Five Years Without a Contract: Breeze Pilots Mark Airline’s Fifth Anniversary with Informational Picket

PROVIDENCE, R.I.—Pilots for Breeze Airways, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA), held an informational picket today at T.F. Green International Airport in Providence, Rhode Island, to mark the airline’s fifth anniversary of operations—not with a celebration, but with a call for progress on a long-overdue first contract.

“Five years without industry-standard compensation, benefits, job security, and quality-of-life protections is unacceptable. There is no anniversary milestone for Breeze pilots to celebrate. For us, it is a reminder that we have not had a contract since the airline was created, and there is no agreement in sight,” said Capt. Alex Kluge, chair of the Breeze ALPA Master Executive Council (MEC). 

Breeze pilots have been flying without a contract since the airline’s founding, one of only a handful of union-represented airlines that have gone this long without reaching an agreement with its pilots.

Earlier this year, ALPA filed a lawsuit against Breeze in federal court, alleging bad-faith bargaining and saying negotiations have slowed to a crawl over the past three years due to management stalling. The suit asks the court to demand that the airline bargain in good faith and cease its efforts to undermine the union.

“Our pilots deserve more than birthday cake. The time for a fair contract is now, and we will keep up the pressure until we achieve one. The day we celebrate is the day we reach an agreement,” said Kluge.

For more details about the Breeze pilots’ contract negotiations, visit faircontractnow.com

Founded in 1931, ALPA is the largest airline pilot union in the world and represents more than 80,000 pilots at 42 airlines in the United States and Canada. Visit alpa.org or follow us on Twitter @ALPAPilots.

CONTACT: ALPA Media, 703-481-4440 or media@alpa.org