American Airlines reaches agreement with flight attendant union, averting strike

American Airlines has reached an agreement with the union representing the company’s cabin crew, averting a large-scale strike that threatened the airline’s profits.

Central to the deal is a proposed new contract for about 28,000 workers, which includes higher wages, but further terms have not been made public.

Members of the union, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, have long argued that working conditions in the modern airline industry meant that their salaries were calculated using increasingly outdated and unfair mechanisms.

American’s offer still requires a ratification vote from union members next week. The union previously rejected an offer that would have resulted in an 18% wage increase with 2% increases annually.

Flight attendants have not received a pay raise since 2019, despite the union demanding a 33% pay increase, with an annual increase of 6%.

The union said in a press release that the new offering “addresses our concerns in critical areas such as compensation, retroactivity, contractual improvements and the preservation of our hard-won labor rules.”

Picket lines had proven effective in negotiations, the statement continued, and President Biden — who joined a UAW picket line last year — said members of his Cabinet, including Labor and Transportation Secretaries Julie Su and Pete Buttigieg, had helped solidify the deal. The agreement, he said, had prevented a strike that “would have been devastating for the industry and consumers.”

American, based in Texas, said it was proud of the deal, which would provide “immediate financial and quality of life improvements” for the flight attendants, who it said had earned the higher salaries.