The union representing 26,000 American Airlines flight attendants has escalated its threat to strike during the busy Christmas travel season, saying the carrier is stalling contract negotiations.
The Association of Professional Flight Attendants on Tuesday issued a November 17 deadline for AA to ‘make significant and meaningful moves to reach an agreement’ on a new deal.
On that date, the APFA board will meet to seek a release from the mediation process, triggering a 30-day countdown until the flight attendants could launch their strike — meaning a walkout might start days before Christmas.
‘Time’s up. At last week’s negotiations session, negotiators for American Airlines showed up with no response to our comprehensive economic and non-economic packages,’ said APFA President Julie Hedrick, a Los Angeles-based flight attendant.
‘Our flight attendants have overwhelmingly authorized a strike, and we will move the process forward and prepare for a strike if necessary,’ she added.
The union representing 26,000 American Airlines flight attendants has escalated its threat to strike during the busy Christmas travel season as it fights for a better contract
APFA President Julie Hedrick and American Airlines CEO Robert Isom are seen above
An American Airlines spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment from DailyMail.com on Wednesday afternoon.
The flight attendants are seeking an immediate 33 percent wage increase, plus incremental bumps over the next four years that would raise their pay a total of 50 percent from current levels.
Under the proposal, starting flight attendants, who currently make $30.35 per hour, would get a raise to $40.37, with further annual bumps to come.
The last management proposal called for an 11 percent initial pay raise, and 2 percent pay increases over each of the following four years, or a total increase of about 19 percent over five years.
The union is also seeking key concessions on scheduling, vacation and sick leave, retirement benefits, and a return to pre-COVID staffing levels.
A union spokesperson told DailyMail.com that flight attendants deserve the improved compensation package, particularly in light of the rise in shocking incidents of unruly and abusive passengers.
‘The job has totally changed — 100 percent changed. Flight attendants are being assaulted weekly,’ the person said.
‘Flight attendants are flying longer days with less rest. They’re flying more flights per day and their duty days, the time that they’re required to be on duty for the entire day, have increased as well,’ the person said.
In August, 99.47 percent of participating flight attendants voted to authorize a strike.
The union is currently working under a contract that was agreed to nearly a decade ago, in 2014.
In August, 99.47 percent of participating flight attendants voted to authorize a strike
The union is currently working under a contract that was agreed to nearly a decade ago, in 2014
Flight attendants fall under the federal Railway Labor Act, meaning their contracts do not expire until a new agreement has been reached, though they can be amended.
The law also lays down strict guidelines around strikes and places contract negotiations under government mediation, in an attempt to preserve worker rights while preventing disruptions to critical infrastructure.
The AA flight attendant’s contract became amendable in 2019, and after pandemic delays, the union filed for mediation in March, and talks began in June.
The union says that at the most recent mediation session last week, management had no response to its proposals, and instead spend the session arguing that any retroactive pay increases should be deducted from future raises.
‘Needless to say, your committee firmly rejected that approach and what can only be described as delay tactics,’ the union negotiating committee said in a message to members.
‘The ball is firmly in management’s court,’ the committee added. ‘If they don’t have a proposal, we have a deadline, and failure to meet that deadline will result in a request to be released.’
The union is calling on all members to picket airports on November 16 to raise awareness ahead of the key deadline
The union says that if AA ‘fails to make substantial movement towards concluding these negotiations’ the APFA Board of Directors will meet on Friday, November 17th.
The sole purpose of that meeting would be to approve a request that the members of the National Mediation Board release APFA and American Airlines from mediation.
That would start a 30-day ‘cooling off’ period, after which the flight attendants would be able to launch their strike.
The union is calling on all members to picket airports on November 16 to raise awareness ahead of the key deadline.
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