Flight Attendants Getting in on the Fun of Negotiations, Too

After a couple years of headlining victories in the world of pilots, the flight attendants are ramping up to get a cut of the action, too. American Airlines Flight Attendants celebrated the "Worldwide Flight Attendant Day of Action" with a picket of 30 cities around their network.

The group takes major issue with the fact that "executives reward themselves with hefty bonuses and pay raises while Flight Attendants are left without an agreement that appropriately recognizes their contributions." They're not kidding, either, saying that "American Airlines Flight Attendants are closer to a strike than they have been in 30+ years", which isn't good news to execs looking at a warm summer travel season. American's aren't the only ones in the fray, with Alaska, Frontier, and United Airlines having their own rumblings too. 

The last overture they received from American Airlines came in with a 17% pay increase and improved profit sharing, which is a passable pay bump in some markets, but not quite retaining parity with 2019 pay after a few years of economic deterioration. Add in the fact that many flight attendants may be based in the higher-cost metropolitan bases, and it is understandable that they would eye the pilot's 50% pay bumps with a bit of jealousy.

The Association of Professional Flight Attendants has seized on that cost-of-living narrative with gusto, with one spokesman saying FAs across the country "are desperate to keep pace with inflation and desperate to pay the rent, pay the mortgate." The most recent informational picket took place on Thursday, June 13th, and didn't seem to give the teams what they wanted right away. The union told flight attendants to be ready to walk off the job, should they choose, even setting up a strike center to prep. Still, it should be noted that in classic fashion, the National Mediation Board has its rules, so there's still a good chunk of time to buffer out any strike decisions. At the very earliest, the Board would need to release the union from mediation for a 30-day cool off before a strike could happen.

American says it's to find a workable solution for both parties. “Reaching an agreement for our nearly 27,000 flight attendants remains our priority,” said Lindsey Martin, spokeswoman for American. “We continue to meet regularly with the APFA and are ready to get a deal done.” 

FMI: www.americanairlines.com