Information - American Airlines Flight Attendants Contract Negotiations - Tentative Agreement Reached

[OlliePop27]

This thread is to provide information and discussion about the potential for an American Airlines Flight Attendants strike. This thread is not intended for discussion about the merits of anyone's position, nor to get into the related politics. This thread is simply to provide information about possible flight impacts, as the way the news is portrayed in the media can be confusing and misleading. There have been many recent news stories making it appear a strike is imminent, which is only partially true.

American and its flight attendants have been negotiating a new labor contract for years. The flight attendants' union has voted to authorize a strike and requested the National Mediation Board (NMB) to "release" the union to strike. Flight attendants are covered by the Railway Labor Act, which governs how and when a strike can occur.

After many months, the NMB has still not "released" American flight attendants to strike. The NMB set a tentative deadline at the end of May for the parties to reach an agreement, which has passed without an agreement, and the flight attendants' union is ramping up preparation and discussion of a possible strike.

The NMB has ordered American and the union back to negotiations in the hopes of reaching an agreement. If no agreement is reached, it is POSSIBLE that the NMB "releases" the flight attendants' union into a 30-day mandatory "cooling off" period before a strike could occur. The NMB can only "release" the parties once they declare an "impasse" meaning that further mediated negotiations would not be helpful.

KEY INFO - Once the NMB "releases" the flight attendants, it is illegal for a strike to occur until the mandatory 30-day cooling off period has ended. This means the earliest possible date for a strike to occur is on or after the unknown "release" date. This is 30-days after the last date of scheduled negotiating sessions between American and the union, and the NMB has determined the sides are at an "impasse."

If you are flying American in late-July or August, you should be paying attention to the possibility of a strike impacting your travel (albeit, remote). If you are flying before about the fourth week of July, you do not need to worry about a strike impacting your travel. The actual date of a potential strike depends on when the NMB formally "releases" the union, which might be later or not at all. The parties continue to be ordered back to additional mediated negotiations, which keeps pushing back the date of any possible "release."

A strike is still an unlikely outcome for several reasons, including: 1) the parties could reach an agreement before the "release;" 2) the parties could reach an agreement during the "cooling off" period; 3) the NMB could continue delaying the "release" because there is not an "impasse"; or 4) the federal government (Congress or the President) could step in before the "cooling off" period ends to delay a strike and force the parties back to the negotiating table.

This is just informational and will be updated as there's news.

 

[OlliePop27]

7/24 Update: A tentative agreement has been reached between the union and AA. The workers must now vote on the contract.

6/21 Update: The parties spent an additional week at NMB facilitated negotiations in DC, which ended on 6/20 without an agreement. The sides noted that progress has been made, which means there is not yet an "impasse" for the NMB to "release" the union into the 30-day cooling off period. It appears the NMB will schedule additional negotiation dates in the coming weeks and order the airline and the union back to the negotiating table. The dates are not yet known, and the 30-day cooling off period can only begin once the "release" is granted by the NMB after negotiations fall apart.

This puts the earliest possible date for a strike into late July, probably later. Again, it's a remote possibility.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Thank you…we have flights July 1 and 6, but then July 31, and August 12. Will be checking here for second trip.