American Airlines Flight Attendants Vote to Authorize a Strike, Although a Walkout Still Unlikely
An American Airlines plane at LaGuardia Airport's Terminal B, Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022, in New York. Travel experts say the ability of many people to work remotely is letting them take off early for Thanksgiving or return home later. Crowds are expected to rival those of 2019, the last Thanksgiving before the pandemic. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Flight attendants at American Airlines voted overwhelmingly to authorize union leaders to call for a strike, a move designed to put pressure on the carrier during negotiations over pay raises.
The Association of Professional Flight Attendants said Wednesday that more than 99% of members who voted recently favored giving the union power to call a strike. The union backed up the vote with picketing at several airports.
Union President Julie Hedrick said the vote tells company management that flight attendants, who have not received raises since 2019, are “fired up." American executives, she said, “ignore this strike vote at their peril.”
American said, “We’re proud of the progress we’ve made in negotiations with the APFA, and we look forward to reaching an agreement that provides our flight attendants with real and meaningful value. We understand that a strike authorization vote is one of the important ways flight attendants express their desire to get a deal done.”
The vote does not mean that a strike is imminent or even likely. Federal law makes it difficult for airline unions to conduct legal strikes — they need a decision from federal mediators that further negotiations would be pointless, which rarely happens. The president and Congress can also get involved to delay or block a strike.
Earlier this month, American's pilots ratified a contract that will raise average pay more than 40% over four years. Flight attendants are not expected to reap that kind of increase, as they have less leverage than pilots, who are in short supply.
Other airline unions are also pushing for new contracts. Pilots at Southwest Airlines and flight attendants at United Airlines plan to picket at airports Thursday.
Seth Schachner, Managing Director at StratAmericas, weighs in on Spotify earnings and why that headline-grabbing deal with Joe Rogan could be worth that $250 million.
Mitch Roschelle, Managing Director at Madison Ventures, shares why investors may be waiting longer than expected for those interest rate cuts, and why he’s watching tech, oil, and homebuilder stocks.
Amazon saw 24% growth in their Thursday Night Football audience in 2023. Subscribers will be rewarded with even more sports, but not without enduring more ads — unless they pay extra, of course.
Low unemployment + 350 thousand new jobs in January = ...more layoffs? A bunch of tech and retail companies have laid and are laying off employees after a nationwide hiring surge during the pandemic.
The most magical place on Earth wants a protective order to keep Gov. Ron DeSantis' appointees from knowing how the magic happens. A federal judge dismissed a separate Disney lawsuit last week.
Just days before the 49ers and Chiefs play in Las Vegas, Joe Pompliano, Investor at Pomp Investments and author of the Huddle Up Newsletter, discusses why he thinks this could be the most-watched Super Bowl in history.
Chris Versace of Tematica Research LLC shares his thoughts on Jerome Powell's latest comments, the timing of those crucial rate cuts, and what semiconductor stocks he's watching closely.
We battle an onslaught of advertising every time we scroll through social media. Deinfluencers propose a less pricey, more honest approach to how we shop online. Could they convince us to spend less?
