Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, AI NEWS—Flight attendants union challenges planned sale of Spirit Airlines data for AI training, citing worker privacy concerns, (Aug 31, 2026)

By Brandi O. Brown, J.D.

AFA-CWA seeks to block a proposed $10 million sale of Spirit Airlines workers’ emails, messages, and workplace data to Google for AI training, arguing workers never consented to the transaction.

The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA) is objecting to a proposed sale of Spirit Airlines data to Google, arguing before a bankruptcy court that the transaction could expose sensitive employee and customer information and set a troubling precedent for workers whose data remains in corporate systems after they leave a company.

The dispute stems from Spirit Airlines' bankruptcy proceedings, where, the union alleges, “substantially the entire employment and workplace record of Spirit Airlines,” including nearly 100 million emails, 500 million Microsoft Teams messages, and data related to aircraft operations, human resources, and customer-service functions were included in an auction of assets. Google submitted the winning bid of $10 million, exceeding a competing offer from artificial intelligence company Mercor.io by $2.5 million, according to the Communications Workers of America.

CWA said Google has indicated the data would be used to train artificial intelligence models.

Court challenge has delayed sale. The sale was expected to move forward this month but has been delayed until September 9 after AFA-CWA filed an objection challenging the transaction.

In a press statement highlighted by CWA, the union argued that promises by the employer to "deidentify" the records do not adequately protect workers and others whose information may be contained in the data. The union said the sale agreement lacks provisions specifically addressing the confidentiality of the records and raised concerns that information about identifiable individuals or small groups could potentially be reconstructed from the dataset.

AFA-CWA International President Sara Nelson said the planned sale comes as some Spirit flight attendants are still seeking payment for accrued vacation, sick leave, and other compensation. She called the proposed transfer of data "adding insult to injury" and said workers did not consent to the sale of their personal information.

"This case could have far-reaching implications for workers in general if personal information is allowed to be sold after a worker leaves the company," CWA said in its August 27 announcement.

CWA described the Spirit data sale as part of a broader debate over worker privacy and the use of AI technologies, an area in which the union has increasingly focused its advocacy efforts.

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