Flight attendants looking to work for American Airlines should not expect to make a lot of money doing so. A typical employment letter says that the starting salary is $27,315, CNN reports. In Texas, where American Airlines is headquartered, that pay would qualify a single-parent and child household for food stamps. A second child would drive their earnings below the poverty line.
The union that bargains on behalf of American Airlines flight attendants, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA), confirmed the authenticity of the letter to the outlet, though American Airlines didn’t comment.
The revelation comes amid years-long labor negotiations and as the airline’s flight attendants stand ready to strike. In its latest annual report, American Airlines said that 87% of its 129,700 full-time workers are unionized. Of that number, 23,200 are organized under the APFA. Their contract expired in 2019, but negotiations paused during the pandemic. Since things resumed in 2021, they have been slow-going.
In August, APFA members voted nearly unanimously to authorize a strike if negotiations don’t result in an agreement. The APFA bargaining committee wrote Monday that it is heading to Washington, D.C. for federally mediated negotiations and that a deal wasn’t done.