American Airlines pilots have voted to authorize a potential strike.
The Allied Pilots Association, a union representing 15,000 American Airlines pilots, held a vote to gain strike authorization from its pilots who are urging their employer for increased salary and improved working conditions.
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About 96% of the union’s members voted, and over 99% of them voted in favor of authorizing the strike, the union said in a statement.
However, this vote does not mean that American Airlines travelers should see flight cancellations due to an impending strike. There are several federal laws making it difficult for airline workers to go on strike, on top of the already progressing contract negotiations between American Airlines and the union.
“We remain confident that an agreement for our pilots is within reach and can be finalized quickly,” American Airlines said in a statement. “The finish line is in sight.”
American Airlines CEO Robert Isom already promised in February that the Fort Worth, Texas-based airline would be matching the salary increase that Delta gave its pilots, which included $7 billion worth of cumulative increases over four years or a rate of a 34% increase.
Authorizing a work strike has become common practice among pilots as Delta and Alaska Air pilots both pushed for the same measures during their negotiation processes in the past. Southwest pilots are also pursuing the same strategy soon.
And American Airlines understands that as part of the negotiation.
“We understand that a strike authorization vote is one of the important ways pilots express their desire to get a deal done and we respect the message of voting results,” a spokesperson said.
