American Airlines reached an agreement with its flight attendants union on a new contract. It provides 18% – 20% raises right away, full retro pay, plus boarding pay which the union says averages to an 8.5% raise.
However it also means more time that new flight attendants will work ‘straight reserve’, making lives harder only for new hires and effectively creating B-scale work rules.
The big challenge is whether this contract will be approved by members, or – like the last one – it gets voted down. That would mean after further lengthy negotiations we could be staring down risk of a strike once again.
- On the one hand, flight attendants may feel that they can do better. Senior crew are better-positioned to defer raises, while the most junior crew based in Boston are eligible for food stamps. Rejecting the agreement, the thinking goes, can only mean a better contract later.
- However American Airlines underperforms financially. They don’t currently expect to make any money this quarter, in what’s traditionally a strong period. If the economy heads into recession the gains currently on the table might no longer be available.
Against this backdrop, the American Airlines Los Angeles flight attendants base President has come out against ratifying the new contract. There are many priorities, he says, that the union didn’t negotiate for.
Any contract that flight attendants agree to, they’ll need to live with for up to a decade even though this is a five-year deal. That’s because it’s only once a contract becomes amendable that negotiations begin in earnest. This deal took five years to negotiate (though it was delayed by the pandemic – flight attendants certainly wouldn’t have wanted any contract that could have been on the table in 2020 when the airline was furloughing crew).
- Reserve system not improved. In theory requiring new hires to work more straight reserve helps senior crew, but it’s no benefit at bases that aren’t hiring new crew. American has gone as long as 12 years without hiring new flight attendants. Better, he says, is creating a financial incentive not to schedule as many crew to work require (“[r]equiring AA to pay an additional $10-$15 per reserve hour over the regular wage rate would reduce the need for reserves having to pick up trips on their precious days off”) since I’d note that the airline schedules about twice as many crew for reserve as they did prior to US Airways management taking over.
- New contract limits ability of flight attendants to transfer bases (work locations). Since the contract allows for out of base flight attendants to pick up trips, that reduces the need for the airline to allow transfers to understaffed bases (“the company would now have what amounts to a system wide open time pool”).
- Delta and United flight attendants will quickly earn more and this contract contains no snap up provision. Often contracts will say that when an airline with an upcoming negotiation like United gets a new contract, this one will beat it by 1%. Non-union Delta generally gives employees raises annually. Meanwhile, there’s no provision for increases in out years (such as inflation increases) once the contract becomes amendable, so the longer a new contract takes the more money the company might save.
- Many of the improvements don’t come for years since improvements are deferred in some cases a year or two for implementation. There’s no built-in penalty for missing implementation deadlines, or even for contractual violations more broadly.
- Boarding pay just trades off with wages. I’ve been writing about this for two years, with flight attendants refusing to believe me. Unions didn’t demand boarding pay in the past because they preferred having higher wages spread out over less work time. Junior crew tend to work more short flights and spend more time boarding, so having wages rolled into flight time redistributes pay from junior flight attendants to more senior ones.
Once Delta gave their flight attendants boarding pay as an add-on, that created pressure on unions to demand it in negotiations, but as the LAX Base President observes this simply reduces the raises they got.
While boarding pay was a huge focus in these negotiations, its effect on lowering the hourly rate cannot be ignored. When I learned that boarding pay would come at the expense of the hourly rate increase, I suggested to APFA leadership that the membership be given two options when voting on a TA:
– Lower hourly rate with boarding pay, and
– Higher hourly rate without boarding pay.
We all know that our unpaid time during boarding is the hardest part of the flight. It is not a question as to whether we deserve it. Of course we deserve it. The question I have is regarding the fact that it came at the expense of the hourly rate. The membership should have had a choice.
I’d add that the union didn’t negotiation a return to pre-pandemic staffing levels for widebody aircraft. American continues to reduced staffing on long haul aircraft, despite bringing back service levels.
There are a number of issues that flight attendants are unhappy with in the new contract their union negotiated with American. The last time cabin crew voted on a contract, they voted it down. The union is doing a good job selling it, in my opinion, but the membership is clearly divided – and their powerful LAX base president has given new voice to the opposition.
