Flight attendants at Twin Cities-based Sun Country Airlines have overwhelmingly voted to authorize a strike.

The action comes after the carrier reported $1 billion in revenue for the first time ever last year and record revenue in the first quarter of this year. The carrier has not given flight attendants a wage adjustment since 2016, the union representing 558 cabin crew members said.

"We voted to strike for one simple reason: Sun Country is dragging out the negotiation process and we are fed up," said Tanya DeVito, a flight attendant and member of the Sun Country Teamsters Local 120 Bargaining Committee. "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."

DeVito said 99% of flight attendants voted to authorize a strike, and "that is not a number Sun Country can or should ignore."

Union officials said flight attendants' current pay puts them "far behind" their colleagues at similar carriers. The flight attendants' collective bargaining agreement became amendable in December 2019, the union said.

"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."

Sun Country customers can be assured that the strike authorization vote will not impact their travel, an airline spokeswoman said.

Sun Country and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) Local 120, representing Sun Country's flight attendants are presently negotiating a new contract with the assistance of a mediator from the National Mediation Board (NMB).

"We are confident an agreement will be reached that Sun Country's flight attendants will be proud to support and that supports the future of our airline," the carrier said.