American Airlines’ Flight Attendants to Vote on Strike for Higher Pay

By Yehudit Garmaise

American Airlines (AA) flight attendants will vote on July 28 to decide whether they will strike for significantly higher pay, according to the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA).

“Flight attendants are ready for an agreement that respects our contributions to the success of this carrier,” said Julie Hedrick, the APFA’s national president of the union that represents 26,000 flight attendants.

Hedrick pointed out that “flight attendants played an essential part in keeping Americans in the skies both during and after the pandemic,” however, the same flight attendants have not received cost-of-living increases or any other quality-of-life improvements.

The flight attendants have proposed an immediate 35% wage increase, followed by a 6% annual increase in subsequent years. 

Flight attendants also would like to be guaranteed 82 paid hours per month, instead of just 75 guaranteed paid hours and a higher 401(k) contribution.

While the flight attendants’ contracts with the airlines could be changed in 2019, the pandemic forced the union to pause its negotiations until 2021.

"In March, AA and the APFA applied for federal mediation to help to negotiate the flight attendants’ contract, but the AA management has not yet responded to the flight attendants’ proposals,"  Hendrick said today, according to USA Today. 

If APFA members vote to strike, they will join the Allied Pilots Association members, representing AA pilots, who voted to authorize a strike in April.

Unions that authorize strikes don’t always go through with the plan.

“Nearly every time a strike authorization comes to a vote, it passes,” said Scott Keyes, founder of Going, formerly known as Scott's Cheap Flights. “That's not because a strike is likely, but rather because it's a negotiating tactic that strengthens the union's hand.”