American Airlines flight attendants demonstrate outside the White House on May 9, 2024 in Washington, DC, as part of a nationwide strike.
Drew Angerer | AFP | Getty Images
American airlines Chief Executive Robert Isom offered flight attendants an immediate 17% pay increase on Wednesday as contract talks continued without an agreement and the possibility of a strike grew closer.
The airline and the Professional Association of Cabin Crews have been trying to reach a new contract agreement but are at odds over major issues such as pay. Flight attendants have not received a contract raise since before the pandemic.
“We have made progress in some key areas, but there is still a lot of work to be done,” Isom said in a video message to flight attendants.
The union said both sides are scheduled to meet with federal mediators next week in a “final effort” to reach a deal, telling flight attendants Prepare for the strike.
Strikes by airline employees are extremely rare. The last one happened in 2010 to a Spirit Airlines pilot. If the two parties can’t reach an agreement, a federal mediator will need to release the news, a process that will take weeks.
“So to give you more money now, we’ve made a proposal to APFA to increase wages by 17 per cent immediately and put in place a new formula to increase your profit share,” Isom said on Wednesday. “This is “It means we are offering higher wages to all cabin crew and not asking for anything in return from the union. This is unusual, but these are unusual times.”
APFA national president Julie Hedrick, who said the APFA board will discuss the proposal later Wednesday, said the airline’s focus should be on preparing to reach long-term agreements with flight attendants.
“This is not that,” she said.
Also on Wednesday, the union said it opened a “strike command center” with dedicated phone lines and other resources to answer crew questions.
Last year, American Airlines pilots were essentially locked into a new labor deal; Unity and Alaska Still under negotiation.
Last month, a bipartisan group of more than 160 House representatives wrote to the National Mediation Commission urging its assistance Seal the deal With airlines and flight attendants.
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