Air waitress = waitress anywhere else .
Airline catering cook = hash-slinger anywhere else .
Airline questionable food-handling = questionable food handling anywhere else .
Airline passengers = subway riders anywhere else .
Note to Delta Flight Attendants:
Don’t ever buy the Unions pitch that they have your best interest at heart.
UNION FREE
If AA’s union walks away from this contract, they will be years before another one is offered and the chances are that AA’s deteriorating financial position means this is the best they will get.
Also, UA FAs won’t earn more until they get a new contract; right now, UA and the union appears to be hoping to jump past AA but, like AA FAs, can never recover the lost time value of money
The AA FAs may well vote down the contract however I disagree this will lead to a strike (at least for a very long time). As you well know, a strike can only occur after they are released to do so per the Railway Labor Act. That is only after an impasse is declared (and then there is a 30 day cooling off period). The fact AA and the union leadership agreed on a contract clearly demonstrates there is no impasse. If the union votes it down then AA can slow walk any changes making small incremental changes so that there is no impasse can be declared.
There is an old saying that “perfect is the enemy of good”. The union has to understand they won’t get all they want (no one ever does in a negotiation) and if they vote down this agreement it will be a long time before a revised one is offered while they don’t benefit from the increases (and don’t expect retro pay to make up for the full amount that would be lost). On the other hand, typical union behavior.
After 4M miles + 18 consecutive years of ExecPlat, I switched to DL in 2019. Happy I did. Better attitudes at terminals and gates, gracious FAs, and MUCH better clubs. Gave nearly all my miles away to kids and grandchildren.
Nothing in this article or quote says the LAX Base president is actually opposing or saying vote no on the contract…it says that they requested a choice and didn’t get it. Do you have more info that backs up your headline? Or is this just more typical Leff clickbait headlines and anti-union posting?
Here’s the full note @Bob. Your apology is accepted.
“TA – Thoughts and Considerstions
I cannot endorse or support the current Tentative Agreement.
The agreement before us lacks the dramatic improvements to our current reserve system which our membership…from most junior to most senior…need and deserve.
Our current reserve system is horribly broken. It robs us of our flexibility. It makes our work lives unbearable. And it undermines our financial stability. The harsh reality is that our reserve system is exhausting, inhumane and soul-crushing.
Since January 2019, I have been on a campaign to advocate for dramatic improvements to our reserve system. These changes were designed to restore our flexibility, create humane working conditions and reduce reserves seniority. I submitted numerous proposals over the years to help meet those goals.
It became obvious to me over the course of negotiations that there was no real commitment at APFA to overhaul the reserve system yet I continue to pursue improvement and change.
I sent an email on June 24, 2023 to APFA leadership explaining that I would vote NO on any contract which did not dramatically improve reserve for all…junior and senior.
I received no response.
I continued to follow up about reserve, but the release of the Tentative Agreement confirmed that little, to nothing, was done to fix our broken system.
– While allowing reserves to pick up from TTS on days off can be viewed as an improvement, the legality for picking up prior to reserve day have now been further restricted from 1800 HBT to 1600 HBT. This restricts the ability to pick up from TTS, and further restricts our ability to pick up from ETB
– Increasing the new hire straight reserve obligation does nothing for bases which do not receive new hires. It also does nothing for ANY base when AA is not hiring. Currently, all hiring is suspended indefinitely. As flight attendant transition to one- on-one-off and one-on-three-off, reserve seniority will begin to increase systenwide. Put into a historical context, LAA did not hire for 12 years.
– Reserve hours worked should be incentivized with pay above the hourly rate. Requiring AA to pay an additional $10-$15 per reserve hour over the regular wage rate would reduce the need for reserves having to pick up trips on their precious days off.
– A return to the LAA availability system would help alleviate the need for high reserve numbers. Flight attendants, in turn, would enjoy greater flexibility and more control over their schedules.
