American Air, Gate Gourmet face pressure on contracts to avoid strikes
President Joe Biden’s administration is pressing negotiators to reach agreements on new contracts for flight attendants and airline caterers, hoping to give a boost to union allies without setting off a summer of labor strife that could have dire consequences for his reelection hopes. The National Mediation Board, which oversees labor relations and contract talks between airlines and unions, last week summoned representatives from American Airlines Group Inc. and the Association of Professional Flight Attendants to Washington for days of intensive mediation on a new contract for the union’s 27,000 members. The NMB has urged both sides to wrap up a deal by the end of May, according to people familiar with the talks, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the negotiations. The parties have already been in mediation seeking a new deal for more than a year. The board has issued an unusual ultimatum to American and to Gate Gourmet, a major airline caterer that is negotiating with its own union workers, one person briefed on the discussions said. NMB has specifically warned the companies that they could be released from mediation if the two sides don’t come to a deal around the beginning of June, the person said. Releasing the parties from mediation would trigger a 30-day “cooling off” period under federal law, after which the airline and catering workers would be permitted to strike if no agreement has been reached in the interim. Until that happens, the employees are barred from walking off the job under the terms of the Railway Labor Act, which governs union relations in the air travel industry as well. By raising the prospect of releasing them from mediation, NMB is making the path to a strike clearer. The administration is counting on the idea that the pressure will make the companies settle to avoid the stoppage. But if the gambit fails, labor unrest could trigger a massive disruption in the US air travel system just in time for summer and ahead of the final sprint for Biden’s reelection campaign.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2024-05-22/oneworld/american-air-gate-gourmet-face-pressure-on-contracts-to-avoid-strikes
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American Air, Gate Gourmet face pressure on contracts to avoid strikes
President Joe Biden’s administration is pressing negotiators to reach agreements on new contracts for flight attendants and airline caterers, hoping to give a boost to union allies without setting off a summer of labor strife that could have dire consequences for his reelection hopes. The National Mediation Board, which oversees labor relations and contract talks between airlines and unions, last week summoned representatives from American Airlines Group Inc. and the Association of Professional Flight Attendants to Washington for days of intensive mediation on a new contract for the union’s 27,000 members. The NMB has urged both sides to wrap up a deal by the end of May, according to people familiar with the talks, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the negotiations. The parties have already been in mediation seeking a new deal for more than a year. The board has issued an unusual ultimatum to American and to Gate Gourmet, a major airline caterer that is negotiating with its own union workers, one person briefed on the discussions said. NMB has specifically warned the companies that they could be released from mediation if the two sides don’t come to a deal around the beginning of June, the person said. Releasing the parties from mediation would trigger a 30-day “cooling off” period under federal law, after which the airline and catering workers would be permitted to strike if no agreement has been reached in the interim. Until that happens, the employees are barred from walking off the job under the terms of the Railway Labor Act, which governs union relations in the air travel industry as well. By raising the prospect of releasing them from mediation, NMB is making the path to a strike clearer. The administration is counting on the idea that the pressure will make the companies settle to avoid the stoppage. But if the gambit fails, labor unrest could trigger a massive disruption in the US air travel system just in time for summer and ahead of the final sprint for Biden’s reelection campaign.<br/>
