NORFOLK, Va. — Breeze Airways pilots are picketing to send a clear message to the airline management.
According to the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), the pilots have been negotiating with Breeze Airways over collective bargaining. The ALPA said that even after profitable quarters, pilots are still experiencing unilateral pay cuts without protections.
Organizers say the picket is a way to make sure Breeze hears the message that pilots will fight for their right to protect their quality of life.
According to the ALPA, Breeze pilots have been working under an outdated employee handbook for three years.
"The pilots deserve an industry-standard contract and that's why we're here today, in order to get job protections, better quality of life, and to also have predictability in what time we have with our families," said Captain Alex Kluge, Breeze Airways ALPA Master Executive Council chair.
Negotiations for their first collective bargaining agreement have been in the works with management for more than a year and a half.
Also on Tuesday, flight attendants for Breeze Airways voted to join the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO (AFA) in an election certified by the National Mediation Board, according to the AFA.
“Breeze pilots and flight attendants share similar quality-of-life issues and can relate to the repeated broken promises from management," Capt. Kluge added in a news release about Tuesday's picket. "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.”