Preparations to Strike Continue at AA, but Nothing's Set in Stone Yet

"Weeks of intensive mediation at the National Mediation Board ended without an agreement," said the Association of Professional Flight Attendants. "We do not believe further negotiations will be scheduled prior to the National Mediation Board determining to release the parties into a thirty-day cooling-off period."

Now, they say, "All American Airlines Flight Attendants should prepare for an upcoming strike," to the point of sending out a hard copy of the strike handbook to its members. The command center has been opened too, to field questions and prepare members for the path ahead. 

"Management had every chance to reach an agreement over the last six weeks of mediated talks. While we moved closer on some of the other components of the agreement, we remain apart on the key issues of the date of signing wage increase and retroactive pay. Management’s proposals continue to be unacceptable, and your negotiating committee has been firm that we need a contract that meets the needs of our workgroup." The union said that the team had "pushed management hard to reach an agreement" while vowing to "continue the fight until we achieve the contract we deserve."

The union's handbook opens with a comparison of executive compensation at American Airlines, noting that senior management established incentives to "reward themselves for successfully navigating the pandemic", granting bonuses up to 60% of their base salary. 

That means CEO Robert Isom got a cool $31.4 million in total compensation for 2023, topping the charts for CEO pay across the industry. Casting additional shade on his pay, APFA noted that the Payroll Support Program had prohibited the use of taxpayer bailout money for executive pay increases or bonuses, which conveniently went out of effect only a moment before Isom's 2023 compensation was issued. "Not surprisingly, Flight Attendants, the largest unionized workgroup at American Airlines, and the group that spends the most time with our customers," APFA continues, "have yet to see an industry-leading economic offer from this handsomely rewarded management team.

For those curious about the path towards a strike for APFA members, the strike handbook can be read at their site below.

FMI: www.apfa.org