Flight Attendants Picket American, May Call Strike

More than 100 American Airlines flight attendants staged an informational picket line at John Wayne Airport on Wednesday following a union meeting to consider a possible pre-Christmas strike against the nation’s second-largest air-passenger carrier.

“We felt strong, and we wanted to show it,” said Linda Prosser, a local leader of the attendants’ union and a 19-year veteran of Dallas-based American. Prosser said that the off-duty attendants gathered outside the entrance to American’s flight departure terminal area after the meeting and that they were joined by other attendants who arrived at the airport after flights.

Members of the Assn. of Professional Flight Attendants met Wednesday in 10 locations around the country, including Orange County and Los Angeles, one day after the association distributed ballots to the airline’s 12,000 flight attendants seeking authority to call a strike.

Union spokeswoman Anne Moroh said American flight attendants could walk off their jobs as early as Dec. 21, which she said would cripple the airline’s operations during its busiest days of the year.

John Raymond, a spokesman for the airline, said he is doubtful that attendants will vote to strike. “Even if they do (go off the job), we’ll cancel no flights and lose no service,” he said.

The union and the airline have been unable to negotiate a contract since the last one expired more than a year ago. American imposed a new contract in June, giving higher pay in exchange for longer flying hours, but the union has never voted on the contract.

Because the union did not go on strike before imposition of the new contract, Raymond said that the airline would consider a strike now to be illegal and that American would immediately begin hiring a new staff of attendants if workers walk out.

Moroh said a strike would be “perfectly legal because the airline hasn’t been willing to negotiate.”

She said the union is seeking to abolish a two-tier wage system established in 1983 that gives higher pay to workers hired before that time. In addition, the union wants certain changes in work rules and is seeking a better retirement package.

American dismissed 20 flight attendants last March for distributing leaflets at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport that were critical of management.

Prosser said union members in Orange County and Los Angeles did not distribute leaflets during Wednesday’s picketing, and she said the union informed the airport and law enforcement officials in Los Angeles and Orange counties that it planned to picket.

Union officials said no plans have been made for more picketing before the votes are counted. Moroh said that the airline and the union will attempt to negotiate a contract Friday and that she is hopeful an agreement can be reached before the votes are counted.