DENVER — Frontier Airlines flight attendants from around the country are preparing to take their contract fight to company headquarters in Denver.
“This picket is to show Frontier it’s time to negotiate a contract that allows us to live,” Association of Flight Attendants Frontier President Jen Sala said.
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The union representing the flight attendants said they’ve been negotiating with Frontier for nearly three years fighting for what they call a livable wage.
“Frontier flight attendants are the lowest paid amongst all major carriers, and it's about time that Frontier stands up and actually pays us what we're worth,” Sala said.
The Association of Flight Attendants said members have been working under their current contract since 2019, but wages have not kept up with inflation or with what flight attendants are earning at other major airlines.
“We just can't survive on what they're paying us now, and we really need Frontier to come to the table and pay their frontline employees,” Sala added.
The flight attendants are pushing for higher wages, boarding pay and delay pay. They argue flight attendants should be paid for time spent, not just working during an active flight, but on the ground as well.
“The industry standard today is that boarding pay is included in most of the contracts. Frontier Airlines does not pay us boarding pay. We only get paid while the aircraft is moving or in flight. What happens is you go to work for an eight-hour day and you get paid five hours. That's just not sustainable. When those aircraft are delayed, we need to get paid for that as well,” Sala told Denver7.
Boarding pay for flight attendants is the time they start boarding the aircraft.
“We do our safety checks. We board the aircraft. We help the passengers with their bags. We help everyone get to their seats. We do a safety demo. All of those things are unpaid at this point, and that's not OK. We need to be paid for the entire time we're working,” Sala said.
Sala told Denver7 that during the last negotiations, Frontier Airlines gave them a pay proposal that was far below what they need to survive.
“It was far beneath any inflation rates that have occurred in the last few years, and we need Frontier to come to the table and really bring those rates up. We need a sustainable living wage that Frontier flight attendants can actually live with. These rates were not OK,” Sala said.
In a statement to Denver7, Frontier Airlines said:
“Frontier Airlines remains committed to negotiating a fair contract for our flight attendants. Frontier and AFA are currently engaged in supervised mediation through the National Mediation Board and meet each month to continue negotiations. Our goal is to reach an agreement that addresses the priorities of our flight attendants while also ensuring the long-term sustainability and success of the airline.”
The union said Tuesday’s picketing will only include off-duty flight attendants so no interruptions to frontier flights are expected.
For a strike to happen in the future, AFA told Denver7 it would require further negotiations, the National Mediation Board process and a strike authorization. If a strike did happen, it could disrupt frontier flights and operations.
“If we end up having to go into a strike mode, strikes only happen after we've been authorized to do so,” Sala said.
For now, the picket is set to start at 1 p.m. on Tuesday. After the picket, the two sides will return to the negotiating table on Wednesday and Thursday.
Denver7 reached out to other airlines to see if they pay their own flight attendants both boarding pay and delay pay.
In a statement Delta Airlines said:
“Delta is proud to have become the first major U.S. airline to pay our flight attendants during the customer boarding process, starting June 2, 2022, as part of our longstanding commitment to delivery industry-leading pay to our industry-leading team. Delta flight attendants are also compensated in situations involving operational delays and disruptions, though the specific compensation depends on a variety of factors, including the circumstances and duration of the delay, as well as the flight attendant’s assignment.”
United, Southwest and American airlines have not responded as of Tuesday morning.
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