US Airways Prepares to Stop Service in Light of Potential Flight Attendant Strike

By Christine Woolsey

US Airways is warning passengers they may have to make alternate travel plans in the event the airline has to shut down operations to avoid service disruptions planned by the Association of Flight Attendants. The airline and the AFA are in a 30-day "cooling-off" period during which negotiations to reach a new labor agreement are continuing. The period ends at 12:01 a.m. EST on Saturday, March 25.

If no agreement is reached by then, US Airways said it will shut down the airline rather than subject customers to the uncertainty of the AFA's announced intention to conduct a campaign of random strikes.

Under the law, no labor action can occur during the cooling-off period.

The airline pointed out that that US Airways Express carriers, which provide regional service, will continue to operate, although some schedules may be adjusted.

With Saturday's strike deadline looming, US Airways flight attendants on March 17 returned to the bargaining table in a final attempt to resolve a three-year contract dispute with the nation's sixth largest airline. Ernest DuBester, chairman of the National Mediation Board, which oversees labor disputes in the transportation industry, is supervising the talks.

About 10,000 US Airways flight attendants are working under a contract that expired in 1996 and gave them their last pay raise, which was 4 percent. The average starting salary for US Airways attendants is $17,145 per year. Flight attendants at the top of the pay scale earn $36,918.

At issue in the contract negotiations is US Airways' proposal to adopt a pay-and-benefits formula based on what its biggest competitors offer, plus 1 percent. Other unions representing US Airways workers have accepted the formula, and the company insists the proposal must be applied to all flight attendants to be fair.

The flight attendants claim US Airways management has not clearly spelled out how the formula would affect their pay and fear it could result in some loss of benefits.