Alaska Airlines flight attendants authorize strike, but nothing planned

Flight attendants with Alaska Airlines have voted to authorize a strike for the first time in more than 30 years.

News of the vote emerged as more than 60 flight attendants protested for better pay outside the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport on Feb. 13.

The vote does not mean a strike will occur. But the decision raises the stakes in an effort by the attendants to negotiate what they say is their first new contract in a decade. They say Alaska Airlines has awarded large pay increases to pilots but does not provide a livable wage to some of its flight attendants.

The negotiations ha...