Well this is some interesting timing. This week, American Airlines’ CEO offered pilots huge pay increases, whereby captains would be making up to $590,000 per year. As reported by @xJonNYC, hours later, pilots decided to start voting as to whether or not they want to authorized a strike.
In this post:
American pilots now voting on a strike
The Board of Directors of the Allied Pilots Association (APA), which represents American Airlines pilots, has voted unanimously to approve a motion directing an electronic strike authorization vote. With this, pilots will have until April 30, 2023, to vote on whether or not they’d like to see a strike among pilots at the airline. Results will be announced on May 1, 2023.
It’s almost certain that there won’t actually be a strike, and there most definitely won’t be one in the next couple of months. In the event that pilots vote in favor of a strike authorization, that doesn’t mean they can actually go on strike.
Rather, American management and the union representing pilots will have to follow the procedures of the Railway Labor Act, which includes going to the National Mediation Board, in hopes of coming to a resolution. A strike would only (eventually) be permitted if that process fails. Even then it wouldn’t be imminent, as there would first be a 30-day cooling off period before a strike can occur.
The reality is that strikes don’t happen often at airlines in the United States, and we haven’t seen one in over a decade. Of course that’s not to say it couldn’t happen in the future. Just for context, Delta pilots voted in favor of a strike in October 2022, and then in March 2023 they voted in favor of a new industry-leading contract.
What are American pilots hoping to accomplish?
The timing here is interesting. American pilots have been seeking a new contract for years, and have been waiting a lot longer than they wanted to. So voting on a strike authorization is what I’d expect.
What is a bit surprising is the timing. A day after American’s CEO announced he wanted to give pilots an amazing contract and wanted to get it done ASAP, the union bosses unanimously voted to authorize a strike ballot. You’d think that this would have happened at some point prior to that, when it seemed like management wasn’t trying to move things along.
I guess there are a couple of ways this could be interpreted:
- Maybe the union isn’t happy with how American’s CEO has presented this huge pay offer; rather than going through union channels, he wrote a letter directly to pilots outlining what’s being offered
- With management and the union now being very close to reaching an agreement, maybe this is intended to really pressure management to get a deal done, hoping that a contract can be ratified before the current strike vote even concludes
Ultimately these strike authorization votes aren’t about actually striking, as much as they’re about strategically putting pressure on management to get a deal done. That very much seems like the motive here as well.
Bottom line
The bosses at American Airlines’ pilot union have voted unanimously for pilots to vote on a strike authorization. This comes just a day after American’s CEO signaled he was ready to finalize a deal, and offer pilots an incredible contract. I suspect American pilots will have a new tentative agreement within weeks, and might even ratify the new contract by April.
What do you make of this strike authorization vote?
May be that is why they authorized the strike. May be it would get people to consider if the deal they have is really that good or not. May be it shows that they are not against and welcome the idea.
Perhaps the union feels it is in danger of irrelevance if management can make an offer to the workers over their heads.
I am not sure what union dues are for APA, but if the union cannot claim to have influenced this decision, they are going to have to explain to the pilots what they are doing to earn their keep.
Honestly I think this is just another situation that adds to the on-going American (country not airline) airline industry disaster. Something is fundamentally wrong with the industry. The employees aren't happy, the passengers aren't happy, the whole industry is having mishap after mishap after mess up after disaster. Time to rethink the whole thing in my opinion. If it ain't a passenger trying to stab an employee, its a strike, or disaster story on the news.
Matt's comment is ignorant. Pilot unions are the reason airlines are safe today. You can not argue any different with intelligence. Management intransigence, signified by a "bean-counter" mentality, killed a lot of people before unions stood together and stopped pilot-pushing (into fatigue), better maintenance, accident investigation, airport facilities, and negotiated work rules to make flying safer. (Look up the history of ALPA). AA management is the worst. Delta is the best, followed by Southwest. The...
