The flight attendants union at American Airlines has been in protracted contract negotiations. They’ve sought to strike since last year – their goal was to walk out during the Christmas holidays, leaving the airline without flights and travelers stranded.
Since then they’ve moderated their demands, and the company has raised its offer, and negotiations have continued. The National Mediation Board hasn’t wanted to allow a major airline to strike – certainly not in the lead up to a Presidential election.
A major airline strike would be bad for the economy, and bad for passengers (voters). It would withdraw a substantial chunk of seat capacity from the domestic market, sending airfares skyrocketing. And declaring an impasse in negotiations, starting the clock on a 30-day cooling off period which is required before an airline union can strike, would put the President in the untenable position of having to back a union (his base) or passengers (voters) in deciding whether to put off any strike with a Presidential Emergency Board.
The union believed that negotiations in early June were a “last ditch” effort and there was talk that the Mediation Board would allow a strike if no agreement was reached. That’s what they told flight attendants to prepare for – going so far as to ready themselves not to pay their credit cards.
However the Mediation Board summoned the parties to D.C. again for a rare weekend session. No agreement was reached on Saturday, or in negotiations that extended into Sunday. But we seem to be close.
Once union officer elections had passed, allowing negotiators to back off of some of positions they’d promised their members, they edged their demands closer to within the zone of possible agreement. Meanwhile, Delta’s decision to give their flight attendants a raise and a new contract at Southwest Airlines pushed up American’s bargaining position and the sides got closer. The union’s rhetoric shifted.
Now, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants is saying that they’re close but no agreement yet:
After two days of intensive discussions, progress was made, but an agreement was not reached. Your negotiating committee is fighting hard to reach an agreement, but it must be an agreement that meets the needs of the membership.
First and second year American Airlines flight attendants based in Boston are eligible for food stamps. Wage rates haven’t been adjusted since January 1, 2019 and inflation has eroded the value of those wages over the past three years especially.
The airline offered a 17% wage increase to pay flight attendants more while they negotiated, setting a new bargaining floor but the union turned that down – preferring to keep flight attendants desperate and angry and ready to strike.
A new contract is needed, and wages should be adjusted up, but a strike itself won’t benefit American Airlines or flight attendants at the carrier. It will, potentially, benefit flight attendants at United Airlines. United’s parent union even lent American’s union its chief negotiator, even though they too are in three-year long negotiations. That’s because United wants to see American Airlines flight attendants go first and set a new bar for their own bargaining sessions (and potentially see American Airlines flight attendants strike, so they don’t have to).
Hopefully this messaging suggests we’re closer than ever to a new agreement that both sides can live with – and then that the union can sell the contract they negotiate to flight attendants, who have been promised that the wait will be worth it in terms of big raises and full retro pay for four and a half years since their deal became amendable.
AA F/As, can you not see your being used by the AFA?
You are, I should have written.
@Gary, notice they’re (APFA) no longer using the entitled “…contact we deserve…” rhetoric and switched it to “…have earned”.
Means the APFA has backed off their extortion style demands and will have to present something far less than they’ve cackled about for the last several years.
They don’t mean to, obviously, but I think the union is signaling weakness, which (I hope!) means a settlement will happen. And, come what may, I still think that no strike will happen before the election.T
Wildcat strike anyway , just to show them .
Still lock them out.
Inflight service at AA sucks. Nothing will change.
The union thugs got their orders from their elitist leftist ruling class thugs. Toe the line, or else.
Power to the workers. FAs will not budge because AA knows they will have to cave the moment a strike begins. Margins are too slim in this industry for there to be any kind of stoppage of service. It is genuinely funny watching anti-unionists scramble.
The AFPA are lying thugs and the Government and AA FA Membership should dissolve them for repeatedly lying, malpractice, and incompetence.
No way they are getting what they have been promising to the FA’s. Those ridiculous signs they printed are proof of their lies.
The AFPA Officers should forgo ALL annual oay and put into the non-existent strike fund.
Oh, and Y’all “wildcatter” commenters realize it’s illegal. So have fun in jail with no pay, no job, and no Union to represent you since your non paying dues.
LOCK THEM OUT.
I just flew AA JFK-SNA this morning J. The FAs were top notch and the lounge was clean and staffed. Had my best AA flight and it could easily compete with the experience on UA or DL. Not everyone has a lousy time on AA.
LOCK THEM OUT! Where is my picket line?
There is so much misinformation in this article I don’t even know where to start. Trying to set the record straight would take a several paragraph response. Suffice it to say that most of what is written is not correct and the rest has been twisted.
I find it funny how the real losers of this contract will be the AA flyers, or more specifically those in the comments section.
No strike means no lock out. Lmao how devastating
These people work very hard with sometimes rowdy and unruly passengers. Their job is demanding and they are often away from home and family. Their pay is not good and the fact that they have gone 5 years without a raise or contract is beyond comprehension to me. They are all deserving of a retroactive pay raise in a lump sum and a fair and good contract going forward. I am glad they have a union fighting for them, otherwise, they would be even more at the mercy of the Airline. Hope they come to an agreement though. My wife has AA flights back and forth to Canada later this month!
Gary your audience that comment “lock them out,” from where are these people reading your work? A cave? Under a rock? 1898?
This is not a factory job or oil platform where a strong back is the only requirement.
If AA were to lock out the F/As, no “silver birds” would fly for at least a month. Flight attendants are mandated by the FAA, one per every 50 seats on passenger aircraft. Those flight attendants have to pass a training course with specific instruction on each and every different type aircraft within the fleet.
