Frontier flight attendants plan to make a fifth run at unionizing.
Among those hoping to represent Frontier’s nearly 950 flight attendants are the Teamsters and a group that wants to organize an in-house independent flight-attendant union.
The Association of Flight Attendants and an independent group failed to garner enough votes to form a union in the election last year. The voting ended July 21, and a required one-year waiting period after the vote soon will end.
Teamsters Local 961 president Matthew Fazakas said, “Flight attendants have approached us. We’re currently in an organizing campaign.”
Teamsters Local 961 already represents Frontier mechanics and related employees, aircraft appearance agents and material specialists, or stock clerks.
Justie Ellis, president of independent group Frontier Flight Attendants Association, said her group has collected enough authorization cards to file for an election and plans to file for one around Aug. 1. She expects the Teamsters to also file for an election.
The National Mediation Board requires the groups to collect signatures of at least 35 percent of eligible workers to get an election.
Ellis said higher wages would not be an issue for the proposed in-house union.
“We just want to have a binding contract,” Ellis said. “I don’t foresee a whole lot of changes in our current work rules.”
Frontier has opposed flight-attendant unionization.
“We prefer to work directly with our employees rather than through a third-party negotiator,” said Frontier spokesman Joe Hodas.
Staff writer Kelly Yamanouchi can be reached at 303-820-1488 or kyamanouchi@denverpost.com.
