Mechanics Pact Ends 3-Month Strike Against Alaska Airlines

Alaska Airlines and nearly 700 ground workers signed a four-year contract Monday to end a three-month strike, but it could be several years before the company rehires all the mechanics and baggage handlers.

Seventy percent of the striking members of the International Assn. of Machinists and Aerospace Workers voted over the weekend to accept the pact. The airline, which hired replacement workers during the walkout, said the strikers will be rehired on a seniority basis as positions become available--a process that could take two to three years, according to Jim Johnson, vice president for public relations.

Alaska Airlines has been operating its complete schedule for most of the strike, and even added service to Phoenix and Los Angeles, Johnson said.

In addition to a 2% wage increase, cost-of-living increases, and increases in benefits, the agreement contains a two-tier wage scale under which newly hired workers are paid 30% to 50% less than current workers have been paid. The two-tier proposal sparked the strike on March 4.

Striking workers had voted to reject the pact in May. By that time, the focus of the dispute had shifted to a back-to-work agreement, with company officials saying they would rehire strikers only as needed to replace those hired during the strike.