Strike Command Center Ready, American Airlines Flight Attendants Told ‘Prepare To Skip Credit Card Payments’
by Gary Leff
The Association of Professional Flight Attendants will enter what they’re calling “last ditch” negotiations with American Airlines with a federal mediator in Washington, D.C. next week. They’re asking for permission to enter a “30-day cooling off period” following which they’d be allowed to strike if no agreement is reached first.
The union has opened what they’re calling a “Strike Command Center.” It’s actually a Communications Conference Room, currently staffed during the business week with a phone number “to answer questions from Flight Attendants” and that’s “[p]roducing written materials, videos, and other resources to support Flight Attendants during a strike.”
APFA Strike Command Center
They’re spinning up a web page that’ll include a digital strike handbook, and crew will be sent a paper version to carry with them.
The union’s messaging to members is focusing on the gap between their position and the company’s over retro pay. They want compensation for raises foregone during the time since the last contract became amendable four and a half years ago – something flight attendants might traditionally not expect, but that Southwest flight attendants achieved in their recent deal.
To prepare for a strike, the union is telling flight attendants… you’re on your own and expect not to be able to pay credit card bills.
- Consider moving up doctor/ dentist appointments.
- Refill prescriptions early if possible.
- Apply for “Union-friendly” credit cards that have provisions concerning payments in the event of a strike.
- Reconsider “big ticket” items, such as a new car or home.
The underlying message to flight attendants is we do not have a strike fund. Cabin crew are on their own financially in the event of a strike. Junior flight attendants are already among the most financially vulnerable at the company. The union may ask them to do without any pay at all.
And the list of things they should do to prepare almost sounds as though it comes straight out of American Airlines board member Doug Steenland’s management days at Northwest.
Steenland’s Northwest obtained employee pay cuts in bankruptcy. They were also able to outsource ground handling at airports with fewer than 50 flights a week, meaning some employees faced layoffs. In an effort to make those employees feel better about their situation, the airline put out a guide to making do with less, offering “101 ways to save money.” The primary thing missing from the American Airlines flight attendants union version of the list? Dumpster diving.
And the union’s financial advice here is too little, too late. A union-friendly credit card? They don’t make a single suggestion. Capital One issues the Union Plus card makes cardmembers eligible for $500 when in the midst of a strike, but they need to have been cardmembers for 3 months first. Maybe a suggestion the union could have made when first asking to be released from negotiations?
The United Auto Workers were able to strike successfully because they had a war chest. Striking autoworkers were paid $100 per day by their union. American Airlines flight attendants will receive $0.
The union’s hope is that they can ask a limited number of flight attendants to strike specific flights that change daily, so that uncertainty causes customers to book away from the airline, while limiting the financial cost to crew. A well-prepared airline, though, would be able to replace a limited number of workers striking on a given day – while providing strong incentives for flight attendants to show up to work (from higher immediate pay to commitments to limit future flight benefits of those who do strike).
A strike still seems both unwise and the less likely outcome. The airline increased its pay offer, which will pay cabin crew at the top of the industry. The union reduced its demands. The President has a strong incentive to avoid a strike. And the National Mediation Board called for more negotiations next week, rather than declaring an impasse.
Hopefully the two sides come to terms, since they’re closer than ever, and flight attendants whose seen the value of their wages eroded by inflation already have an offer of an immediate 17% wage increase plus new boarding pay, increased retirement contributions and substantially greater profit sharing already on the table.
