Three-year old Breeze Airways is growing up.
The carrier reported its first operating profit in March. It now has its own credit card and by fall its fleet will all be Airbus A220-300 aircraft. On Tuesday, two top airline unions got more engaged. Flight attendants voted to join the Association of Flight Attendants. Pilots, who are members of the Air Line Pilots Association, held their first-ever informational picket, seeking their first contract.
AFA won 76% of the votes in the election results counted Tuesday. Breeze has about 650 flight attendants: 462 were eligible to vote, and the count showed 241 in favor with 75 opposed.
AFA President Sara Nelson said Wednesday the union will send Breeze a Section Six Notice today. Under the Railway Labor Act, the notice is required to initiate bargaining. Within ten days after receipt, the parties must agree to a time and place to start talking. Nelson said that typically occurs about three months after workers vote to join a union.
In the meantime, a protocol agreement will be negotiated while flight attendants get their leadership in place, Nelson said, noting, “We will negotiate with them essentially right away on protocol.”
Breeze founder David Neeleman has started three airlines including JetBlue, but so far he and Nelson have not met. Nelson said she expects to call him this week.
“He is laser focused on building up the airline, which is a good thing for flight attendants,” Nelson said. “I’m going to make sure they get their fair share and dignified treatment at work.”
In the election, Nelson said, Breeze “pulled out all the union busting stops and spent a lot of money doing it. They told people they would be able to see how they voted. They had road shows with captive audiences at every base and made people feel like they had to come to meetings. They used fear and intimidation and shaming. None of it worked.”
On Tuesday, shortly after the vote count, AFA spokeswoman Taylor Garland tweeted “Neeleman crying RN” for “right now.”
Breeze issued statements regarding both the AFA union vote and the pilot demonstration at Norfolk International Airport.
Regarding flight attendants, the carrier said, “Although this was not the outcome we had hoped for, we pledge to work alongside the AFA and our flight attendants to build on the already tremendous success of our young airline.
“Breeze is entering its fourth year of service, and we are extremely proud of the progress we have made and the many milestones we have achieved,” the carrier said. “Much of this success can be attributed to the open and direct lines of communication we have established across our workgroups.”
Regarding pilots, Breeze said, “All of our pilots are vital to the future success of Breeze. We are actively negotiating with ALPA while maintaining open lines of communication with our pilot group and we are proud to continue building something truly special alongside them.”
Earlier, ALPA said in a prepared statement that Breeze pilots “have been working under an outdated employee handbook for three years and have been in active negotiations for their first collective bargaining agreement with Breeze Airways management for more than a year and half.”
Alexander Kluge, Breeze ALPA chapter chairman, said, “The airline has become profitable on the backs of all labor and especially the pilots through cutting our pay, work rules, and schedules.”
Kluge noted, “We fully support the more than 600 Breeze Airways flight attendants in their next steps in securing the working protections they deserve through the representation of a well-established union.”
