Summary
- American Airlines flight attendants will protest in New York City on Monday.
- The union-led protest coincides with American’s Investor Day.
- Negotiations continue as the workers push for pay raises and retro pay.
Flight attendants at Fort Worth, Texas-based American Airlines are headed to New York City to protest on Monday. It is the inflight worker’s latest effort to make their voices heard as they continue to fight for a new collective bargaining agreement.
Several reports in the last couple of years have highlighted the financial struggles that some flight attendants have encountered with their low wages. Last month, the crew members picketed at all of the airline’s bases across the country.
Taking action
As first reported by View From The Wing, the flight attendants will be meeting on Wall Street to stage a protest at 12:00 on Monday – the same day as American’s Investor Day, where the carrier’s CEO Robert Isom and senior leadership will present and meet with the company’s main investors.
Photo: Association of Professional Flight Attendants
The union representing American’s flight attendants, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA), notified the workers of the planned protest in an internal memo obtained by View From The Wing. It instructs the crew members to wear their uniforms and meet on time near the Joe and Juice on Broad Street. Those running late are advised to “meet out front of the New York Stock Exchange” at 12:30 to join the protest.
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It appears that the APFA wanted to keep its plan under wraps as the memo also instructs the workers to “invite flight attendants privately” and to “not post on social media.” During the protest, the flight attendants could chant the three phases in the memo or have them written on signs:
- “AA: No Retro Pay / No Way!”
- “AA Makes Billions – We Can’t Make Rent!”
- “AA: Close Out This Contract NOW!”
Simple Flying has not independently verified the chant(s) details or signage phrasings.
Status of negotiations
Last September, American proposed a new contract to its 26,000 flight attendants, claiming it was industry-leading. However, the inflight workers said it fell short. The proposal included some positive changes for the flight attendants, such as allowing the workers to be paid during boarding periods, but did not address other demands, including pay raises by more than 30%.
APFA asked the National Meditation Board to allow the flight attendants to go on strike in November, but the board denied their request, forcing them to continue negotiations with the airline.
A status conference, requested by the union, will be held next week.
“The National Mediation Board has set a status conference, at the request of APFA, to directly hear from APFA on why we believe that we should be released into a thirty-day cooling-off period. The three members of the National Mediation Board will hear from APFA on the morning of March 13, 2024. The company will present to the NMB Board later that afternoon. At this meeting, APFA will update the Board on the status of our negotiations and will have an opportunity to present our position that our negotiations are at an impasse and we should be released.”
“Preparing for a possible strike”
Jule Hedrick, APFA’s National President, said the flight attendants have been working with wages negotiated in 2014; however, View From The Wing reports the inflight workers received a raise in 2019. Still, that was before the pandemic, when the economy was in a different environment.
Photo: American Airlines
As junior crew members have the lowest pay, first and second-year flight attendants based in Boston are reportedly eligible for food stamps. Others have allegedly reported that they cannot afford gas and live off snacks offered to first class passengers.
Among higher wages, the workers are fighting for retro pay to compensate for unpaid work for the last several years. Despite not being released from negotiations, APFA mailed a strike booklet to its members last month and reminded them that possible industrial action could still happen.
“All APFA Flight Attendants should be preparing for a possible strike at American Airlines,” the union said.
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