American Airlines flight attendants are asking federal officials for the right to go on strike, possibly before the end of the Christmas and New Year’s travel rush, but American said there was “no possibility” of a walkout over the holidays, according to the Associated Press.
Meanwhile, pilots at Southwest opened a “strike center” in Dallas this week. Officials with the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association say they too will ask for the right to strike if they don’t have a contract deal with the airline in the next few days.
It is far from certain that either union will go on strike, however. Federal law makes it very hard for airline workers to walk off the job or for carriers to lock out workers. The last strike by a U.S. airline union took place in 2010, involving pilots at Spirit Airlines.
The flight attendants’ union is asking American for immediate raises of 35% and then annual increases of 6% under a three-year deal. American is offering 11% upfront but says it’s 18% including higher pay during the time that passengers board planes, followed by annual increases of 2%. The union also wants bigger 401(k) contributions and increased rest time. American’s pilots recently won raises of more than 40% over four years.
Because of pattern bargaining, Southwest pilots are likely to wind up with raises like those approved for American Airlines pilots. The union at Southwest is asking for slightly higher pay than Boeing 737 pilots at other airlines, arguing that Southwest uses its planes — and pilots — longer per day on average.
A major stumbling block at Southwest is over pilot scheduling. The union wants Southwest to pay pilots a premium to operate flights that lack a crew instead of staffing those flights with pilots who are on reserve.
The Southwest pilots’ union has already tried and failed once this year to get permission to strike. Another bargaining session is scheduled for the last week in November, but none after that.
