American Airlines Group Inc. and its flight attendants’ union have agreed to a tentative collective bargaining agreement after U.S. labor negotiators pushed for a deal, likely averting the specter of a strike in the course of the summer travel season.
The pact addresses union concerns about compensation, back pay and work rules, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants said in a notice to its members on Friday. Terms of the agreement weren’t immediately disclosed. It have to be approved by the APFA’s board of directors and executive committee before a member vote takes place.
“If this contract is passed, billions of dollars more will be spent on compensation and work rules for flight attendants,” said union president Julie Hedrick. The union represents 28,000 American staff.
In an announcement, the airline said the contract would “bring immediate financial and quality of life benefits to American’s flight attendants.”
The deal eases growing concerns a couple of potential strike during a summer travel season that is predicted to see record passenger numbers. The National Mediation Board, which has been overseeing talks for greater than a yr, has been urging each side in recent months to avoid a stalemate that will have brought flight attendants a step closer to a strike.
President Joe Biden praised the perimeters and officials overseeing the talks for the agreement, saying in an announcement that it “averted a strike that would have been devastating for industry and consumers.”
If the pending agreement is rejected, negotiations would resume, opening the door for a possible strike later within the yr. The union had already Preparation for a possible strike, the distribution of a training manual for members and the opening of a command center.
Lengthy negotiations
The airline and the union began talks in January 2019 before meetings were suspended resulting from the pandemic after which resumed in August 2021.
American’s flight attendants haven’t received a raise since 2019, and first-year employees earn $27,000 a yr before taxes, the union said. Talks had stalled partly over work rules and total compensation, despite American CEO Robert Isom’s promise to embrace agreements reached with rival airlines.
Southwest Airlines flight attendants approved a brand new labor contract value $6.3 billion Contract on April 24, two days after Delta Air Lines Inc. increased wages for nonunion employees by 5%, setting a minimum compensation level that APFA wanted to attain.
Southwest’s four-year collective bargaining agreement calls for an initial 22.3 percent wage increase, followed by three annual 3 percent increases. Workers can even share at the very least $364 million in bonuses based on hours worked in the course of the years the agreement was negotiated.
The flight attendants at United Airlines Holdings Inc. are also currently negotiating a brand new contract. The union representing the flight attendants at Alaska Air Group Inc. announced a tentative agreement on June 21.
