WASHINGTON — Flight attendants at American Airlines
rejected a five-year contract Sunday, forcing the world’s largest carrier and
its union for cabin-crew workers into binding arbitration.
Just 16 votes blocked the contract – with 8,180 voting
for and 8,196 voting against, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants
said in a statement.
Flight attendants at American Airlines rejected a
five-year contract Sunday, forcing the world’s largest carrier and its union
for cabin-crew workers into binding arbitration.
The rejection of the contract affects roughly 24,000
workers and complicates the integration of American Airlines and US Airways.
The two merged last year to form the world’s biggest airline operator. The
proposed contract included guaranteed raises but ended a profit-sharing plan.
Last month, American Airlines Group Inc., based in Fort
Worth, Texas, reported an all-time best $942 million profit in the
June-through-September quarter, nearly double the amount that American and US
Airways earned separately last year. CEO Doug Parker predicted more records for
the fourth-quarter.
Other carriers including United, Southwest and Delta
shared profits last year, with Atlanta-based Delta paying out $506 million to
employees based on its 2013 profits.
American Airlines said in a statement that it was
“disappointed” by the vote.
The company said the proposed contract “would have
provided considerably more economic value and much better work rules than the
contract that will be determined by arbitration.”
The first arbitration meeting is scheduled for Dec. 3,
the union said.
Source: CentralMaine.com
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