American Airlines has made it official. It will not renew its uniforms contract with Twin Hill when it expires in 2020.
Since the airline released its new uniforms in September of last year, flight attendants and pilots have had nothing but complaints. More than 4,000 airline employees have registered grievances about the uniforms, which they say have caused health problems such as skin irritations, respiratory issues, thyroid problems and more.
"All of the testing to date confirms that the current uniforms are safe, and indeed, most team members wearing them do not have any issues doing so," the company said in a memo sent to employees Wednesday. "Despite these efforts, it is clear we need a long-term solution because the current approach simply does not work."
American has had to make a number of concessions to its staff, allowing them to wear old uniforms and ordering more than 10,000 alternate uniforms.
Now the airline will search for a new vendor going forward, once the contract with Twin Hill expires in 2020.
Twin Hill defended its uniforms in a statement, saying:
"In our partnership with American Airlines, Twin Hill has stood by its values, its products and the facts. We have acted at every step in keeping with our core value of integrity, delivering on our commitment to quality and service and fulfilling every requirement of our contract in close collaboration with our customer. And we have delivered, and will continue to deliver, high- quality products that are popular with, and worn without issue by, the vast majority of American flight attendants, pilots, and customer and premium service agents."
[READMORE]READ MORE: American Pilot Confronts CEO Over Uniforms[/READMORE]
Airline unions reacted positively to the news, noting that finding a new vendor was a step in the right direction but also lamenting that more was not being done in the short term.
"We're pleased that American Airlines has announced today that it will begin the process of ordering and delivering new uniforms for flight attendants and other American employees. This isn't the first time-and it won't be the last time-that effective and determined advocacy by APFA members has led to improvements in working conditions for all of our members," said Association of Professional Flight Attendants president Bob Ross in a statement.
"Management at American is taking a positive step by stating that front-line flight attendants and our union will play a key role as the process for delivering new uniforms goes forward. We'll continue to aggressively monitor this issue, as well as any other matter that affects the health and well-being of our members," Ross continued.
The CWA-IBT Passenger Service Association noted that, while a long-term solution is good, more needs to be done in the short term.
"The union's primary goal is to ensure that no agent's health is put at risk on the job," said CWA District 3 vice president Richard Honeycutt, head of CWA's airline bargaining council. "We demanded that management investigates the problem and ensure proper testing while continuing to work on a long-term solution."
American may be looking for a new vendor for its uniforms, but it is not looking for a new design. The new uniforms were the first redesign in almost 30 years and the new look is sticking around.
Even though the new design is staying, the airline's decision to change vendors isn't surprising. In addition to complaints from employees, American CEO Doug Parker received a cease and desist letter from a flight attendant in May. The letter implores the airline to recall all of the uniforms, which includes more than 1 million pieces of clothing.
All in all, rather than racking up more legal and personnel woes, it seems a change in vendor is more than appropriate.
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