American Airlines and flight attendants have reached deal to avoid a strike

The tentative agreement will get them their first collective raise in five years

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American Airlines flight attendants have reached a tentative agreement in union contract talks with the company, getting members of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants union their first collective raise in five years and removing the threat of a strike for one of America’s biggest carriers.

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“Our latest contract negotiations have resulted in significant benefits for our Flight Attendants,” said national APFA president Julie Hedrick in a statement. “After years of bargaining and with the assistance of the National Mediation Board, we have reached a long overdue agreement with American Airlines, which addresses our concerns in compensation, work rules, and retroactive pay.”

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In a statement provided to Quartz, American Airlines said that “We are pleased to have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract with the Association of Professional Flight Attendants” and that “it’s a contract that will provide immediate financial and quality-of-life improvements for American’s flight attendants.”

The terms of the deal were not immediately available, but the APFA said it would net its members “billions of additional dollars into compensation and work rules” that they had been looking for. In June, the union rejected a 17% immediate pay increase in pursuit of a 33% bump. It’s not clear where the final number landed.

The last contract for American Airlines flight attendants ran out in 2019. Negotiations were interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but even then talks were slow-going. Though the APFA nearly unanimously approved a strike in August , strict rules around airline workers’ union actions meant that they had to go through and then get released from federally mediated negotiations before they could do a work stoppage. Still, the union was glad to use the possibility as leverage.

“Endless picketing events, engagement with the media and the traveling public, and a solid 99.47% ‘yes’ strike vote authorization pushed this management team to a tentative contract that rightfully addresses our scheduling and economic needs,” Hedrick said in her statement. “Strikes and the threat of strikes work.”

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