US Airways to Shut Rather Than Face Strikes

The clock has begun ticking in a possible showdown between US Airways and the union representing its flight attendants. The National Mediation Board has started a 30-day cooling-off period. If no deal is reached, the carrier’s 10,000 attendants will be free to walk off the job at 12:01 a.m. EST on March 25. But in a letter to employees, US Airways officials vowed to ground the airline rather than endure the surprise strikes threatened by the Assn. of Flight Attendants. “While US Airways will continue to negotiate to reach a fair and equitable agreement, if no agreement is reached with the AFA, US Airways is left with no choice but to shut down the airline immediately after the 30-day cooling-off period,” read the letter. It was signed by US Airways Chairman Stephen M. Wolf and President and Chief Executive Rakesh Gagwal. After going four years without a raise, the AFA has threatened a series of unannounced job actions they call Create Havoc Around Our System, or CHAOS. Union officials said that could take the form of a systemwide walkout, or strikes against individual flights. During the cooling-off period, the National Mediation Board said it will make another attempt to resolve the dispute.