American Airlines workers picket over contracts as company reports record revenue

Flight attendants at American Airlines have held picket rallies at 11 major airports in the US, over the airline rejecting new union contract proposals from the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, which represents 25,000 of its flight attendants. The move is the latest in a series of industrial actions and disputes to have hit the US airlines industry as it recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic. Workers and unions say that the industry has sought to return to normal without addressing serious problems, especially around pay and staffing levels. Julie Hedrick, national president of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, explained negotiations were initially delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but restarted in August 2021. Since that time the company has rejected improvements sought by workers. “We’ve been going without a raise since January 2019. It’s been many years since our flight attendants got a raise and a lot of our bases are in very high cost of living cities, such as Boston, New York, Chicago and Miami, so we’re definitely ready for a raise with the way everything has increased in price,” said Hedrick. She added: “Our staffing has also been cut. We’re back to flying the same amount of flights and hours we flew back in 2019, prior to Covid, with thousands of fewer flight attendants.” She noted the union is pushing for pay rises, better flexibility for flights, and improved operational reliability, as American Airlines reported a profit of $478m in Q3 2022, including record revenue.<br/>