American Airlines has reached a tentative contract agreement with the TWU-IAM Association, which represents more than 31,000 employees including mechanics and maintenance teams. The association in a statement said the agreement "will provide all association members with wages, benefits, work rules, job security and retirement income that had never before been accomplished" along with compensation that "is the richest in the industry." The association's negotiating committees in the next few weeks will finalize the contract language prior to putting it to members for a vote. The lengthy negotiations had led to a work slowdown last summer that was a contributing factor to issues with American's operations during that period.