Strikeout: American Airlines Flight Attendants Denied Right To Strike Over Holidays

The National Mediation Board (NMB) has refused a request by the union representing flight attendants at American Airlines to authorize a strike stemming from an impasse over contract negotiations. There is now no risk that AA flight attendants will strike over the holidays this year. Let’s examine how far apart the two sides are.

NMB: No Holiday Strike For American Airlines Flight Attendants

In 2022, Delta proactively raised the wages of its non-unionized flight attendants and offered them boarding pay (compensation while passengers are boarding) for the first time. American Airlines matched that proposal in September 2023, offering its flight attendants:

• An 11% percent wage increase on the date of signing which matches the current Delta rates, with senior flight attendants earning $76 per hour
• 2% increases in the remaining years of the agreement (five-year duration)
• Boarding pay at half of your hourly rate for each boarding period
• Profit sharing increased (pool 10% up to $2.5B pretax and 20% above)
• 401(k) contribution increase from 3% to 5%
• 401(k) match increase from 2.5% to 4%
• Training and mandatory travel day pay would increase from $75 to $150 per day

The Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA) immediately rejected that proposal, noting, “We are far apart on wages.”

With no deal in sight, the APFA requested that the NMB authorize a strike after a 30-day cooling-off period. The request was timed such that flight attendants could strike during the festive season. Today, though, the NMB rejected the request to strike, noting that contract negotiations had not reached a stalemate.

Here’s how the APFA informed its members about the NMB decision:

At this time, the National Mediation Board (NMB) has refused our request for release. The Railway Labor Act (RLA) is supposed to protect us, yet here we are, fighting tooth and nail for what we rightfully deserve.

We strongly disagree with this decision. The Company has had our economic proposal since March, and has refused to respond to our comprehensive counter proposals since September. They have been stonewalling us, offering nothing but a single, rigid economic framework that does not address our current economic needs. This is not negotiations; it is a mockery of our efforts.

American Airlines management thinks they can evade the issue, but they are mistaken. We will intensify our pressure on the company but also assert our rights under the RLA. Rather than do the right thing for the Flight Attendants, the company is attempting to drag out bargaining. We are not backing down!

Over the last twenty years, the NMB has only released two groups of airline workers. As we have stated previously, we believe that the standard applied serves to benefit employers and is not consistent with the provisions or intent of the Railway Labor Act.

We have a right to strike under the Railway Labor Act. For far too long, airline management has exploited workers, funneling profits into their own pockets. The Railway Labor Act was meant to protect us, the workforce, yet it’s been twisted into a tool for corporate greed.

The NMB indicated that our mediation session scheduled for December 12th-14th will take place as scheduled. If they fail again to present a realistic proposal to resolve these negotiations, we will reiterate our request to be released.

Unity is our greatest weapon. Let us direct our collective anger where it truly belongs – at the feet of American Airlines management.

Let’s briefly break down this memo.

Do Flight Attendants At American Airlines Deserve A Pay Raise?

I do support pay raises for flight attendants, as I address below, but the idea that “we rightfully deserve” more money strikes me as the wrong verbiage. Such a declaration of entitlement sets the wrong tone for any discussion to follow, though such language is hardly novel to a labor row between management and workers.

The memo says, “The Company has had our economic proposal since March, and has refused to respond to our comprehensive counter proposals since September,” but “respond” can mean many things and the two sides continue to meet in an attempt to hash out a deal. It is true the two sides are very far apart and of course American Airlines will hold out as long as possible provided there are no retroactive pay increases, but there does not appear to be an impasse as long as the two sides maintain an open line of communication and regularly meet.

Finally, the memo ends with a rallying cry to “direct our collective anger where it truly belongs – at the feet of American Airlines management.” Anger? Is that really the right word? Is the language of war and of emotion really appropriate for what works out to be a business deal? Does the union really think that management is against flight attendants versus simply trying to best protect its bottom line, especially after surrendering so much to pilots?

As for whether flight attendants should receive a pay raise, I think this whole process exposes the intrinsic problem with the current seniority system. Of course, in an organization this big it makes sense to implement a seniority system (as the least-offensive among bad options) since objectively measuring the merit of every flight attendant is impossible in a workforce of over 26,000 flight attendants.

But the system is so stacked against junior flight attendants and this is exactly how unions have built this system at the behest of its more senior members. It is true that at current pay levels junior flight attendants do not make enough to survive, let alone comfortably survive, in a major US city.

Asking a NYC-based flight attendant to commute from Akron or an LAX-based flight attendant to commute from Phoenix takes a huge toll on quality of life. Sharing a “crash pad” with a half dozen other flight attendants near a major hub is worse than college dorm life.

Paying flight attendants for boarding will disproportionately help junior flight attendants, who are assigned less attractive domestic runs, with trip pairs looking something like Los Angeles – Phoenix – Dallas – Phoenix – Log Angeles with no flight much longer than two hours and currently no boarding pay.

No US worker should be forced to seek public assistance when working a full-time job. Junior flight attendants should earn more pay from the moment of hire.

But the $90+ hour demand from the union for senior flight attendants (and once again, flight attendants are currently not paid for boarding and so that amount can be trimmed when calculating pure hourly pay) becomes much harder to justify. First, there is no shortage of flight attendants (unlike pilots) or a minimum training period of 1,500 hours which makes it impossible to quickly hire. Second, there is such intense demand to become a flight attendant for a major US network carrier that the odds of getting into an Ivy League school are often better. It is not unreasonable for airlines to look at this demand and regulate wage increases on that basis.

CONCLUSION

Instead of striking, American Airlines and the APFA will sit down next month and talk once again. The union has promised another strike request if progress is not made during the meeting, but the NMB does not appear ready right now to green-light a strike.

The way these things usually work out is that the two sides will remain far apart, a strike is eventually authorized, the airline gives in a little bit, the union gives in more, and a deal is struck. That will happen here, eventually, but the pageantry of negotiations and outrage will continue. In that sense, perhaps the NMB should authorize a strike just to get this process completed…

image: @APFAunity / X

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