Aug. 13 (Bloomberg) — Virgin America Inc. flight attendants voted to establish the first union at the airline partly owned by U.K. billionaire Richard Branson, ending its status as the largest U.S. carrier without organized labor.

Collective bargaining with the Transport Workers Union raises the prospect of higher operating costs for the airline, which filed July 28 for an initial public offering. The carrier reported second-quarter net income of $37 million yesterday after posting its first annual profit in 2013.

Today's vote follows a decision in April by pilots at JetBlue Airways Corp. to join the Air Line Pilots Association, ending that carrier's status as the largest nonunion U.S. airline at that time. JetBlue flight attendants also are seeking an election on TWU representation.

Virgin America's attendants supported the TWU with 58 percent of the ballots cast, the labor group said in a statement. It was the second union vote for attendants at Burlingame, California-based Virgin America, who rejected the TWU in December 2011.

Complete your profile to continue reading and get FREE access to BenefitsPRO, part of your ALM digital membership.

  • Critical BenefitsPRO information including cutting edge post-reform success strategies, access to educational webcasts and videos, resources from industry leaders, and informative Newsletters.
  • Exclusive discounts on ALM, BenefitsPRO magazine and BenefitsPRO.com events
  • Access to other award-winning ALM websites including ThinkAdvisor.com and Law.com
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.

Employer-Paid
Employee-Paid
Employee Participation