STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
A new contract at American is at the top of NPR's business news.
Flight attendants at American Airlines ratified a new contract offer from the airline. American is currently seeking to cut costs in bankruptcy protection, so the flight attendants' union pushed hard for this vote - warning that rejecting the contracts could mean even deeper cuts or furloughs. The company's trying to cut about a billion dollars in labor costs. Mechanics and other union workers had previously accepted new contracts but pilots rejected American's latest offer earlier this month.
Now the airline's future is considered uncertain as it works through restructuring. With its contract ratification though, the flight attendants' union is reaffirming its support for a merger between American and US Airways. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.