American Airlines wants to settle labor disputes with its flight attendants and pilots as its employees ramp up protests.
American’s CEO Robert Isom has offered pilots a 40% pay raise over four years, which includes a 21% bump in the first year, according to CNBC.
Over the next four years, the increase will total $8 billion.
Flight attendants were notably left out of the offer, leading the union to conduct an informational picket on Tuesday at nine airports nationwide, including Terminal A at DFW.
Flight attendants held signs that said, “$803,000,000 reasons for a pay raise,” citing the company’s profits in the fourth quarter of 2022, according to Simple Flying.
Julie Hendrick, the national president of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, said that flight attendants have not seen a raise or cost of living increase in over four years, according to Fox 4. The union has brought in a federal mediator to secure a deal.
“It’s time that we get the wages we deserve. It’s also time that we get better flexible leave or work-life balance,” Hendrick said, per Fox 4.
Dr. Brent Bowen, the founder of the National Airline Quality Rating, said American Airlines are at odds with unions representing flight crews, according to Fox 4.
“I think they’ve tried very hard over the years to let management know what their needs are, what the work environment is like,” Bowen said.
To pressure American Airlines to speed up contract negotiations, the Allied Pilots Association is holding a strike authorization vote this month.
Despite union members’ approval, federal regulators must approve any work stoppage regardless of whether union members support it.
Bowen says that it will be business as usual for travelers in the meantime. But government officials will face a different dilemma.
“That’s going to be the problem facing the government officials … ‘How far do we let this go?”’
Allied Pilots Association is reviewing American Airlines’ offer, and Isom urged pilots not to allow the pending strike vote authorization to distract from his offer.
The Association of Professional Flight Attendants say they have negotiations with the company set for this week.
