A union representing American Airlines flight attendants called on its members to prepare to organize a strike after the federal mediators overseeing the negotiations issued instructions to the two sides to continue talks in an attempt to reach an agreement.
An informed source said that the National Mediation Council set additional dates for discussions between American Airlines and the Professional Flight Attendants Union, following the failure of the meetings, which did not last more than a week, to reach an agreement. Before the extension yesterday, Friday, the mediation council indicated that it would stop formal discussions if an agreement was not reached by the end of May, according to what Bloomberg News reported earlier. “While these postponements are disturbing, we also know that the company’s ability to disrupt negotiations is quickly running out,” the union said in a letter to members late on Friday. “All flight attendants must prepare for a strike.”
The union expects that the National Mediation Council will ask both sides to support the talks during the next two weeks, in a final attempt to agree on the terms of the contract, according to the text of the letter.
According to the union, American Airlines and the Association of Professional Flight Attendants remain divided on issues related to compensation and work scheduling. American Airlines declined to comment.
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