American Flight Attendants Seek Permission to Strike
Joe Cortez November 20, 2023
The Association of Professional Flight Attendants – representing the workers at American – announced they have asked for a release from federal mediation to begin a formal strike.
American Flight Attendant Strike Could Begin 30 Days After Release
Under the Railway Labor Act – which also governs airline employees – workers can only walk off the job if the union submits a request to the National Mediation Board for a release. If the release is granted, the strike can begin after a 30-day cooling-off period.
The union is accusing American Airlines of extending the negotiating process and not coming “with the economic and non-economic improvements our flight attendants need to see.” The AFPA issued a deadline of November 13 to receive an offer from the Fort Worth-based carrier – one the union says has come and gone without progress.
“Every day negotiations drag on is money saved for American Airlines,” said Julie Hedrick, national president of the APFA, in a press release. “And every day that goes by, the situation for Flight Attendants gets more dire…American Airlines reports record profits while our full-time Flight Attendants qualify for public assistance. This has to stop now.”
According to the APFA, employees have been working under a contract passed in 2014, without a raise since 2019. They claim that while airline executives have earned millions of dollars in wages and bonuses, the same fortunes have not been passed down to the workers.
The National Mediation Board has not yet granted a release, which would begin the 30-day countdown. American has not publicly commented on the union’s permission to strike.
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Feature image courtesy: Manny Becerra on Unsplash
AA FA's have been grumbling and complaining for decades. if they are so unhappy, why don't they just quit? Or is the APFA Fomenting this?? I suspect the latter.
Really poor argument. Intelligent people try to improve conditions rather than leave. In this particular case, binding arbitration should be the last option if strikes can be prohibited.
Same with UAW. If they hate their jobs so much and are that underpaid, why not just quit and work someplace else?
Because you work to improve conditions. Not so difficult to understand for most.
Your juvenile ad hominem insults belie your weak position.
They, or most of the ones I've seen this year, do bear minimum as is. No more meal choices in coach like wraps, sporadic pdb, slow service in J, and always on their phones. IMO of 200 flights in 2023.
The union will force ticket prices up via huge pay increases, and further immunize FAs from the consequences of poor service. I hope we get an administration that allows foreign flagged carriers to compete within the US or this will never turn around.Clearly they've seen unionized auto workers now getting $165,000 to load lug nuts into the lug nut installation machine and want a piece of that action.
This is absolutely untrue and a long standing myth from wealthy business owners. Decent wages and working conditions benefit everyone.
Try providing actual, verifiable information rather than made up examples and it might be credible.
This is an informal chat forum, not a meeting of the Department of Labor, so do your own homework.
Wage demands, following the recent pattern set by other unions this year, will be unsustainably high and based on fleeting "record profit" claims. I know you'd like to think higher wages will come from Scrooge McDuck's safe in the executive cigar lounge, but exec salary expenses are a pittance in comparison to the army of FAs and the increase will be borne by ticket buyers.
The assertion we can finally expect decent service on AA if only wages were driven far higher isn't based in reality.
Just saying you aren't credible without accurate information.
You need to lay off the personal insults.