Sun Country flight attendants vote to reject contract offer

Sun Country Airlines flight attendants voted overwhelmingly to reject a contract offer, according to the union representing more than 600 flight attendants.

Voting ended Monday with 96% of voters opposed to the contractual agreement.

The Minneapolis-based carrier’s flight attendants were working under a 2014 contract, amended in 2016, due to a hiatus in negotiations during the pandemic.

International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 120 and Sun Country reached a tentative agreement last March following an information picket in Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

Flight attendants want Sun Country to raise salaries and reward staff members for the voluntary time off many have taken during the pandemic.

Sun Country said in a statement Monday that the company was “disappointed with the outcome of the vote.”

“Sun Country flight attendants are the face of our airline, and we appreciate all they do every day for our passengers and our business,” the airline said. “The proposed contract was approved by the IBT Bargaining Committee and contained significant compensation and quality of life improvements. We will work to understand the issues that have prevented ratification and determine next steps. .”

The carrier previously said its contract offer “significantly improves wages and working conditions for members.”

Entry-level flight attendants now start at $21.53 an hour and can go up to $53.56, union officials said. This scale spans 34 years, however, and the union would like to see it closer to the industry standard of 12 to 20 years.

Flight attendants are paid for flight time and full time is approximately 85 hours per month. This does not include time spent waiting for an aircraft or boarding passengers.

The Sun Country Drivers approved a new contract in December 2021 that grants them a significant pay raise. Fleet employees and airline mechanics have also voted to unionize over the past year.