US Airways Express Flight Attendants Authorize Strike

WASHINGTON, May 22, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Flight Attendants at Air Wisconsin, represented by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA), overwhelmingly authorized a strike should management fail to reach an agreement with Flight Attendants.  In a strike vote that concluded today, 97.3 percent of Air Wisconsin Flight Attendants voted to authorize a strike, if necessary. Air Wisconsin, the largest privately held regional airline in the United States, operates as a US Airways Express carrier.

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"Air Wisconsin Flight Attendants are focused on our future and it is time for management to move forward on a new, improved contract," said Brenda Barrall, AFA Air Wisconsin President. "Our role as on board first responders has been instrumental in the overall success of US Airways. If management fails to address the issues important to Air Wisconsin Flight Attendants or to recognize the contributions we have made to the success of our airline, then they should be prepared for CHAOS™."

Currently in negotiations, AFA is working to reach an agreement based on the priorities set by Flight Attendants at Air Wisconsin. Management is demanding concessions and attempting to remove previously negotiated improvements, including many quality of life provisions. This lack of progress in bargaining could lead to the National Mediation Board (NMB) releasing both parties into a 30-day "cooling off" period leading to a strike deadline.  AFA has a trademarked strike strategy known as CHAOS or Create Havoc Around Our System™.  With CHAOS, a strike could affect the entire system or a single flight.  The union decides when, where and how to strike without notice to management or passengers.

Air Wisconsin operates regional flights as US Airways Express, serving 70 cities in the US and Canada.  Air Wisconsin carries an estimated six million passengers per year with hubs in Philadelphia, Washington, DC, New York, Raleigh, NC, and Norfolk, VA.

The Association of Flight Attendants is the world's largest Flight Attendant union. Focused 100 percent on Flight Attendant issues, AFA has been the leader in advancing the Flight Attendant profession for over 65 years. Serving as the voice for Flight Attendants in the workplace, in the aviation industry, in the media and on Capitol Hill, AFA has transformed the Flight Attendant profession by raising wages, benefits and working conditions.  Nearly 60,000 Flight Attendants at 21 airlines come together to form AFA, part of the 700,000-member strong Communications Workers of America (CWA), AFL-CIO. Visit us at www.afacwa.org.

SOURCE Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA)