AA Flight Attendants May Strike
D A L L A S, Jan. 12 -- One day after American Airlines announced it has agreed to buy parts of two other carriers, leaders of its flight attendants union pushed for a strike vote of rank-and-file members.
The move by union leaders underscored the difficulty American faces in winning labor support to buy Trans World Airlines and parts of US Airways for $1.8 billion in cash and $3.3 billion in debt.
“It is ironic that American can find more than $5 billion for these various assets but can’t invest in its best assets, its employees,” said John Ward, president of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, which represents 23,000 American employees.
The flight attendants are pressing a federal mediator to end negotiations with American, which would start a 30-day countdown until the workers could legally strike. After the 18-0 vote of union directors, a strike vote of rank-and-file could be completed by mid-February.
American spokeswoman Karen Watson said the company would prefer to resume negotiations with the flight attendants.
Asked whether a strike would complicate the TWA and US Airways deals, Watson said, “We have to work with all of our employee groups to resolve issues of integrating TWA into our operation, but that would be separate negotiations.”
Fliers May Follow Lead
As the flight attendants were taking steps toward a strike, American’s pilots are gearing up for negotiations this summer.
Leaders of the Allied Pilots Association were unhappy after a briefing by an American vice president about this week’s acquisitions. The union president said Thursday officials didn’t learn anything they didn’t already know from press accounts, and they’ve demanded another meeting today.
“This is an enormously large deal, and our pilots’ careers are at stake, so we have questions about several items,” union spokesman Jim Philpot said of the acquisitions. “We’re withholding judgment.”
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