United Airlines Flight Attendants Will Vote to Strike Next Month
by Daniel McCarthy
The union that represents flight attendants at United Airlines, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA), will soon vote on a potential strike, the first strike vote from the airline’s flight attendants since 2005.
The AFA, which represents 28,000 United flight attendants, said on Tuesday that the vote will take place after “continued frustrations in contract negotiations” with the airline. Strike vote ballots will be sent out starting on Aug. 1 and voting will close on Aug. 28, just as the Labor Day holiday in the U.S. begins.
The AFA originally filed for federal mediation almost eight months ago. The hope for the union is that the strike authorization vote will push negotiations forward, just like it did with Alaska, Southwest, and American Airlines.
Even if the strike is approved, the AFA will not be able to strike unless it gets permission from the National Mediation Board (NMB), an unlikely outcome that only comes after a 30-day “cooling off” period between the two parties.
Last year, American Airlines flight attendants asked the NMB for permission to strike after months of failed negotiations. The NMB did not grant permission, and negotiations with the airline continued, with reports suggesting that the two sides were getting a bit closer to an agreement, a more likely outcome than a strike.
