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Julie Hedrick, president of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, right, announces a strike authorization outside Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport near Dallas on Aug. 30, 2023.

American Airlines flight attendants approved a five-year labor deal, ending one of the industry's most contentious contract negotiations and giving cabin crews raises of up to 20.5% at the start of October.

Eighty-seven percent of the American Airlines flight attendants who voted approved the contract, the union said Thursday, shortly after polls closed.

"This contract marks a significant milestone for our Flight Attendants, providing immediate wage increases of up to 20.5%, along with significant retroactive pay to address time spent negotiating," said Julie Hedrick, president of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, which represents the carrier's roughly 28,000 cabin crew members.

Flight attendants are the biggest unionized work group at the Fort Worth-based airline.

The contract deal is a relief for American Airlines' leaders, which had faced a strike threat from flight attendants if the two sides could not get to a deal. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Labor Secretary Julie Su had attended negotiations in June, overseen by the National Mediation Board. More than 160 lawmakers have also pushed the NMB to get to deals across the airline industry.

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