Flight attendants at American Airlines’ regional carrier Piedmont approved a new contract Wednesday with pay raises after threatening to strike last year.
The deal is with a relatively small group of flight attendants, just 300 at American’s wholly-owned regional carrier Piedmont based in Maryland. But it could set the stage for other contract negotiations with nearly half of the company’s overall employees.
The flight attendants represented by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA gave 87% approval to the contract, which gives immediate $1,800 signing bonuses, an increase in personal days, more money for per diems and wage increases that will total 24% to 56% over the four-year life of the contract.
Piedmont flight attendants threatened to strike last year after a stall in contract talks following three years of negotiations. Flight attendants had authorized the strike, but would still need approval from labor regulators before even being allowed to walk off the job, a process that could take months or years.
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“Our flight attendants are the most professional in the industry and we continue to be a leader in safety and performance because of them,” Piedmont spokeswoman Crystal Byrd said in a statement. “The company and the AFA-CWA worked hard on behalf of our crew members to get this new contract completed, especially given the constraints of the current environment.”
It also comes as pressure grows on airlines to hire flight attendants, pilots and other workers amid increasing labor shortages across the country in nearly all industries.
“The attrition rate at Piedmont is high and other…