WHAT TO KNOW
The largest flight attendant in the United States will no longer represent members at what was the regional carrier Mesa Air following its merger with Republic Airways. On Monday, the National Mediation Board confirmed that the Teamsters would be the sole workplace representative of Republic flight attendants as they become a single workforce.
In this article
- Mesa Air agreed to merge with Republic in April 2025 but flight attendants continued working as separate groups.
- AFA leader Sara Nelson said the union was “extremely sad” to no longer represent Mesa’s crew members.
- Mesa Air’s fleet will continue to fly on behalf of United Express under a 10 year contract.
The largest flight attendant union in the United States is just about to get a little bit smaller, as it was announced on Monday that it would no longer represent crew members at the regional carrier Mesa Air, which flies on behalf of United Express.
The Association of Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA) represents tens of thousands of crew members across the U.S., including most prominently flight attendants at United Airlines and Alaska Airlines.
But the union is also the official bargaining representative of lots of much smaller airlines that you might not have heard of. These are the airlines that fly on behalf of other carriers, operating regional services at a much cheaper cost than the mainline operation.
Along with Mesa Air, AFA also represents crew members at regional carriers like Air Wisconsin, Endeavor, Piedmont, and GoJet.
The future of AFA’s involvement with Mesa Air has, however, been in doubt since April 2025, when the airline announced that it would merge with rival regional carrier Republic Airways, with the latter being the dominant partner.
Under the terms of the deal, Mesa Air will continue flying exclusively on behalf of United Airlines as part of a 10-year contract, but flight attendants from both airlines will be merged into a single workforce under one collective bargaining agreement.
As Republic Airways flight attendants have long been represented by the Teamsters, the question was: which union would continue to bargain on behalf of the single flight attendant workforce?
We now have the answer, with the National Mediation Board certifying the Teamsters as the official representative of all flight attendants at Republic and Mesa during the continued operational merger.
In a joint statement from AFA leader Sara Nelson and Dustin Roach, the president of Teamsters Local 135, the two explained: “We want to assure you that as the leaders of the two unions involved in this merger, we together made the decision from the start to ensure our solidarity was stronger than any attempt by management to divide us.”
“There is no doubt that AFA is extremely sad to no longer directly represent Mesa Flight Attendants. But together we are committed and confident that your representation will continue to be strong moving forward,” the statement added.
AFA has long been highly critical of the regional airline model in which large U.S. airlines contract out regional services at a much lower cost than their mainline services. Flight attendants operating United Express services at Mesa Air are paid, on average, 45% less than crew members who are directly employed by the Chicago-based carrier, the union claims.
Nelson has called for an end to the ‘two-tier’ employment model in which regional flight attendants often find themselves struggling to make ends meet while crew members working for the mainline carrier earn nearly double the amount of money for doing the same job.
In August 2025, AFA reached an agreement with Mesa to bring its members’ wages up to the levels that Republic crew members earn, while a joint collective bargaining agreement for the merged workforce is negotiated.
Your questions, answered
The Teamsters. The National Mediation Board has certified the Teamsters as the official representative of all flight attendants at Republic Airways and Mesa Air during the merger, replacing the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) at Mesa.
Mesa Air is merging with Republic Airways, the dominant partner in the deal. Flight attendants at both airlines will become a single workforce under one contract, and Republic’s crew have long been represented by the Teamsters.
Yes. Under the merger terms, Mesa will continue flying exclusively for United Airlines under a 10-year contract.
According to the Association of Flight Attendants, Mesa flight attendants flying United Express services are paid on average 45% less than flight attendants employed directly by United. In August 2025, AFA reached an agreement with Mesa to raise its members’ pay to Republic levels while a joint contract is negotiated.
Want to see more stories like this? Add PYOK as a preferred source on Google, and we’ll show up more often in your searches and Google News.
Related
Subscribe to our newsletter
No spam, just a weekly roundup of the best aviation news that you don’t want to miss
Source: www.paddleyourownkanoo.com
