THE hostesses and stewards ofAmerican Airlines voted in favor of a strike if the airline refuses them to accept contractual conditions “reasonable“declared the APFA (Association of Professional Flight Attendants) union on Wednesday.
“The flight attendants are motivated and ready to sign a contract. The company ignores this strike vote at their peril“, said Julie Hedrick, national president of the APFA, in a press release. The union counts among its unionized members more than 26,000 agents on board employed by American Airlines. An overwhelming majority of 99.47% of them voted in favor of the strike.
If American Airlines management and the APFA do not reach an agreement through federal mediation, the APFA could request a 30-day cooling-off period, after which the flight attendants and stewards would be free to strike.
These demands from the flight attendants come at a time when the pilots of the main North American airlines have already obtained large salary increases. Last week, American Airlines pilots approved a new contract that includes more than $9.6 billion in pay and benefit increases over four years.
Last month, United Airlines pilots won a preliminary agreement for a new four-year contract that includes a cumulative increase of 34.5% to 40.2%, totaling a budget of $10 billion. And earlier this year, Delta Air Lines pilots also got a new contract with pay raises.
