US Airway flight attendants, represented by the Association
of Flight-Attendants-CWA (AFA), held protests at four airports yesterday
(November 14th). The flight attendants are protesting after
management failed to negotiate a single contract for the more than 6,700 flight
attendants. America West and US Airways merged in 2005 but the merger is still
incomplete and flight attendants are working under separate contracts in
separate operations.
The major gripe for these workers is that while US Airways profits continue to soar, pre-merger America West flight attendants have not seen a contract improvement since 1999. These workers are continuing to work on outdated contracts they reached during the airline’s bankruptcy.
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| US Airways flight attendants protest at Charlotte Douglas |
This unified protest shows that the flight attendants are willing to take action to see change. In the event of a strike, US Airways flight attendants would utilize CHAOS tactics- which stands for Create Havoc Around Our System. This would include intermittent strikes called without warning to the traveling public or management.
This becomes a big issue as Doug Parker, CEO of US Airways,
eyes a merger with American Airlines. He must first work with his current US
Airways employees and settle the unfinished business from the first merger
before concentrating on a second merger with American Airlines. A strike does
not seem to be imminent, but with its flight attendants compensation roughly
equivalent to what it was in 1996, US Airways should focus on keeping its hard
working employees content.
