http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/199916_airlinestrike17.html Wednesday, November 17, 2004
Strike threat by flight attendants' union Airlines warned not to use bankruptcy to scrap contracts By LYNNE MAREK AND MARY SCHLANGENSTEIN BLOOMBERG NEWS The Association of Flight Attendants, representing workers at United Airlines, US Airways Group Inc. and 24 other carriers, plans to call for a nationwide strike if any airline uses bankruptcy to scrap a contract with attendants. The union's national board voted yesterday to canvass all its members on securing authority to call a strike in the event companies reject contracts during bankruptcy proceedings, said Greg Davidowitch, who leads the United AFA. The chapter at Chicago-based United is balloting its members, he said. UAL Corp.'s United and US Airways, both operating under bankruptcy protection, are seeking wage and benefit concessions to stem losses and lower costs. US Airways last week sought bankruptcy approval to throw out contracts for three unions, including the attendants. United has also filed notice in court that it may seek to scrap its contracts. "Airline management needs to understand that there will be serious consequences if they persist in their attacks on our contracts," President Pat Friend said in the statement before the board vote. The union has 46,000 members, mostly in the United States. US Airways spokesman David Castelveter said the Arlington, Va.-based airline is negotiating with the union to reach an agreement. A flight attendants strike would be illegal, and "ground this airline and send approximately 5,400 flight attendants to the unemployment lines," he said in an e-mailed statement. The union hasn't determined when a strike would occur, said spokesman David Kameras. If a strike was called, the union wants other unionized employees to "lend support where they can and stand in solidarity," he said. Flight attendants have called their previous activities "chaos," referring to the selection at random of flights to be disrupted. Airline labor contracts are governed by the Railway Labor Act, which bars a strike before negotiations overseen by the U.S. National Mediation Board have been exhausted. The act seeks to limit the number of job actions and protect travelers, said Jack Gallagher, a transportation labor law attorney in Washington with the firm of Paul, Hastings, Janofsky and Walker. The union has the right to resort to so-called "self-help" under the act if an airline unilaterally rejects a contract, Davidowitch said. The sentiment of attendants is that "we have everything to gain and nothing to lose" because carriers' changes make the jobs not worth having, he said.
