American Airlines flight attendants ratify new contract with the carrier

(Reuters) - American Airlines flight attendants have ratified a new five-year contract with the airline, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA) said on Thursday.

With 95% of eligible flight attendants voting, 87% were in favor of the new deal, the union said.

In the past two years, unions in the aerospace, construction, airline and rail industries have advocated for higher wages and more benefits amid a tight labor market.

Flight attendants have also urged an end to the industry practice of not compensating crew for the time spent during boarding and waiting at the airport before and between flights.

"Among the many improvements, the contract includes a new sit rig for compensation for long sits between flights, and American Airlines Flight Attendants become the first unionized workgroup to lock in pay for boarding," APFA National President Julie Hedrick said.

The agreement, which was reached in July, provides immediate wage increases of up to 20.5% along with retroactive pay to address time spent negotiating.

In addition to industry-leading wage rates, the new labor deal includes out-year wage increases and addresses many quality-of-life issues that the flight attendants have been advocating for, the union said.

The contract negotiations started in January 2020 but paused at the height of the pandemic, and resumed in June 2021.

(Reporting by Shivansh Tiwary in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore)