American Airlines flight attendants have reached a tentative contract agreement with the carrier, their union announced in a statement.
The tentative agreement comes after years of negotiations that included help from federal authorities, including Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, to avoid a strike.
“We have reached a long overdue agreement with American Airlines, which addresses our concerns in compensation, work rules, and retroactive pay,” Julie Hedrick, the president of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, said in the statement.
After receiving approval from the union’s board of directors, the agreement will go to membership for a final vote.
“If approved, this agreement will put billions of additional dollars into compensation and work rules for our flight attendant workgroup,” Hedrick said.
The last update to American’s flight attendant contract was in December 2019.
Hedrick said the tentative agreement meets the union’s needs in terms of compensation and retroactive pay.
Further details won’t be released until late next week, officials with the union said.
“We are pleased to have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract with the Association of Professional Flight Attendants,” a spokesperson with American Airlines said in a statement, adding that the airline is proud of the agreement and believes it’s one its employees deserve.
President Joe Biden expressed his approval of the agreement on social media, issuing congratulations to the union and the airline.