Illegal Strike: American Airlines Flight Attendant Halts Service Over Contract Demands
Illegal Strike: American Airlines Flight Attendant Halts Service Over Contract Demands
American Airlines has faced contentious negotiations with its flight attendants, that have dragged on interminably. Their contract became amendable four and a half years ago. Flight attendants haven’t seen their wage formula rise since January 2019, and the value of wages has eroded around 20% since then.
The flight attendants union has declared their desire to strike for more than six months. The government hasn’t let them. The company offered immediate wage increases while negotiations continued but the union refused this. Many flight attendants are fed up.
So it’s no surprise to see a frequent flyer share their experience of an American Airlines flight attendant refusing to provide service – and shaming their colleagues that do.
I’m on the ground right now about to leave on [Chicago O’Hare to St. Louis]. I’m in [first class seat] 1B. We’re on time and will likely push early. Two [flight attendants] are chatting and one proudly declares, “I don’t do pre-departures any more because of the contract.” She went on to complain about a[ flight attendant] she worked with a few days earlier who did one, and she apparently didn’t like that.
I’ve suspected that [flight attendants] have been doing this lately, but it’s pretty amazing to hear them just outright declare it in front of pax. Interestingly neither…standing in the galley are wearing name tags. I assume that’s intentional too.
I know the [flight attendants] don’t care, and [American] probably doesn’t care either, but that sure does make me mad. If I declared my unwillingness to do my job in front of customers, I’d certainly get fired.
I’ve certainly heard similar conversations amongst cabin crew as negotiations drag on. Meanwhile, getting flight attendants to serve predeparture beverages has been an ongoing challenge at American for years. Here was their reminder to crew back in 2015:
One of the key service elements of American Airlines domestic first class is the predeparture beverage. Passengers are supposed to be offered something to drink during boarding. The airline has emphasized how valuable this is for customer perception and handed out fortune cookies trying to convince them to do it.
Many flight attendants just don’t bother to do it, and the airline doesn’t actually do anything about it. The most important thing for the airline is an on-time departure, and sometimes there just isn’t time. If a flight boards late, and passengers are pouring down the aisle into the plane, flight attendants aren’t supposed to slow things down. And if ever questioned, all they ever have to do is suggest that they didn’t want to risk delaying pushback.
Since there are no consequences when they don’t do this part of the job, many crewmembers just don’t do it. Others are openly hostile to the idea.
- Their pay is calculated on flight time after the boarding door closes, so they don’t want to work before then.
- They don’t receive enough profit sharing, so don’t care if customers are happy and the airline profitable.
This is a comment about predeparture beverages an American Airlines flight attendant once left on this website,
You bought the seat in 1st. The service is optional. FAs are on board to save your ass not kiss it. …Are there no drinking fountains or restrooms in the terminal? …[Y]ou are so self absorbed , you whine about everything. Walk a day in someone else’s shoes for a change. Tip your flight attendant. They make less than minimum wage working double the hours they get paid for. You tip the waitress that brings your food why is this job any different?
It’s absolutely reasonable for a first class passenger to request a predeparture beverage. In fact it should be proactively offered. However if you’re a frequent traveler on American Airlines you know not to expect this.
Now, as flight attendant contract negotiations are especially tense, some cabin crew are engaging in ‘self-help’ which is illegal. On flight attendant forums I see talk of refusing to pitch the airline’s credit card. It’s likely that severe operational issues at the end of May, started by weather, were exacerbated by flight attendants refusing to volunteer for premium pay extra trips. And we have them refusing to do standard service elements.
The real opportunity in these negotiations – an opportunity that American isn’t taking – is to offer real wage increases paired with real accountability for delivering service. The airline used to say that they’d ‘take care of employees, and employees would take care of customers’ and that would lead to a competitive advantage that customers would pay more for. They don’t talk about this anymore.
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