Two weeks after announcing a campaign to organize Breeze Airways flight attendants, the Association of Flight Attendants said has filed for an election with the National Mediation Board.
Breeze is “a hot shop,” said AFA President Sara Nelson, using an organizing term that refers to workplaces where employees are eager to organize. She said a high proportion of the carrier’s approximately 600 flight attendants have worked at other airlines, while others are from Gen Z, young people also known as post-millennials.
“You have the experience of people from other airlines with contracts; they know what to expect, and they are coupled with Gen Z people who know they have to fight for what they need,” Nelson said Tuesday in an interview.
Both groups have been concerned by continually changing work rules, substandard pay for time on the job, insufficient work rules and below standard hotel accommodations, Nelson said. “What has really spurred this on is constant changes that are unilateral,” she said. “People know they need a union.”
Another key issue is the amount of guaranteed pay for time away from home: a flight attendant might get paid for around a third of the time away from home during a 14-hour day.
A spokesman for Breeze Airways declined to comment for this story. Nelson said an election could occur this spring, after the National Mediation Board reviews the signatures the union has submitted. To ensure an election, a union must submit signatures from 50% plus one members of the designated bargaining unit.
Low-cost carrier Breeze began flying in 2021. It was founded by aviation entrepreneur David Neeleman, who also founded JetBlue. Its pilots voted to join the Air Line Pilots Association in 2022.
Breeze serves 46 cities in 26 states. Two weeks ago, it announced eight new routes including flights from San Diego to Cincinnati, Jacksonville, Norfolk, Raleigh-Durham and Pittsburgh.
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