FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — American Airlines and the union representing its flight attendants announced Friday they had reached a new contract that includes wage increases, and President Joe Biden said the agreement averted strikes that would hurt the U.S. economy and consumers.
Terms of the proposal were not disclosed. The deal, which covers 28,000 workers, will be subject to a union vote for ratification.
The Association of Professional Flight Attendants previously rejected American Airlines’ offer for an 18% immediate pay increase followed by 2% annual raises. The union had wanted a 33% increase up front, followed by 6% raises over the next four years. Flight attendants have not received a raise since 2019.
Union president Julie Hedrick said the agreement “will inject billions of dollars of additional funding into compensation and labor regulations for the flight attendant labor group.”
Fort Worth, Texas-based American Airlines said the deal “will provide immediate financial and quality of life improvements for American’s flight attendants. This is a contract we are proud of and one our flight attendants won.”
Last year, flight attendants Authorize the strikeand union leaders had raised the threat of a strike this fall.
But federal law covering the airline industry makes it nearly impossible to strike unless a federal arbitrator determines further negotiations are pointless. The union asked the National Mediation Board for permission to begin a 30-day countdown to the start of a strike, but the board denied the request, determining that the two sides could still reach an agreement.
Biden said administration officials, including Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su, “helped the two sides secure an agreement that avoided strikes that would have been devastating to industry and consumers.”
Biden becomes first president join a union picket line He protested during last year’s United Auto Workers strike while in office and appealed for workers’ support ahead of the November election.
“I am proud of the record wages and record contracts that workers have won under my Administration,” the president said in a statement released by the White House. “Strong unions make for a stronger country.”
