The American Airlines pilots’ union rejected the company’s offer to double employees’ pay during the holiday season to prevent further delays and cancellations.
The Allied Pilots Associated, the union representing American Airlines pilots, rejected the airline’s offer to increase pay by as much as 100% during the 19 day period between the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years holidays, the APA said in a press release.
“While understanding that its rejection creates a disparity among our fellow work groups that have accepted management’s proffered incentives, the board concluded that the need to achieve meaningful permanent improvements in a new collective bargaining agreement must remain APA’s focus,” the union said in the statement.
American Airlines has been negotiating new holiday bonus deals throughout the airline, which employs over 100,000 workers. The company up to tripled the pay for flight attendants during the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years holiday period, CNBC reported.
“We are, of course, disappointed, especially since we have holiday pay programs in place for all other frontline groups at the company,” Kimball Stone, American Airlines’ senior vice president of flight operations, and Chip Long, vice president of flight operations, wrote in a statement obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation. “But we will continue to look for opportunities to work with APA to support you during the holidays, as well as explore our options to maximize availability of existing premiums.”
American Airlines cancelled almost 3,000, over a three-day period ending Nov. 1 due to weather delays and staffing shortages.
Earlier in October, Southwest Airlines cut over 2,000 flights, costing the company roughly $75 million as a result. The cancellations were first attributed to weather and air traffic control issues, but the airline later admitted to experiencing labor shortages.
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