Matt's comment is ignorant. Pilot unions are the reason airlines are safe today. You can not argue any different with intelligence. Management intransigence, signified by a "bean-counter" mentality, killed a lot of people before unions stood together and stopped pilot-pushing (into fatigue), better maintenance, accident investigation, airport facilities, and negotiated work rules to make flying safer. (Look up the history of ALPA). AA management is the worst. Delta is the best, followed by Southwest. The "promise" of a pay raise and other work-rule enhancements are pie-in-the-sky to Amerian's pilots who see this rhetoric as another delay in the Railway Labor Act process. AA is famous for delaying negotiations years after the contract is amendable, and retroactivity is never part of the package. Nobody believes anything the CEO says until a reasonable offer is on the table. There is no "offer" at this point, just rhetoric to make the news in the wake of Delta actually signing a contract. Until you've sat in the pilot seat of an airliner for 22,000 accident-free flight hours, don't try to tell me I make too much money. YOU try being a professional pilot, paying the enormous price of admission to a professional aviation career, dealing with the time away from family, stringent medical requirements, rigorous training, all-night international schedules, fatigue, and the demands of commanding an airliner through weather, delays and maintenance issues - you have no right to make those comments. A wise chief pilot once said, 'the airlines get the unions they deserve..." meaning if you treat people like "beans" - as bean-counters do, you get the results you expect. Treat employees with respect and honor their issues (it's not all about pay), then you get employees that care about the airline. Every pilot I know cares about our passengers and running a professional operation. I cannot say the same thing about airline management...
Extremely confusing/stupid headline. Headline reads as if AA's pilots have approved a strike. Which is absolutely not true.
Better headline would be "AA Pilots to Vote on Whether to Strike" - but that wouldn't get nearly the amount of clicks you want, would it?
Doesn’t seem that odd to me. Have they been given a formal offer with all the terms? If not, totally reasonable for them to proceed as if the downsides in the contract (and you can bet there will be some) outweigh the headline number.
Putting it out in public like this also speaks of an ulterior motive.
A bit confused at the title, as, based on the article, it seems like the pilots have not voted to authorise a strike, rather the union has voted to put it to pilots for a vote. Am I misunderstanding, or?
Frankly, it would surprise me if the Union just rolled over and accepted the first offer. I don’t see any problem with this strategy.
Ben, you took that picture from the Capital One lounge, correct? :)
Perhaps they should put themselves in the shoes of nurses and service workers, including their own staff, most of whom don't even get paid 10% of what they do.
Does this extend to the folks in the C-suite too?
Make that one percent.
Isn't it amazing that while most US-based pilots are Republicans, they make so much money because of the unions? Typical Republican hypocrisy. If these greedy pilots want quality of life improvements, they should then have a pay cut and work less.
There are a lot of Democrats that are pilots
Never assume anything now a days
Wow Matt you are an absolute douche! Only someone like you can make an absolutely ridiculous comment like
that and somehow make this political. God you are the worst!
He's not wrong.
Police officers have some of the strongest unions in the country too. Anti-union hypocrites will take full advantage of them when it's professions they want to work in, but want to get rid of them for teachers and other people they look down upon.
I thought politics police weren't allowed on this site. ...at least they shouldn't be.
And I thought you believed in freedom of expression or are you a Republican?
Isom is negotiating publicly and not directly with the pilots, which is strange. This is a classic example of management throwing more money at employees thinking it’ll fix all their problems instead of fixing the culture and operations of the company to create a better workplace. Pretty easy to see that here; I’m not surprised one bit they’re looking at a strike. Management looks to be completely out of touch with their employees and state...
Isom is negotiating publicly and not directly with the pilots, which is strange. This is a classic example of management throwing more money at employees thinking it’ll fix all their problems instead of fixing the culture and operations of the company to create a better workplace. Pretty easy to see that here; I’m not surprised one bit they’re looking at a strike. Management looks to be completely out of touch with their employees and state of their company operations.
Pilots are absolutely losers!! Enough is NEVER enough with this group!! Hope the company files bankruptcy, it’s coming!
More exclamation points, please!!!!
The $590,000 salary for Senior Captains was a low ball offer. Should be closer to $725,000 .
Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered.
What good is 1 million per year if you’re never home to enjoy it? We’ve heard this same song and dance from management for years now and it’s way past time. The money is good, which is what he wants everyone to focus on. The real details and what’s important to the pilot group is QOL. So far we’ve not seen any tangible improvements. Isoms video was simply a ploy to get the public on...
