9.19.23 – Negotiations Update #34- Where We Are/Next Steps/Video Message

Tuesday, September 19, 2023

Negotiations Update #34

With our 99.47% strike vote in hand, we are heading back into federal mediation this week. We plan to present management with a comprehensive counterproposal that will address the remaining priority open issues.

Hopefully, most of you have had a chance to see management’s economic proposal. The proposal falls short on key economic items and management still needs to address many of our core negotiations concerns. We also assume management received the overwhelming message from Flight Attendants that this proposal is not enough, or as the meme goes, Not Interested.

We are confident in our position. The very reason the negotiations team sought strike authorization is that we knew how far apart we were and what it would take to reach an agreement.

Next Steps

Under the Railway Labor Act, we cannot strike until we have been released by the National Mediation Board (NMB) and following a thirty-day cooling-off period. Typically, the NMB wants the remaining issues to be sufficiently narrow to resolve during the thirty-day cooling-off period. They also want to be clear that the negotiations are at an impasse or stalemated. That means that we have pursued all avenues for an agreement. Unions may request release, but the decision to grant the release is exclusively up to the NMB and is based on their analysis of the negotiations.

We are continuing to bargain, and if we do not see improvements in management’s offer, we will request a release from the NMB. We are not going to allow these negotiations to drag out forever and will keep the pressure on. We are also going to be strategic in every step we take.

We are not alone, as our struggle is part of a larger struggle by working people standing up against corporate greed. Autoworkers are on strike against the big three, as are actors and screenwriters. Tens of thousands of Flight Attendants at Alaska Airlines, Southwest, and United are in bargaining. This is our time to reach the agreement Flight Attendants deserve.

A Video Message from Your Negotiating Committee and Lead Negotiating Attorney

Continue to wear your red WAR pin, red lanyard, and bag tags until we achieve the tentative agreement we’ve earned.

In Solidarity,

Your APFA Negotiating Committee

Reese Cole
Kelly J. Hagan
Julie Hedrick
Timothy Legeros
Brian Morgan
Wendy Oswald
Susan Wroble
Joe Burns, Lead Negotiating Attorney

[email protected]