Teamsters Sue Horizon Air Over Pilot Rest Rules as Contract Talks Pass 3.5 Years

SEATTLE, Nov. 6, 2026 — The Teamsters have sued Alaska Air Group regional Horizon Air in federal court. The union says Horizon is breaking negotiated rest protections for pilots who report fatigue.

The lawsuit

Who: the Teamsters Airline Division and Local 1224, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.
Claim: pilots who report fatigue at their home base are made to ride as passengers to another city before they can take contractual rest. The union says this violates the Railway Labor Act.
Ask: an order stopping the practice and restoring the rest protections.
Filed: Oct. 23, 2026, and reported on Nov. 5. Hearing date: TBA.
Pilot Sean Lenney said: “Management cannot pick and choose which parts of our contract it wants to follow.”

Wider labor picture

Of the pilots who voted, 99% backed a no-confidence vote in Carlos Zendejas, Horizon’s SVP of Operations. The Horizon Air Pilots Executive Council wants him removed.
Contract talks have run more than 3.5 years.
Pilots held informational pickets on Oct. 15 in Seattle and Boise over pay, staffing and training.

What it means for non-revs

Nothing changes on Horizon operations today. The pickets were informational, and no strike has been called.
Rising tension on the regional side can show up as staffing-related cancellations. On Horizon-operated Alaska flights, especially from Seattle and Boise, keep a backup on the next departure.