American Airlines flight attendants overwhelmingly authorize strike

American Airlines flight attendants overwhelmingly voted Wednesday to authorize a strike, making them the latest aviation employees to authorize such a move.

The Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA), the union representing the flight attendants, announced that 99.47 percent voted in favor of authorizing a strike, with 93 percent of the union members voting over a monthlong period. The union said it would call a strike if “contract talks do not yield significant improvements.”

“Today, we sent a clear message to American Airlines management: We are fired up and ready for a contract. They ignore this strike vote at their peril,” APFA National President Julie Hedrick said in a statement. “Our contributions to the success of American Airlines must be recognized and respected.”

Despite the vote to authorize the action, an actual strike may still be many steps away. According to the union, the flight attendants cannot strike until they are released by the National Mediation Board and a 30-day cooling off period has elapsed.

The American Airlines flight attendants last month announced they would seek a vote on whether they should be authorized to strike. More than 26,000 flight attendants are seeking a one-time 35 percent wage increase, a 9 percent annual raise and increased benefits in a new contract with the airline.

“Our contract became amendable in 2019, and American’s Flight Attendants have not received cost-of-living increases or any other quality-of-life improvements, even as they played an essential part in keeping American in the skies both during and after the pandemic,” Hedrick said last month.

The vote comes after American Airlines pilots also authorized a strike back in May as their own union negotiated a new contract with the airline. Multiple other industries have also authorized strikes or have started strikes over the past few months, including Hollywood actors and writers.

A spokesperson for American Airlines said the results of the strike authorization vote will not impact the airline’s operations.

“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,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “We understand that a strike authorization vote is one of the important ways flight attendants express their desire to get a deal done. The results don’t change our commitment or distract us from working expeditiously to reach an agreement.”