Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) announced on Feb. 13 the result of a strike vote among Alaska Airlines flight attendants: 99.48% voted to authorize a strike, amid a turnout of 93.47%. Under federal law the union can now request a release from the government’s National Mediation Board leading to a 30-day “cooling off” period and strike deadline. And Alaska flight attendants are not alone. Four of the top five airlines are in late-stage mediation with flight attendants unions, and and flight attendants at American Airlines have already voted to authorize a strike.
“Our flight attendants are making it clear that we are ready and willing to do whatever it takes to get the contract that we deserve,” said Alaska Airlines flight attendant Steve Maller, president of AFA Local Council 39 in Portland.
Flight attendants are governed under the Railway Labor Acts (improperly in my mind) and make the possibility of a strike near zero. It obviously hurts the unions’ leverage massively. Union leaders need to lobby congress to address these laws as they were last updated in the 1930s.