Negotiations Continue Between FAs and Airlines

As the world returns from the July 4th weekend, the negotiations are expected to heat back up between the Association of Professional Flight Attendants and American Airlines, after an underwhelmingly productive weak heading into it.

July opened with continuation of the running duel between the flight attendants and their employer, preceded by some serious preparations for an impending strike. In the tail end of June, however, the National Mediation Board ordered APFA and American management to continue further negotiations. APFA was a little miffed, saying that the Board had given them only a day’s notice before having to continue, something they called a "very rare move". They said that two days of "intensive discussions" only led to a small bit of progress, with no agreement in sight. That sets the stage for the rest of July, with hot weather and a sizzling travel market to follow, it’s anyone’s guess where things go next.

"We are in federal mediation under the Railway Labor Act, and the scheduling of mediation and a release into a thirty-day cooling-off period is determined by the National Mediation Board," said Reese Cole of the APFA Negotiating Committee. In the Update the entire team checked in with members to stress that anything that comes out of the process 'must be an agreement that meets the needs of the membership.'

"While we are limited in the details of what we can discuss, we will be providing more information on the status of bargaining and the next steps to reach an agreement. We can say, however, that the solidarity and the credible strike threat from the membership has and continues to prompt real progress in these negotiations. We are staying strong and united with a clear message to American Airlines management that they need to conclude these negotiations and reach the agreement that American Airlines Flight Attendants have earned."

FMI: www.apfa.org