Flight attendant union rejects American Airlines’ proposed 17% pay raise

The
labor
union
that
represents


American
Airlines
flight
attendants
on
Wednesday
rejected
a
company
proposal
to
immediately
raise
pay
by
17%.

CEO
Robert
Isom
offered
flight
attendants
immediate
17%
wage
increases
earlier
Wednesday
as
contract
talks
continue
without
a
deal,
bringing
the
prospect
of
a
strike
closer.

The
airline
and
the
Association
of
Professional
Flight
Attendants
have
struggled
to
reach
a
new
contract
agreement,
differing
on
major
issues,
such
as
pay.
Flight
attendants
haven’t
received
contract
raises
since
before
the
pandemic.

“We
have
made
progress
in
a
number
of
key
areas,
but
there
is
still
a
good
deal
of
work
to
be
done,”
Isom
said
in
a
video
message
to
flight
attendants.

The
union
said
the
two
sides
are
scheduled
to
meet
with
federal
mediators
next
week
for
a
“last-ditch”
effort
to
get
a
deal
done,
adding
that
flight
attendants
were
told
to
prepare
for
a
strike.

Strikes
are
extremely
rare
among
airline
employees.
The
last
took
place
in
2010
among
Spirit
Airlines
pilots.
If
the
two
parties
can’t
reach
a
deal,
a
release
by
federal
mediators
would
be
triggered,
a
process
that
would
take
several
weeks.

“So,
to
get
you
more
money
now,
we
presented
APFA
with
a
proposal
that
offers
immediate
wage
increases
of
17%
and
a
new
formula
that
would
increase
your
profit
sharing,”
Isom
said
Wednesday.
“This
means
we’ve
offered
increased
pay
for
all
flight
attendants
and
are
not
asking
your
union
for
anything
in
return.
This
is
unusual,
but
these
are
unusual
times.”

Julie
Hedrick,
the
union’s
national
president,
said
that
the
airline’s
focus
should
be
on
preparing
a
longer-term
deal
with
the
flight
attendants.

“This
is
not
that,”
she
said.

Also
on
Wednesday,
the
union
said
it
opened
a
“strike
command
center”
with
dedicated
phone
lines
and
other
resources
to
answer
cabin
crew
questions.

U.S.
airline
pilots
largely
locked
in
new
labor
deals
last
year,
while
flight
attendants
at
American,


United
Airlines
and


Alaska
Airlines
are

still
negotiating.

Last
month,
a
bipartisan
group
of
more
than
160
House
representatives
wrote
to
the
National
Mediation
Board,
urging
it
to
help

complete
deals
with
airlines
and
flight
attendants.