FORT WORTH, Texas — Fort Worth-based American Airlines announced Friday that it reached a tentative deal with flight attendants after years of negotiating for a new contract.
Details of the deal weren’t immediately released. The American Association of Professional Flight Attendants, which represents the airlines’ 28,000 flight attendants, announced the agreement Friday.
The Association of Professional Flight Attendants has been in negotiations with the airline since 2019.
“Our latest contract negotiations have resulted in significant benefits for our Flight Attendants. 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. If approved, this agreement will put billions of additional dollars into compensation and work rules for our Flight Attendant workgroup,” said APFA National President Julie Hedrick.
The agreement will come before the Association of Professional Flight Attendants board of directors and executive committee for review next week.
Flight attendants picketed at DFW Airport and other airports across the country in June. The union had threatened to go on strike and even set up a strike center after rejecting an offer of an immediate 17% raise. As flight attendant contracts are governed by federal law, the union would have had to undergo a lengthy process before actually going on strike, including approval from a federal mediation board.
“APFA would like to thank the 28,000 Flight Attendants whose participation in this process achieved this tentative agreement,” Hedrick added. “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. Strikes and the threat of strikes work.”
More details about the process and timeline for voting on the tentative agreement are expected in the coming week, according to the Association of Professional Flight Attendants.