Julie Hedrick, right, president of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, announces the authorization of the strike on Aug. 30, 2023, outside Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport near Dallas.
Shelby Tauber | Bloomberg | Getty Images
American Airlines Flight attendants ratified a five-year collective bargaining agreement, ending one of the industry’s most contentious contract negotiations and giving flight attendants pay raises of up to 20.5% in early October.
Eighty-seven percent of American Airlines flight attendants who voted approved the contract, the union announced on Thursday, shortly after voting closed.
“This agreement marks a significant milestone for our flight attendants, providing an immediate wage increase of up to 20.5 percent, plus significant retroactive wage payments to account for the time spent negotiating,” said Julie Hedrick, president of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, which represents the airline’s roughly 28,000 flight attendants.
Flight attendants are the largest union group at the Fort Worth-based airline.
The contract agreement comes as a relief to American Airlines leaders, who had faced threats of strike action from flight attendants if the two sides couldn’t reach an agreement. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Labor Secretary Julie Su attended the negotiations in June, overseen by the National Mediation Committee. More than 160 members of Congress have also been pressuring the committee to reach an industry-wide agreement.
“Reaching an agreement on flight attendants is a top priority and today we celebrate achieving this important milestone,” American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said in a statement.
Flight attendants, like other airline employees, have been pushing for higher wages and other work rule improvements after negotiations were derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the cost of living has soared in recent years.
United Airlines The airline and the flight attendants’ union are still negotiating a new contract. Alaska Airlines Flight attendants recently rejected a tentative collective bargaining agreement.
Other industries, including auto and Hollywood, have won wage increases in new contracts after strikes.
Approximately 33,000 Boeing Workers are due to vote on Thursday on a new contract that includes a 25 percent pay increase, but some have said they will reject it. Boeing could face strike action if the contract is rejected.