What good is 1 million per year if you’re never home to enjoy it? We’ve heard this same song and dance from management for years now and it’s way past time. The money is good, which is what he wants everyone to focus on. The real details and what’s important to the pilot group is QOL. So far we’ve not seen any tangible improvements. Isoms video was simply a ploy to get the public on his side against the “greedy pilots”, to negotiate in public instead of through proper channels, and to seek a smooth spring break/summer. The unions vote was a response to clarify and stop the momentum of that message.
So what you are suggesting is that Isom should introduce a 30% pay cut in the new contract such that widebody Captains cap out at $300K but require less flying. That way they can hire more pilots to fly the planes at the same cost. I can get behind that argument.
You’ve missed the entire point of my post…The new industry standard is DAL pay, but they also have received major QOL improvements, and we have not been offered those yet. Everyone continues to focus entirely on the pay and not the 1,000 other provisions that matter. It’s not just about less flying, there are many factors going into this. If you’re an airlines pilot than you should know, if you’re not then you couldn’t possibly...
You’ve missed the entire point of my post…The new industry standard is DAL pay, but they also have received major QOL improvements, and we have not been offered those yet. Everyone continues to focus entirely on the pay and not the 1,000 other provisions that matter. It’s not just about less flying, there are many factors going into this. If you’re an airlines pilot than you should know, if you’re not then you couldn’t possibly know unless you really study the industry.
One word: leverage.
The APA is right to recognize that management is not their friend. At the table, they need as much leverage as possible to get what they need for their members. Management is not just going to dole out money and favorable work rules, in spite of what they may be saying to the press.
You missed the boat on this one. American pilots are tired and exhausted with the brutal schedules and lack of flexibility and view the quality of life improvements in recent agreements at Delta and Alaska as the gold standard. American’s lack of willingness to
negotiate on these QOL issues is the reason for the strike vote.
Then they should find a new job! No one holding a gun to their head right?
No, they should bargain for a better agreement, which is exactly what they are doing.
Organized Labor = Organized Crime
Say NO to unions
You know what? I read your comment on a frequent flyer blog and you're right! I'm totally changing my stance from pro-union to anti-union! Thank God I read your comment or I would have never come to my senses. /s
The union I’ve been in for years is excellent. But then I’m not in the USA which is anti universal healthcare, employee rights. In the US you can work for a company for 30 years and the company can let you go with no notice and no redundancy. Awful place to work ( and I have ).
The only employer who never cut my wages or laid me off is my current one, which is also the only employer I’ve ever had that was unionized.
I’ll stick with my union, thanks. Unions are the only force in the global economy pushing back against the eradication of middle class wages, benefits and lifetime career stability. (Searching for a new job in your 50s or 60s because you’re too young and don’t have enough savings to retire sucks.)
After graduating from college in the 1970's I joined the corporate world. My experiences with that included:
1. After a merger I worked in the corporate office the new employer, I saw the parent company cash in the generous pension plan that the new subsidiary had and replaced it with a much worse lower paying plan.
2. With a different company, watching my boss sweat out his 20th year with the company because...
After graduating from college in the 1970's I joined the corporate world. My experiences with that included:
1. After a merger I worked in the corporate office the new employer, I saw the parent company cash in the generous pension plan that the new subsidiary had and replaced it with a much worse lower paying plan.
2. With a different company, watching my boss sweat out his 20th year with the company because they had a history of firing employees in their 20th year. Oddly enough the company had a pension plan that required 20 complete years of service for vesting. That was legal back then.
3. After working for 3 different companies in the industry each of them found a loophole to keep me from any part of their retirement plans.
4. Watching an entire industry that since the 1930's relied on over 800 locally owned wholesale distributors throughout the US and Canada get destroyed. Today these profitable local companies have been replaced by 3 large corporations.
5. Since my customer base had disappeared I found that my years of experience in that specific industry was no longer needed or transferable.
As a result I moved into a very good union job that paid as well or better than some of the corporate jobs. After 20 in the union years I am now a very happy retiree with an outstanding union retiree medical supplement to Medicare as well as both Social Security and a very good union pension. My only regret is that I didn't dump the corporate world and join the union earlier.