American Airlines' flight attendants will soon start voting on whether to authorize a strike.
The board of directors at the Association of Professional Flight attendants authorizes a strike vote of the more than 26,000 flight attendants at American Airlines.
Union spokesman Paul Hartshorn Jr. says negotiations have been going on for four years.
"Basically we're saying that American needs to bring these negotiations to a close, come to the table, address the very fair issues that we've laid out, and let's get to an agreement now," Hartshorn tells KRLD News.
Voting will begin July 28 and will run through August 29.
Even if the flight attendants vote to authorize a strike, a strike is not imminent at this point -- federal mediation will continue.
"If talks are at an impasse, this strike authorization vote gives us the ability to ask to be released from the mediator into a 30-day cooling off period," says Hartshorn.
Pay and quality of life issues remain two of the main sticking points.
"We haven't had a cost of living raise in over four years," says Hartshorn. "We've experienced severe quality of life issues through the COVID pandemic and even after."
Staffing is also an unresolved issue.
"American during the pandemic took the opportunity to cut staffing severely on some of our equipment," Hartshorn says; "and now that the passengers and the profits have returned, our staffing has not."
American says it's continuing to work towards an agreement with its flight attendants.
"We look forward to reaching an agreement with APFA quickly so that American’s flight attendants can benefit from a contract that provides them with real and meaningful value," the airline says in a statement. "We continue to meet regularly and appreciate the National Mediation Board’s recent support as both American and APFA work to reach an agreement our flight attendants deserve."
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