Snipped from
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/yb/145244560
AA flight attendants approve strike
American Airlines' Association of Professional Flight Attendants have voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike against the company, union officers said Wednesday.
A record 96.8 percent of those casting ballots voted to approve a strike authorization, APFA President Laura Glading said.
"This shows that flight attendants are strong, unified and willing to do what is necessary to achieve an agreement that significantly improves our pay, benefits and work rules," she said. "If we do not have the framework for a tentative agreement at the end of this week, we will continue to push for a 30-day cooling- off period at the end of which we can engage in a strike or other forms of self-help."
Representatives of APFA and American have been in contract negotiations with representatives of the National Mediation Board this week in Washington, D.C. The two sides have been meeting in negotiations with federal mediators for more than a year, officials said.
"We already have asked for a 30-day cooling-off period," said APFA spokeswoman Diana Dunn. "They haven't ruled on the 30-day cooling-off period yet, but it's still under consideration."
Union and company officials said wages and benefits are the principal outstanding issues between the flight attendants and the company.
APFA members agreed to $340 million a year in wage and benefit concessions in 2003 to keep American from a bankruptcy filing.
Speaking Wednesday at the annual shareholders meeting of AMR Corp., American's parent, CEO Gerard Arpey said American's labor costs are $600 million a year higher than its major airline competitors.
Dan Akins, an APFA adviser and a transportation economist for MergeGlobal, a financial consultant in Washington, said Arpey's figures are inaccurate.
Akins said the industry standard for measuring cost and productivity is cost per available seat mile, or CASM. Arpey is using paid hours at maximum work schedule to inflate labor costs, the consultant said. A flight attendant rarely works a maximum schedule, Akins said.
"CASM is used by every single airline analyst, bankruptcy judge and parties on both sides in contract talks," he said. "I've been involved in many negotiations in the airline industry, and even American's past negotiations with flight attendants have been focused on cost per seat mile."
Glading said about 16,200 members of the 18,000-member APFA cast ballots in the strike vote, and more than 15,680 APFA members voted to authorize a strike.
"We know the outlook for American is bright and it's our turn now to get back the sacrifices -- more than $2 billion to date -- flight attendants have made to bail out American Airlines," she said.