Here’s why Alaska Airlines flight attendants were picketing at Sea-Tac Airport

SEATTLE — Anyone passing Sea-Tac Airport on Wednesday afternoon likely saw lines of uniformed Alaska Airlines flight attendants waving yellow signs on a picket line.

The flight attendants, represented by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, are currently in contract negotiations with the airline, which last fall inked a contract with its pilots that saw their wages rise by as much as 23%.

In negotiations since September, the flight attendants’ union has launched a “red hot summer” campaign that is expected to include demonstrations in Los Angeles, Anchorage, Portland and San Diego, as well as at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The union is seeking pay increases as well as changes to dozens of work rules governing everything from rest periods to uniform stipends.

“We are here to demand a fair contract,” said Paula Isla-McGill, president of the union’s Seattle local. “Flight attendants are front workers and instrumental in the success of Alaska Airlines. Our work rules and pay haven’t matched the success of the company.”

Federal law restricts most transportation workers’ ability to legally strike as long as negotiations are ongoing. Before any strike or lockout by an employer, a mediation process would have to occur.

Those restrictions haven’t prevented flight attendants from ramping up pressure on airlines and the government for greater protections since the airline industry began to rebound in 2022.

Across the airline industry in the United States, hourly pay for flight attendants starts when all the passengers are seated and the plane’s doors close, a norm flight attendants want to see changed. The Federal Aviation Administration has also taken steps to improve working conditions for flight attendants, instituting new rules in November that require flight attendants be provided at least 10 hours of rest time between shift.