Flight attendants at United vote to authorize strike

Flight attendants at United Airlines have voted in favour of going on strike, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA) said Wednesday (Aug. 28).

The union says that 90 per cent of the flight attendants participated, with 99.99 per cent of the votes in favour of a strike authorization.

It’s the first time since the 2005 bankruptcy negotiations that flight attendants at United have voted to strike, the union said.

The results of the vote were announced live, simultaneously, on nearly 20 informational picket lines at airports across the country.

“We deserve an industry-leading contract. Our strike vote shows we’re ready to do whatever it takes to reach the contract we deserve,” said Ken Diaz, president of the United chapter of AFA, in a statement. “We are the face of United Airlines and planes don’t take off without us. As Labor Day travel begins, United management is reminded what’s at stake if we don’t get this done.”

Recent strike authorization votes have propelled negotiations forward at American, Alaska, Southwest, and other airlines.

United’s flight attendants are demanding double-digit base pay increase, pay for time at work on the ground, retroactive pay to the amendable date, schedule flexibility and work rule improvements, job security, retirement and more.

“The United management team gives themselves massive compensation increases while Flight Attendants struggle to pay basic bills,” Diaz said. “The 99.99% yes vote is a clear reminder that we are unified in the fight against corporate greed and ready to fight for our fair share of the profits we create.”

Now that members have authorized a strike, the union could request a release from the National Mediation Board (NMB) leading to a 30-day "cooling off" period and strike deadline.

Air Canada prepares for possible pilot strike

Here at home, Air Canada is dealing with a possible strike situation involving its pilots, which staged informational picketing events at Canadian airports on Tuesday.

Air Canada pilots will be in a legal position to commence job action as early as mid-September if no agreement has been reached by the end of a cooling-off period.

As PAX previously reported, the earliest possible job action would be Sept. 17.

Air Canada, earlier this month, said it was seeing progress in the talks. "Already, we have reached agreement on several items," an airline spokesperson told CBC on Aug. 14. "We are working actively to reach agreement on the remaining issues with an aim to finalize a deal over the next several weeks."

Canada's flag carrier, meanwhile, has implemented a goodwill policy to give customers with imminent travel plans some flexibility as a possible strike nears.

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