Flight attendants at a US Airways subsidiary have asked federal labor mediators to declare negotiations at an impasse, edging a step closer to a strike.
"Attendants have sent a loud and clear message to management that action will be taken if a new, improved agreement is not reached," said L.C. Acor, vice president of the union representing flight attendants for PSA Airlines. The company operates US Airways Express flights.
"We are done playing games and are ready to do whatever it takes to get a contract," Acor said in a statement.
The sides are stuck on issues including compensation, retirement and insurance, the union said.
PSA Airlines employs about 256 flight attendants, who are represented by the Association of Flight Attendants. The airline operates 132 daily US Airways Express flights from Charlotte Douglas International Airport, just under a quarter of US Airways' total daily flights from Charlotte.
US Airways spokesman Michelle Mohr said the company remains hopeful that the situation will be resolved. "The company will continue to meet with AFA as directed by the (National Mediation Board) and is optimistic that a new agreement can be reached," Mohr said via email.
The sides have been negotiating for more than two years.
The rules governing airline employee contract negotiations are complex, and mandate a lengthy process before any strike can begin. Workers and management must first attempt to reach an agreement under federal mediation.
The mediation period can continue indefinitely, with sides often meeting for a few days each month. If federal mediators declare that negotiations are at an impasse and both sides fail to agree to binding arbitration, mediators can release workers to strike, following a minimum 30-day cooling-off period.
The flight attendants are asking for a declaration that negotiations have reached an impasse. Flight attendants voted last year to authorize a strike in the event negotiations fail.
Tempe, Ariz.-based US Airways has faced increasingly bitter labor disputes since it was acquired by America West in 2005. The company's most acrimonious conflict is with its pilots union. US Airways and the pilots have been unable to reach a combined contract since the merger, and the airline recently won a lawsuit against the pilots union over a work slowdown.
US Airways is set to report its fourth-quarter earnings today. The company's stock, which trades under the symbol LCC, closed at $6.41 a share Tuesday, up 15 cents.
Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/01/24/2955653/flight-attendants-say-negotiations.html#storylink=cpy
