US Airways Staring At Possible Flight Attendant Strike

<B>US Airways Staring At Possible Flight Attendant Strike</B>

By David Jonas

While labor groups at other carriers ratified agreements in the past few weeks, US Airways has found itself in a precarious situation as its 10,000 flight attendants said they will selectively strike later this week in the absence of a satisfactory contract agreement with management. However, with the facilitation of the National Mediation Board, the two sides were continuing intense negotiations at press time.

Should eleventh-hour talks fail to produce an agreement by 12:01 a.m. Saturday (March 25), the flight attendants--represented by the Association of Flight Attendants--will partake in CHAOS (create havoc around our system) actions and business travelers will be scrambling for alternative flights. However, carrier management said it proactively would ground the fleet if the deadline passes, rather than leave its passengers stranded or in a state of confusion. The AFA called the tactic "an attempt to circumvent face-to-face negotiations."

Because both sides have well-entrenched positions, many industry observers said a job action or management-initiated service disruption is quite likely. AFA said that management "has not provided flight attendants' raises in over four years and refuses to apply the Family and Medical Leave Act to flight attendants. Sixteen contract sections remain unresolved, including pay, benefits, retirement and work rules."

Meanwhile, US Airways management, citing extremely high labor costs, has offered the attendants a "parity plus 1 percent" wage structure bringing salaries in line with other major carriers.

In an interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette earlier this month, US Airways' CEO Rakesh Gangwal said, "The issue for US Airways is very simple. Either we survive and be a vibrant carrier in a brutally competitive business or we will no longer be. There is no middle ground." He added, "If four people out of 100 people stop flying with us, our [profit] margins are gone."

As the two sides hold firm, there is the possibility of the appointment of a Presidential Emergency Board. However, contrary to AFA claims, US Airways management said it is committed to first finding a solution at the bargaining table.

In the absence of an agreement, flight attendants will strike on a pre-selected set of routes, including many major business markets up and down the East Coast. Delta, which operates competing shuttle service in the Northeast, likely would pick up many inconvenienced US Airways customers.

On the pilot front, US Airways pilots agreed to let the airline begin code sharing with American Eagle on the West Coast, but with turboprops only. That development underscores the continuing rift between management and pilots over regional jets. US Airways management would like to field a fleet of 400 RJs spread out between regional affiliates, but pilot scope clauses thus far allow hundreds fewer and there is no indication that the gap will close substantially.

Meanwhile, several airlines have sidestepped labor entanglements in recent weeks. Delta, for example, likely will remain the least unionized of all major carriers as the Transport Workers Union failed to gain representation for nearly 11,000 fleet service employees. Though the large majority of votes were in favor of unionization, National Mediation Board regulations state that valid votes must be cast by more than 50 percent of those eligible to vote. Less than 2,000 of Delta's fleet service employees actually voted.

Also, Midway Airlines struck a tentative contract agreement with its ramp workers represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, while Midwest Express's pilots overwhelmingly ratified a tentative agreement with management.

In other airline labor news, Frontier's 320 flight attendants are voting on representation by the Association of Flight Attendants. Ballots will be tallied on March 31.