American Airlines flight attendants vote to authorize strike if negotiations fail

Following within the footsteps of their pilot coworkers, unionized flight attendants at American Airlines overwhelmingly voted to authorize a strike if contract talks go nowhere.

The Association of Professional Flight Attendants union introduced Wednesday that just about 99.5% of their members voted in favor of a strike.

If talks falter, a strike received’t occur instantly. After either side agree {that a} contract can’t be reached, the union enters a 30-day cooling-off interval the place it should cope with the National Mediation Board in a last-ditch effort to forestall a strike. If that fails, the flight attendants shall be on the picket strains.

The vote places additional strain on the airline to concede to a number of the calls for of the union. The attendants are asking for a large one-time elevate of 35% and an annual 9% elevate on prime of that. They are additionally asking for enhancements to advantages.

“Our contract became amendable in 2019, and American’s flight attendants have not received cost-of-living increases or any other quality-of-life improvements, even as they played an essential part in keeping American in the skies both during and after the pandemic,” APFA National President Julie Hedrick stated final month.

The profitable vote comes as organized labor, significantly airline unions, is rising in energy. Earlier this 12 months, American Airlines pilots voted to authorize a strike, and the union delivered about $9 billion in enhancements of their new contract this month.