– The Negotieting Team promised long ago that they would work to resolve the issue of high reserve seniority at bases like LAX and PHX. The release of the Tenativr Agreement revealed that to be an empty, unfulfilled promise…with only a passing reference to some talks that might take place in the future. I reminded APFA leadership that the time to resolve this issue is within the context of negotiations. …not at some indeterminate time in the future.
– This round of collective bargaining also presented a ripe opportunity to negotiate for the return of our displaced flight attendants to LAX. This could have been done easily via a Letter Of Agreement attached to the TA.
– On a somewhat related note, the Out of Base UBL provision has the potential for reducing, or eliminating, transfer activity. If the company can depend on a certain number of flight attendants picking up Out of Base UBL, why offer transfers? without protections in place, the company would now have what amounts to a system wide open time pool.
– The term of this contract is five years. Given the typical foot-dragging by the company, we could be working under this contract for 10 years or more. It needs to serve our needs today…tomorrow…and well into the future. Are you willing to live with the current reserve system for the next decade or more?
While not an all-inclusive list, here are some additional observations about the TA:
– No snap up…even on a one-time basis… to match or exceed whatever pay rates United and Delta gets. This contract could be obsolete in a few short months.
– No provisions for cost-of-living increases beyond the amendable date of the contract to protect against company foot-dragging.
– A lengthy implementation schedule reminiscnent of the JCBA.
– No penalties from AA for failing to meet their own implementation schedule.
– No built-in penalties for contractual violations.
While boarding pay was a huge focus in these negotiations, its effect on lowering the hourly rate cannot be ignored. When I learned that boarding pay would come at the expense of the hourly rate increase, I suggested to APFA leadership that the membership be given two options when voting on a TA:
– Lower hourly rate with boarding pay, and
– Higher hourly rate without boarding pay.
We all know that our unpaid time during boarding is the hardest part of the flight. It is not a question as to whether we deserve it. Of course we deserve it. The question I have is regarding the fact that it came at the expense of the hourly rate. The membership should have had a choice.
The overarching question is what would ultimately happen if we reject this TA? Nobody can tell you definitively what the outcome would be, and fear of the known is a very credible fear.
Each APFA member has their individual choice to make. I am simply providing my viewpoint.
We all deserve substsntal pay increases which recognize our value to this airline. We deserve our retro pay. But we also deserve dramatic improvements to the systems and work rules which the company has weapomized against us.
Respectfully,
John Nikides
LAX Base President”
LOL a them realizing the boarding pay reduces your average hourly wage as it was already built in to your higher than average earnings once the door closed. Just amazing at how such simple economics concepts can fly in the face of so many.
With that said, it is crazy that they are agreeing to a contract that doesn’t even have inflation adjustments in out years. We will just be reliving this all again in another decade.
Forced to agree with Tim again. As an AA employee, I know first hand that if the first TA is rejected, the second one is never an improvement. And in the current economic environment, saying no to this TA could be a huge mistake.
Negotiations don’t have to wait until the amenable date. Some unions like to wait until that point because it gives them more leverage.
I’ve worked at airlines where the pilots reached the amenable date with a TA less than a month later, and where mechanics had a deal signed and approved and effective immediately following the end date of the prior contract.
Agreed also with those who stated that turning this down won’t lead to a better deal. It never does. It just becomes a war of attrition at that point.
Sounds like this LAX Base President at least has some realization of reality and how things work. What you bet APFA offers up LAX now as a concession of some sort?
“having wages rolled into flight time” I don’t understand what this means. Since shorter trips have a larger % of the time spent in boarding, and junior crew tend to get the shorter flights, junior crew gain the most by having boarding pay. And I can’t tell whether that’s what you’re saying or not.
I’m based in LAX and have 42 years. Voting opens tomorrow and it’s a hard NO VOTE for me along with all by flight attendants friends in LAX and PHX. There is NO, relief for our bases with this current TA. Do you think that someone that had been with the same company for over FOUR DECADES should be subjected to the current reserve system??!!! This contract will NOT pass based on this alone.
@P – just retire. after 42 years you are clearly one of the old worn down FAs that AA has too many of now. There should be mandatory retirement (like for pilots) and incentives to get new, cheaper, more customer focused FAs instead of the sad old crew I usually see when I fly AA. If you hate the company so much PLEASE just leave – we would all be better off!!!!!
