NATION : Attendants End Continental Strike

The Union of Flight Attendants called off its five-day strike against Frank Lorenzo’s Continental Airlines today but refused to admit the walkout had little impact on the carrier.

Continental had reported only a handful of flight delays and put the number of strikers at only 180 out of 6,500 flight attendants. But the union, which claimed 1,200 attendants walked off the job, maintained it caused disruptions of Continental’s flight schedule throughout the job action.

The union said its short-lived strike also accomplished the objective of publicizing the flight attendants’ poor working conditions. Continental flight attendants have worked more than five years without a contract.