American Airlines flight attendants picket in Dallas as they prepare to strike, August 30, 2023.
Leslie Josephs | CNBC
American Airlines flight attendants voted overwhelmingly to allow union leaders to call a strike, a move aimed at putting pressure on the airline to negotiate pay rises.
The Association of Professional Flight Attendants said on Wednesday that more than 99% of recently voted members were in favor of giving the union the power to call a strike. The union supported the vote with pickets at several airports.
Union President Julie Hedrick said the vote showed management that flight attendants who hadn’t received a pay rise since 2019 were “fired in”. American leaders, she said, “ignore this strike vote at their peril.”
American said, “We are proud of the progress we have made in negotiations with APFA and look forward to reaching an agreement that provides real and meaningful value for our flight attendants.” We understand that a strike authorization vote is one of the important ways flight attendants express their desire to close a deal.”
American Airlines flight attendants picket in Dallas as they prepare to strike, August 30, 2023.
Leslie Josephs | CNBC
The vote does not mean that a strike is imminent or even likely. Federal law makes it difficult for airline unions to conduct legal strikes — they need a decision from federal mediators that further negotiations would be pointless, which rarely happens. The President and Congress can also get involved to delay or block a strike.
Earlier this month, American pilots ratified a deal that will increase average salaries by more than 40% over four years. Flight attendants are unlikely to see such growth as they have less influence than pilots, who are in short supply.
Other aviation unions are also pushing for new collective agreements. Southwest Airlines pilots and United Airlines flight attendants plan pickets at airports on Thursday.
Source : www.cnbc.com