American Airlines flight attendants demonstrate outside the White House in Washington, May 9, 2024.
Drawn angry | AFP | fake images
american airlines Chief Executive Robert Isom offered flight attendants immediate 17% pay increases on Wednesday as contract negotiations continue without reaching an agreement, raising the prospect of a strike.
The airline and the Association of Professional Flight Attendants have struggled to reach a new contractual agreement, differing on important issues such as remuneration. Flight attendants have not received contract raises since before the pandemic.
“We have made progress in a number of key areas, but there is still much work to do,” Isom said in a video message to flight attendants.
The union said the two sides plan to meet with federal mediators next week in a “last-ditch effort” to reach an agreement, adding that flight attendants They were told to prepare for a strike.
Strikes are extremely rare among airline employees. The last one took place in 2010 among Spirit Airlines pilots. If the two sides cannot reach an agreement, it would trigger a release by federal mediators, a process that would take several weeks.
“So to get them more money now, we presented the APFA with a proposal that offers immediate 17% pay increases and a new formula that would increase their profit share,” Isom said Wednesday. “This means we have offered a pay increase for all flight attendants and are not asking their union for anything in return. This is unusual, but these are unusual times.”
The APFA board of directors will discuss the proposal later Wednesday, according to Julie Hedrick, the union's national president. She added that the airline should focus on preparing a longer-term agreement with flight attendants.
“This is not that,” he said.
Also on Wednesday, the union said it opened a “strike command center” with dedicated phone lines and other resources to answer questions from cabin crew.
American airline pilots largely closed new employment deals last year, while flight attendants at American, United Airlines and Alaska The 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 close deals with airlines and flight attendants.
