After an extremely contentious fight, American Airlines and the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA) have reached a tentative contract agreement. The agreement comes at the end of the final week of bargaining before the union threatened strike action.
Julie Hedrick, President of the APFA, the union representing American’s more than 28,000 flight attendants, had this to say:
“Our latest contract negotiations have resulted in significant benefits for our Flight Attendants. After years of bargaining and with the assistance of the National Mediation Board, we have reached a long overdue agreement with American Airlines, which addresses our concerns in compensation, work rules, and retroactive pay. If approved, this agreement will put billions of additional dollars into compensation and work rules for our Flight Attendant workgroup. APFA would like to thank the 28,000 Flight Attendants whose participation in this process achieved this tentative agreement. Endless picketing events, engagement with the media and the traveling public, and a solid 99.47% ‘yes’ strike vote authorization pushed this management team to a tentative contract that rightfully addresses our scheduling and economic needs. Strikes and the threat of strikes work.”
Julie Hedrick, APFA President
The tentative agreement will now go to the APFA Board of Directors and the union’s Executive Committee for review. After the review, the proposal will be presented to the union members for a final vote on ratification.
A summary of the tentative agreement will be sent to each flight attendant for approval. Additional information will be available for flight attendants on the APFA website.
While we haven’t seen what is in the new agreement, union leaders were pushing for a record-breaking contract while American us struggling to deliver the same profit margins as Delta and United.
It will be interesting to see if the union ratifies this agreement and whether it includes things like pay during boarding and backpay.
Summary
American Airlines and the APFA have reached a tentative contract agreement during the final week of negotiations. The agreement is heading to the union’s Board of Directors and Executive Committee for review before being sent to American’s 28,000+ flight attendants for ratification.
