Alaska Airlines and Its Aircraft Technicians Reach Tentative Agreement on Proposed Five-Year Contract

Alaska Airlines and the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA) today jointly announced tentative agreement on a proposed five-year contract for the carrier's 626 aircraft technicians and...

SEATTLE, Oct. 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Alaska Airlines and the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA) today jointly announced tentative agreement on a proposed five-year contract for the carrier’s 626 aircraft technicians and related employees. The proposed contract includes annual pay raises, additional job protection provisions, and a shared commitment between Alaska Airlines and AMFA to work on minimizing health care cost increases.

"This tentative agreement reflects a lot of hard work and cooperation by the negotiating committees for AMFA and the company over the past 11 months, and is worthy of consideration by our membership," said Earl Clark, director of AMFA Region 1. "By working together, the negotiators have shown that it’s possible to reach a tentative agreement before the amendable date of a contract. That doesn’t happen very often in the airline business."

Further details on the contract are being withheld pending a ratification vote by union members, which is expected to be completed by mid-November. If ratified, the new contract would become amendable on Oct. 17, 2016. The current contract is amendable on Oct. 17, 2011.

"This long-term five-year agreement was crafted in the spirit of collaboration, and it reflects the confidence and pride we have in our AMFA technician team," said Fred Mohr, vice president of maintenance and engineering.

AMFA is the largest craft union representing aircraft technicians and related employees and serves members at Alaska, Mesaba and Southwest Airlines. AMFA’s motto is "Safety in the air begins with quality maintenance on the ground."

Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air, subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group (NYSE: ALK), together serve 90 cities through an expansive network in Alaska, the Lower 48, Hawaii, Canada and Mexico. Alaska Airlines ranked "Highest in Customer Satisfaction Among Traditional Network Carriers" in the J.D. Power and Associates 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 North America Airline Satisfaction Studies(SM). For reservations, visit www.alaskaair.com. For more news and information, visit the Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air Newsroom at www.alaskaair.com/newsroom.

SOURCE Alaska Airlines