Strike Looms for American Airlines as Flight Attendant Union Talks Break Down

As negotiations stall, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA), representing flight attendants at American Airlines, has urged its members to brace for potential strike action. This development emerged on Friday after the union and the airline failed to reach a consensus on contract terms.

The primary sticking points in the negotiations are centered around the economic aspects of the contract and the airline’s demands for scheduling flexibility, which the union has deemed completely unacceptable. “We remain apart on the key economics of the deal plus the company’s completely unacceptable demand for scheduling concessions,” stated APFA.

The National Mediation Board (NMB), which is currently overseeing the discussions, is expected to orchestrate a last-ditch meeting in hopes of reconciling the differing positions within the next two weeks. This intervention comes as U.S. lawmakers call on the NMB to actively facilitate negotiations, aiming to secure contract agreements for approximately 80,000 flight attendants across various airlines.

As of now, flight attendants at several major carriers including United Airlines, Alaska Air Group, and Frontier, alongside their counterparts at American Airlines, are striving to finalize new contract deals. The responses from American Airlines and the NMB regarding the strike warning were not immediately available outside of regular business hours.

Sources: AirGuide Business airguide.info, bing.com, reuters.com