@AC—I’ll bet you’re just a joy to be around. Try to not be such an a$$hole.
@Richard:
That’s essentially correct. A flight attendant with more of their time spent boarding obviously benefits more from boarding pay. But assuming they all work the same number of hours, junior or senior, a higher hourly base rate without boarding pay would benefit everyone. My understanding is it would also benefit those on reserve who are working toward a guarantee – more money even if they don’t get utilized to the point they’d normally fly given a bid line.
Just about everything in the end money wise is calculated from your base per flight hour rate. Everyone should know the reality is going to be that the F/A group won’t get boarding pay AND a higher hourly scale that combines into any number other than what the company is going to want to pay in total anyway. I think chasing boarding pay is foolish move by the union. Getting another 5-10% on base would be better.
What I never understand is why anyone would want to be a flight attendant at AA (or any airline) knowing that being a junior for several years is going to mean being on reserve, having irregular schedules, being paid poorly, and having to put up with obnoxious passengers and management. Don’t people ask any questions or investigate possible disadvantages of a job before they apply? If so and you still want the job, then don’t complain.
AA has no incentive to grow LAX or Let anyone new in the base
All the FA’s have FMLA from LAX Chiropractic and call in sick whenever they want
they get CA sick time on top of that (40 hours of flight pay per year aka half of 1 month
seniors get 35 vacation days (140 flight hours aka 2 months off)
All the FAs in LA want to use and abuse the system
You reap what you sow
Cry Babies
making 100K as a senior FA easy
even on RSV can pick whatever open trip you want if you know how to use the systems
This LAX union president is lying. Delta has allowed out of base pick up for years they also allow flight attendants to transfer bases temporarily and from what I understand it has had no effect on permanent base transfers. Allowing FA’s to pick up out of base is a great perk for flight attendants who are commuters who might live near DFW or CLT but are forced to commute to BOS. At Delta FA’s who live in or near ATL but are based out of BOS can pick up trips out of ATL after the trips have been made available to ATL based FA’s.
Then there is boarding pay, where Delta new hires (already making more money than AA new hires) are making at least $350 additional dollars in board pay per month. Boarding pay doesn’t necessarily benefit senior mommas and papas who generally only fly 1 leg maybe 2 legs a day, whereas new hires are flying 3 and 4 legs per day. All that boarding pay adds up for new hires and lets face it when looking at the seniority based pay scale if boarding pay were to go away in favor or a larger hourly pay the largest increases in hourly pay would go to flight attendants at the top end of the pay scale they would most likely see an addition $3 – $5 dollars per credit hour while new hires would only see $.20 – $.60 cents per credit hour.
This LAX union president isn’t fighting for all the membership they are simply fighting for flight attendants who are at the top of the pay scale while screwing over every single new hire.
Delta you all better vote no to UNIONIZING.
Unionized carriers did NOTHING about boarding pay for 50+ years! Their members continued to board aircraft for free.
After non-union Delta added this to pay to their flight attendants wages, EVERY union suddenly took an interest.
Now, the union president of LAX APFA declares FAs should have a “choice” of the pay as it favors more junior attendants.
Where has the union been for 50 years when the union allowed this wage theft of employees in the first place?
Where was the union when the FAs had “no choice” but to board an aircraft for free?
“That’s the way it’s always been” said the union reps. Well, today, things are changing and that powerful union isn’t what it has claimed to be…the inept union wizard hidden behind a curtain.
Unions in seniory-based remuneration systems is where the 51% most senior employees go to screw over the 49% more recent hires. It’s as far from “we’re all in this together” as you can get.
The whole thing stinks so much, starting with the very un-American seniority (vs. meritocratic) system, which IMHO should be outlawed outright, it’s an embarrassment to the US Constitution.
Not even close to “full retro pay”. Not sure where you got that idea.