So yeah, lock them out and good-bye USAAir – like off the face of the map
I am one of those Flight Attendants you would like to see ‘locked out’. Keep that in mind if God forbid, you ever find yourself in a burning airplane, and the ONLY hope you have of surviving is that greedy, entitled Flight Attendant, sacrificing their life for yours. Good luck getting that from a coke machine! Our ‘leader’ felt entitled to grab 31 million dollars from our hard work and sacrifices. Need I say more?! Get a clue before you spout!
I’d also add do these people asking for a lockout actually know what the rules are? They can’t hire permanent replacement workers, so every one of the FA’s you currently dislike would be allowed to work again once the airline agrees to a new contract. Also how many people do you think are signing up to be a temporary flight attendant? To get paid terribly, have terrible work rules, have to go through weeks of training and then be replaced the moment the company and the union strike an agreement. Oh and if you’re not replaced and kept on, all of your colleagues will know you’re a SCAB and I’m sure your flying life will be full of fun…
I’m convinced anyone asking for a lockout here is just ignorant of the facts of this dispute.
@Gary maybe you should write a more educational article about the possible outcomes here, seems like a lot of your audience are confused?
My guess is that American will also give flight attendance first class seats on their deadhead flights, just like they gave the pilots in January. Eventually first class will be exclusive to American Airlines employees only.
“…you ever find yourself in a burning airplane, and the ONLY hope you have of surviving is that greedy, entitled Flight Attendant, sacrificing their life for yours.”
Yes, clearly one of my more prominent fears. If I have to rely on this scenario, then I’m already dead. More likely, if that happens, they will abandon ship posthaste. Nothing like believing the press clippings.
@Flight Attendant
I’ll take my chances. Thanks.
In fact there is a better chance of being “saved” by a leprechaun farting glitter out of its ass than by one of you grannies, fatties or them/theys.
Keep convincing yourself that you’re Navy Seals.
After the way you’ve treated passengers over the last 4 years, you’ve become a very unsympathetic workgroup to most of us. Sure, you can impress the first-time fliers with your bs but the rest of us know better.
If you’re too dumb to get another job that pays you more money, then that’s YOUR problem.
You’ve already doubled down on your position that your job is ONLY of safety and NOT of service. AA needs to reset the service side of the operation…..and that doesn’t involve keeping you or your attitude along.
In the 90’s, AirTran was pulling the last two rows out of the DC9s to make the plane now have only 100 installed seats instead of 106 during their flight attendant shenanigans. AA should do the same.
Anonymous, how many burning airplanes have you sacrificed your life in saving passengers? I’d bet none. F/As need to get off of the “I’m an EMT & LEO only, and not here to also provide service “. Your 6 weeks of training is laughable at best. Do you carry a federal license like pilot or mechanic? No! Did you spend a buttload of money on education, tools, testing? No! Anyone can apply for and be trained to preform an unskilled job. You front line facing employees (F/As) are killing our airline. Every article or comment section of said article, tears AA a new one. The public hates us and it will be our downfall if things don’t change! No matter how shi@#y AA is to us employees, you guys need to treat the passengers like they pay our wages, because they do! Isom is greedy like all CEOs, but if we drive away the last passenger, we’ll all be broke, and he’ll walk away laughing counting his millions. I’m too damn old to start over. I’ve invested 35 years of my life keeping the ship you “fly” in safe for you and the passengers and I’m liked nor treated any better by the executives than your are! I should be making much more money than I am. The pay gap between pilots and maintenance is too big and the one between maintenance and UNSKILLED groups is too small. You essentially have a part time job. The rest of us work twice the SCHEDULED hours you do and you think working half the hours entitles you to double the money to make up the difference? Pilot make what they make due to their skill and people will say they deserve it because ” they have 200 lives in their hands “. Well, consider this. The mechanic has 202 lives in his hands.
@787Doc – I don’t think the maintenance workers should be yelling about their skill given recent events…
Also you’re very ignorant if you think flight attendants are just paid for skill (alone), they are paid for being away from home, the irregularity in their hours, their flexibility and so forth. They are also unpaid for half the work they do. You as a mechanic are paid for your hours and you spend many more nights at home with your family than a flight attendant would.
@Chris, your complaint is fine and all but American can’t just go fire all the flight attendants, go read the contract, so next time you can say something more constructive.
Yeah, Chris. Everyone knows that the brilliant and wealthy sit and talk s–t on airline blogs every day. Right?
Any poor treatment you received on any flight, I’m sure you deserved because you’re a scumbag piece of [trash].
I dare you to talk disrespectful like that to me or to any FA on the job. I guarantee you that that will be your last flight on our airline.
I don’t apologize for any “bad customer service” you may have received. You’re not a f’n king. You can go F*** yourself
Well stated B787jetdoc. would rather do business with a company that has employees like B787jetdoc , one that uses facts and reason, rather than a company full of Galley Llama’s . . . those that rely on emotions and obscenities to make their point. It’s time for The Galley Llama to seek other employment.
Andy,
To which maintenance events are you refering? The tires falling off planes at United? The exploding engines at Delta? Engine cowling departing the aircraft at Southwest?The only maintenance issues we’ve been dealing with lately at AA are the MULTIPLE tail strikes we are repairing. And I assure you maintenance didn’t cause them!
@B787jetdoc — You sound like a member of a work group with a contract. Congrats! Lets see how it plays out if Isom keeps driving the stock lower; relatively impossible to “outsource” flight attendants so I hope your Spanish is at least passable when they move your job south.