American Airlines reaches agreement with flight attendant union, avoiding strike

American Airlines has struck an agreement with the union representing the company's flight attendants, avoiding a large-scale strike that had threatened the airline's profits. 

At the center of the deal is a proposed new contract for around 28,000 workers which includes increased pay levels, though further terms have not been made public. 

Members of the union, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, had long argued that working conditions in the modern aviation industry meant their pay was calculated through increasingly outdated and unfair mechanisms.

The offer from American still requires a ratification vote from members of the union next week. The union had previously turned down an offer that would have seen pay increase 18% with 2% increases each year.

Flight attendants have not received salary increases since 2019, and the union was demanding 33% upfront raises with 6% annual uplift.

The union said in a press release that the new offer "addresses our concerns on critical areas of compensation, retroactive pay, contractual improvements, and preserving our hard-won work rules."

Picket lines had proved effective in negotiations, the statement continued, and President Biden - who joined an UAW picket line last year - said members of his cabinet including the secretaries for Labor and Transport, Julie Su and Pete Buttigieg, had helped solidify the deal. The agreement had, he said, averted a strike that "would have been devastating for the industry and consumers."

Texas-based American said it was proud of the deal that would offer "immediate financial and quality-of-life improvements" for its flight attendants, who had - the company said - earned the increased salaries.

Copyright 2024, NPR

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