It’s clear that John’ s priorities are heavily skewed toward senior FA’s. Long reserve times are one of the downsides of being based at a competitive, senior base this in not unique to AA. There is no such thing as “reserve relief” unless you forced everyone to do a reserve rotational “Delta A days” situation, which the senior mamas at every base would kick and scream about even more loudly. The union is also never going to be able to negotiate displaced former LAX based FA’s back to the base, management is never going to agree to have to force flying to a particular base to match staffing or to have a bunch of FA’s sitting around with not enough flying and having to forfeit revenue by deadheading them everywhere as a matter of course. Going back to the “LAA reserve system” is also laughable since the current reserve numbers were put in place to make the operation reliable, which is frankly the only thing AA really has going for it right now, it certainly isn’t the product or the service. John is basically saying the quiet part out loud, if you aren’t a super senior FA this contract is probably the best that’s been offered in decades.
Strike. Quit. Retire. Go work for any other airline. Try a new career. At some point own your career choice.
“Powerful leader” lmao no she’s not.
gotta love non fa’s clamor for a merit system instead if seniority…. picture having a supervisor on every flight every day to do QA checks or which fa smiles the most during the demo… also boarding time pay wasn’t as much of an issue in the past 50 yrs because sit times weren’t as onerous as they are now. simple 1 day trips used to go to a destination & back with the same plane & crew with minimal down time, now its an ac swap, different pilots, & half the cabin crew…. keep it simple stupid.
Full retroactive pay? You’d better read the tentative agreement again. 2%, 3%……
Junior FAs have to “pay their dues” just as they Senior members have. That is how it works.
@Michael M – that represents raises you would have gotten had there been a contract in place, and it’s more generous than reality, you’re getting paid for theoretical raises *IN 2020* and *IN 2021* while flight attendants were on furlough due to Covid, even. In a sense this is MORE THAN full retro pay.
Very thought provoking article. I agree that if one’s job is that bad then they should probably retire or work somewhere else. I don’t like this union. Why bring the airline to its knees? Hurting one’s employer can’t be a good tactic. Logic says that hurting the one that feeds you is a bad idea. Senior FA’s need to get off their pedestal. The better FA’s should get the better assignments. Perhaps that might change the service standards for a nice change.
Powerful union??? Lololollololol….. their a joke!
@MikeL
Airlines the past 50 years would never allow negotiations on boarding pay. It was the first thing they stated during negotiations. Airlines would not allow it or talk about it. The end. Only speak of you know the facts or you look ignorant. The union have trued forever.
Said “Powerful Union Leader” has largely gone unchecked over the last decade or so but continues to see his “power” erode at his base. Largely unopposed for multiple elections, he has seen opposition the last several elections and although he prevailed, his margin is slipping and in a few months will face a MONUMENTAL challenge to his stranglehold. NOTwithstanding that, he remained silent on the TA for several weeks until a small proportion of his base took to social media to voice its displeasure. Then, and ONLY then, did he seize the opportunity to bandwagon that and try to win favor with the relatively small band of discontent. Classic case of NOT seeing the forest for the trees.
If you don’t like being on reserve transfer to a new base PSA flight attendants had to commute to Philadelphia because us closed their base so stop complaining
We aren’t “headed BACK to a strike because “we” were never headed there in the first place.
There is no way on God’s Green Earth Biden would authorize a strike before the election, and you know full well, clickbait aside, that is what would have to happen.
I have been aa fa for 23 yrs do people understand that when we get to the hotel we only get 8 hrs behind the door , also even if u have sick time u get punishment unless u get fmla!
AA still flies to LAX? Could have fooled me.
MikeL: Boarding pay is a joke and a red herring. The outrageously high hourly in-flight pay is set artificially high to compensate for that and everyone knows it.
@lovetofly – you nailed it!
@Gary – your headline reads “Powerful . . .”. How is this leader powerful when the LAX base experienced a 30% call out rate which contributed to the base reducing in size to 1500 flight attendants (out of 28,000 across all bases) and implement a stronger reserve system to ensure flights aren’t delayed or cancelled. That’s more customer centric right?
Your opinions on these posts only cover minute details and not the business acumen. Sticking with what you profess is your expertise – mileage and business passenger experience- would be better suited for you.