3.15.24 – Negotiations Update #50: National Mediation Board Status Conference Update

Friday, March 15, 2024

Negotiations Update #50
National Mediation Board Status Conference Update

On Wednesday, March 13th, your negotiating committee met with members of the National Mediation Board (NMB) to update them on the status of our bargaining for a fair contract at American Airlines. The National Mediation Board consists of three members appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the US Senate. Attending members of the Board included Linda Puchala and Deirdre Hamilton. The third member of the Board, Loren Sweatt, was just confirmed last week and thus was not in attendance.

At the status conference, our APFA team had several hours to present our case directly to the NMB. We discussed where we are in bargaining and why we believe a release into a thirty-day cooling-off period is necessary. Presenting for APFA was Joe Burns, our lead negotiating attorney, who discussed both the status of our bargaining and our need for a release into a thirty-day cooling-off period. Dan Akins, APFA economist, explained the valuation of our proposals and the industry’s economic context. APFA National President Julie Hedrick eloquently pressed the case that our Flight Attendants need improvements now, reiterated the sacrifices made by Flight Attendants to keep this company solvent, and illustrated the fact that this job has changed dramatically. We believe we had a productive conversation with the Board and the ability to directly state our position.

Following our presentation, the company met separately with the NMB to update the Board with their perspective, which, as we can imagine, will be the opposite of ours. This is customary at a status conference for the Board to hear from both parties separately. The NMB will consider our discussion and typically will have continued interaction through the federal mediators. We do not have a time frame on any Board determination on a release into a thirty-day cooling-off period. Our next negotiations are scheduled for April 9-11, 2024.

On Tuesday, March 12, and Thursday, March 14, the NMB held mediated talks with us. We will provide an update on those discussions next week.

Continue to wear your red WAR pin, red lanyard, and bag tags until we secure the contract we’ve earned.

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In Solidarity,

Your APFA Negotiating Committee

Reese Cole
Kelly J. Hagan
Julie Hedrick
Timothy Legeros
Brian Morgan
Wendy Oswald
Susan Wroble
Joe Burns, Lead Negotiating Attorney

[email protected]