Flight Attendants File Suit Against American

The Assn. of Professional Flight Attendants filed a federal lawsuit against American Airlines on Monday, accusing the carrier of four counts of unfair labor practice and bad-faith bargaining.

The lawsuit came as the two parties are due to meet today in New Orleans with a federal mediator in a last-ditch effort to avoid a strike.

But the union, which represents 21,000 American flight attendants, has said it will go on strike Thursday if an agreement is not reached.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, accused the nation’s largest carrier of violating labor laws by trying to bargain directly with flight attendants.

The union asked the court to declare the strike, if it takes place, an “unfair-labor practice strike in which the strikers cannot be permanently replaced.”

It also wants the court to order American parent AMR Corp. to rescind work rules and working conditions imposed Nov. 1. that were not included in AMR’s final table offer.

The meeting between American and the union marks the first time both parties will resume bargaining since talks broke off Oct. 30.

AMR last week formally offered to resume talks. The union accepted on the condition that the National Mediation Board set the time, date and place.

Meanwhile, American has started training employees to replace the attendants if they go on strike.

“We hope to get an agreement, but we can’t reach an agreement that makes us uncompetitive with the industry,” an AMR spokesman said.