Flight dispatchers at the low-cost carrier Breeze Airways voted to join the Transport Workers Union of America (TWU) on Tuesday.
According to a TWU news release, the Utah-based flight dispatchers voted to join the union in an effort to improve working conditions, safety protocols, negotiate more manageable schedules, and increase staffing at Breeze.
“The TWU is continuing to grow across the country as airline workers see the benefit of joining a fighting union,” said TWU International President John Samuelsen, in the release. “The battle now shifts to [the] bargaining table for our Flight Dispatchers at Breeze Airways to win a critical first contract that improves the lives of workers and their families.”
The TWU is the largest airline workers union in the U.S. and represents over 160,000 workers across the airline, railroad, transit, university, utilities, and service sectors.
The union currently represents flight dispatchers at numerous other airlines across the U.S., including PSA Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Envoy Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines and Southwest Airlines.
“The work on behalf of our Flight Dispatchers at Breeze Airways is just beginning, now we will begin negotiating a contract that increases pay, benefits, and working conditions,” said TWU Organizing Director Angelo Cucuzza.
Last year, TWU and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) successfully negotiated a 27-month contract for over 34,000 American Airlines mechanics, fleet service clerks, and load planners.
