Flight attendants at Alaska Air Group subsidiary Horizon Air took the first step toward a potential work stoppage this week as frustration over contract negotiations comes to a head.
The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA announced Tuesday that its Horizon chapter, which includes 650 workers, voted by 99.8% to authorize a strike.
Union officials said the vote was an answer to “seriously delayed bargaining” and “outrageously low economic proposals” from Horizon management. The flight attendants are seeking pay increases, better benefits, increased pay for time at work, including while boarding aircraft, and work rule improvements, according to AFA-CWA.
The vote does not necessarily mean that Horizon flight attendants will walk off the job, only that they could in the future. The union said its right to strike is triggered when the National Mediation Board declares negotiations are deadlocked, and both parties are released into a 30-day “cooling off” period.
The flight attendants filed for federal mediation in January 2025.
“Our 99.8% vote shows Horizon and Alaska management that we will do whatever it takes to get the contract we have earned,” Lisa Davis Warren, president of the Horizon chapter of AFA-CWA, said in a statement. “We have dedicated our lives to Horizon and the communities that we serve. We are simply asking for the pay, benefits, and improvements we have earned.”
If a strike is declared, AFA-CWA would use a rolling strategy that could affect a single flight, several flights, or the entire Horizon Air network, officials said. Management and passengers would not be notified ahead of time.
Alaska Air Group told The Seattle Times on Tuesday that a strike authorization is a common step in contract negotiations and will not immediately impact operations. The company also said it is confident it will reach an agreement with AFA-CWA.
Alaska Air Group also owns Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines.
