Nearly 650 Horizon Air pilots represented by Teamsters Local 1224 are holding an informational picket at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Wednesday, as they press for a collective bargaining agreement after almost four years of negotiations. The pilots are seeking changes covering wages, staffing and training shortages, and operational issues at the Alaska Air Group regional carrier, which operates daily flights to nearly 50 destinations across the western United States.
The action began at 10:30 a.m. local time at the airport in SeaTac, Washington. The union alleges that Horizon Air has used delay tactics and cites what it describes as “mismanagement and corporate greed” during the bargaining process. Those claims have not been independently assessed in the available material.
Teamsters Local 1224 also maintains that Horizon pilots perform nearly the same amount of flying as colleagues at sister carrier Alaska Airlines while earning less than industry-standard wages. The available information does not indicate that the pilots have gone on strike or that the picket has disrupted flights.
The Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, Horizon flight attendants represented by the Association of Flight Attendants, and Horizon dispatchers represented by the Transport Workers Union of America are supporting the action. Flight attendants separately scheduled solidarity pickets at airports including Paine Field, Portland, Anchorage, Seattle, Boise and Las Vegas.