Press Releases
Sun Country Teamsters Vote to Authorize Strike
Flight Attendants Demand Improved Compensation Package
Press Contact: Matt McQuaid Phone: (202) 624-6877 Email: mmcquaid@teamster.org
(MINNEAPOLIS) – 558 Teamsters Local 120 flight attendants at Sun Country Airlines have voted to authorize a strike.
“The people who run this company want to sit back and do nothing but collect a fat check while everyone else at Sun Country works hard for peanuts,” said Tom Erickson, President of Local 120 and Teamsters Central Region International Vice President. “They’re in for a rude awakening. Our members are furious, and they will do whatever it takes to get what they deserve.”
Last year, Sun Country Airlines exceeded $1 billion in revenue for the first time. In the first quarter of this year, they reported greater revenue than ever before. The flight attendants haven’t had a wage adjustment since 2016, and their collective bargaining agreement became fully amendable on December 31, 2019. Their current pay scale puts them far behind their colleagues at similar carriers.
“Sun Country CEO Jude Bricker told shareholders last year that they made a lot of money because of their ‘unique business model.’ That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard in my life,” said Chris Riley, Local 120 Business Agent. “This carrier is making more money than ever because it’s short-changing its workforce. Sun Country needs to share the wealth.”
“We voted to strike for one simple reason — Sun Country is dragging out the negotiation process and we are fed up. We are fighting for the contract we deserve,” said Tanya DeVito, a flight attendant and member of the Sun Country Teamsters Local 120 Bargaining Committee. “99 percent of those eligible to vote have authorized a strike. That is not a number that Sun Country can or should ignore. We expect a solid economic package to be brought to us at September’s mediation session, or we will take this to the next level.”
Teamsters Local 120 represents over 12,000 hard working men and women throughout Minnesota, Iowa and the Dakotas. For more information, go to teamsterslocal120.org/.