Union Tells American Airlines Unvaccinated Flight Attendants They’re Safe

The union for American Airlines flight attendants has informed its unvaccinated members that they are not at risk for being fired if they fail to meet the carrier’s deadline – for now.

“For those Flight Attendants who remain unvaccinated and do not receive an accommodation, you will not be automatically removed from service or terminated from employment on the deadline for compliance,” the Association of Professional Flight Attendants said in an October 18 letter to members that was seen by Business Insider. “Our contract provides for a process that must be followed before anyone can be terminated.”

American’s deadline for employees to receive the vaccination is November 24, two weeks before the December 8 date that the Biden has set for all companies who have contracts with the federal government to vaccinate their workers.

But an American Airlines spokesperson did not confirm to Business Insider the contents of the union memo, and would not commit to whether unvaxxed workers would be terminated or still allowed by the November 24 or December 8 deadlines.

In a separate memo sent 16 days before the most recent communication to flight attendants, the union said being approved for a religious or medical exemption did not necessarily guarantee continuation of employment.

“It is important to know, however, that reasonable accommodation does not necessarily mean you will be allowed to continue working without receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, as we have seen at other carriers and in other industries,” the union wrote in an October 2 memo.

Despite the difficulties airlines are having in getting all their employees to take the vaccine, as well as an already-inherent staffing shortage, at least two airlines and the White House say there should be no issues delaying holiday flights.