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Season 5, Episode 185

APFA wins historic contract with American Airlines

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Guest Name:


Alex Roberts

Guest Website:


Association of Professional Flight Attendants Union

Guest Social Media:


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Supportive Documents:


Alex Roberts, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants Union Government Affairs Representative and Contract Action Ambassador, joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to speak about a new Collective Bargaining Agreement with American Airlines.

Roberts called the CBA historic, as it provides members with industry-leading wages, nearly doubled the company contribution/match for the 401(k), established per diem rates, improved the profit sharing rates, created boarding pay, added retroactive pay and improved work roles. He said 88.6 percent of members voted to ratify the contract

The fight for a new contract began about six years ago, said Roberts. He explained how the Railway Labor Act governs their contract, which means it never expires - it can only be amended. This limits the threat of a strike, as the union has to jump through many hoops, which can take years, before it is allowed to seek a strike authorization from its members. 

Roberts stressed the importance of winning retroactive pay, which will go back to 2020. Union leaders, he said, pushed for the membership to be made whole and receive the pay they deserve for the work they perform. On the APFA website, there is a calculator for members to help them determine how much retroactive pay they will receive from the airline. It will be a sizable amount and allow members to make life-changing decisions, he said.

Roberts also discussed why boarding pay is a major win, as flight attendants will now be paid for the work they are doing during the boarding process. 

To learn more about the recently ratified agreement, listen to the show above.


America’s Work Force is the only daily labor podcast in the US and has been on the air since 1993, supplying listeners with useful, relevant input into their daily lives through fact-finding features, in-depth interviews, informative news segments and practical consumer reports. America’s Work Force is committed to providing an accessible venue in which America's workers and their families can hear discussion on important, relevant topics such as employment, healthcare, legislative action, labor-management relations, corporate practices, finances, local and national politics, consumer reports and labor issues.

America’s Work Force Union Podcast is brought to you in part by our sponsors: AFL-CIO, American Federation of Government Employees, American Federation of Musicians Local 4, Alliance for American Manufacturing, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes-IBT, Boyd Watterson, Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, Communication Workers of America, Mechanical Insulators Labor Management Cooperative Trust, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local 50, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Crafts, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 6, Ironworkers Great Lakes District Council, Melwood, The Labor Citizen newspaper, Laborers International Union of North America, The National Labor Office of Blue Cross and Blue Shield, North Coast Area Labor Federation, Ohio Federation of Teachers, United Labor Agency, United Steelworkers.

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