if we will meet. If mediation is unsuccessful, either party can petition the NMB to make a “proffer of arbitration,” which is a request for an arbitrator to decide the contract. Even if AFA is the party requesting the proffer, we always reject it, since we do not want a third party deciding what is best for us. This seems odd, but it is the only way to get to the next step. If the proffer is declined, the NMB sets a 30-day cooling-off period during which negotiations continue. If no tentative agreement is reached by midnight on the 30th day, the parties are “released” into self-help. For management, that means the right to impose work rules, and for us, it  means a strike, specifically, a CHAOS strike. We are legally prohibited from striking before this time. Further, individual Flight Attendants “striking” without union authorization is called a wildcat strike, and it is illegal.

Of course, AFA cannot authorize a strike without first taking a strike vote, which could be done well before the proffer is requested. A strike vote itself does not mean that we are on strike. It means that the Flight Attendants have authorized the MEC to call a strike when it is both legally (after the 30-day cooling-off period) and strategically (when it will be most effective) permissible.

AFA would not want to call a strike vote before we receive a full economic offer from the Company. However, if the Company refused to make an offer, or if their offer was intended only to obstruct the process, we could take that step. Realistically, we must first understand the issues, how far apart we are, and whether an agreement is likely in the near future. Given what we have seen during negotiations so far, we expect to take a strike vote sooner rather than later. This will be a huge effort, and we will need everyone’s support and participation.

Our next session is January 21-23 in Chicago. We will continue discussing scheduling and reserve issues. In addition, we are now beginning to have our economic advisor cost out some of our proposals, as is management. Ideally, we can at least reach common ground on the value of various items—even if we don’t agree on whether they should be in the contract.

As negotiations intensify, please continue to wear your lanyards and red AFA pins. We will keep you updated after our next session. Things are going to start moving more quickly, and we want to be sure you are kept informed. 

We hope you are having a wonderful holiday season. We are beyond grateful for your support and enthusiasm, which we will need more than ever in 2026.