AUSTIN (KXAN) — United Airlines flight attendants at Austin’s airport are demanding better pay, flexible schedules and job security in the latest strike flight attendants voted on across the nation.
This marks the first time flight attendants at a major airline voted to authorize a strike since 2005, according to a news release from The Association of Flight Attendants.
Some from United Airlines demonstrated this morning at Austin Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) and airports across the U.S. as they awaited the results of a strike authorization vote.
“United Airlines flight attendants are ready. It’s past time. We are ready to have the contract, we need a raise, we can’t wait any longer. We are unified and ready for this contract to be done,” one flight attendant told KXAN.
This comes on the heels of other recent strike authorization votes, which moved negotiations forward at Southwest, American, Alaska and other airlines.
KXAN reached out to United for comment, and a spokesperson for the airline sent the following statement:
We continue to work toward an industry-leading agreement for our flight attendants, including negotiations this week and every month through November. Both sides have been actively engaged in these negotiations facilitated by the federal mediator requested by the union. We remain eager to reach an agreement.
To be clear, there is no work stoppage or labor disruption. Instead, off-duty flight attendants are exercising their right to conduct an informational picket. Federal law bars a strike until after a lengthy process that includes a release from mediation, which can only be granted by the National Mediation Board.
United Media Relations