American Airlines Flight Attendants Get a Tentative Contract Agreement

American Airlines’ management and the union representing its flight attendants have reached a tentative contract agreement after months of contentious negotiations. The Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA) announced today that a new contract would be presented to the APFA Board of Directors and Executive Committee to review. This comes after a week of bargaining as the flight attendants threatened to strike.

The details of the contract have not been released publicly, but it’s a good sign that a tentative agreement has been reached. If American reaches an agreement with its flight attendants’ union, it will be the second major airline to do so. Southwest Airlines’ flight attendants ratified a new contract, Alaska Airlines is close with a tentative contract accepted, and United Airlines is ready for a strike authorization vote. Flight attendants have long been pushing for new contracts and this is a step in the right direction.

Julie Hedrick, National President of APFA, relayed the following in a news release:

Our latest contract negotiations have resulted in significant benefits for our Flight Attendants. After years of bargaining and with the assistance of the National Mediation Board, we have reached a long overdue agreement with American Airlines, which addresses our concerns in compensation, work rules, and retroactive pay. If approved, this agreement will put billions of additional dollars into compensation and work rules for our Flight Attendant workgroup.

 

APFA would like to thank the 28,000 Flight Attendants whose participation in this process achieved this tentative agreement. Endless picketing events, engagement with the media and the traveling public, and a solid 99.47% ‘yes’ strike vote authorization pushed this management team to a tentative contract that rightfully addresses our scheduling and economic needs. Strikes and the threat of strikes work.

 

We look forward to presenting the tentative agreement to the Board of Directors and Executive Committee. Pending their approval, the 28,000 members of APFA will have the final vote on ratifying this agreement.”

Union leaders were pushing for an unprecedented pay increase and there is hope that they will see something substantial. The question will then be how the financially struggling  American Airlines will be able to afford to pay these new rates.

Anthony’s Take: Flight attendants do not have the easiest jobs. They are far from what was once a glamorous way to fly around the world. Long hours, ever-crazier passengers, and pressure from airlines to sell credit cards and maintain service with tons of cuts put lots of pressure on them. I hope they get a good raise and that other carriers follow suit.

(Image Credits: American Airlines.)