US AIRWAYS EXPRESS FLIGHT ATTENDANTS OVERWHELMINGLY VOTE TO STRIKE

WASHINGTON -- Ninety-nine percent of ballots cast by flight attendants from US Airways Express carrier Piedmont Airlines, represented by the Association of Flight Attendants, AFL-CIO, voted for a strike at the airline.

US Airways Express carrier Piedmont Airlines is wholly owned and operated by US Airways. The flight attendants do the same work, many times have more duties, wear the same uniform and are employed by the same company as their counterparts at US Airways, yet their pay is drastically lower.

It has been more than 500 days since the Piedmont flight attendants' contract became amendable and at this point, negotiations have stalled. The Piedmont flight attendants are trying to bridge the wage gap-up to a 40 percent difference in pay-between flight attendants at the major airlines and those at the express carrier.

Because of the low wages, these types of carriers have an extremely high employee turnover rate. Two-thirds of Piedmont's flight attendants have less than five years seniority. Under the current pay scale at many express carriers, there isn't an incentive for flight attendants to stay. For example, wages at Piedmont top out after 15 years at $24,800 a year for a flight attendant flying a 75-hour yield (comparable to a 40-hour workweek).

As talks are close to reaching an impasse, a request for a release into a 30-day "cooling off" period could come at any time. After the 30-day period has passed, both sides are allowed to engage in ``self help.'' For flight attendants, that means CHAOS(TM) strike actions. CHAOS(TM) stands for Create Havoc Around Our System, and includes a series of random, unannounced strikes.

If flight attendants are forced to strike, the following city pairs could see disruptions:

 

Baltimore/New York LaGuardia Baltimore/Greensboro, N.C. Baltimore/Philadelphia Baltimore/Toronto Baltimore/Buffalo, N.Y. Baltimore/Albany, N.Y. Baltimore/Raleigh-Durham, N.C. Baltimore/Salisbury, Md. Baltimore/Washington D.C. National Charlotte/Hilton Head, N.C. Charlotte/Asheville, N.C. Charlotte/Charleston, W.Va. Charlotte/Wilmington, Del. Charlotte/Roanoke Charlotte/Washington D.C. National Charlotte/Greensboro, N.C. Charlotte/Newport News, Va. Charlotte/Florence, S.C. Charlotte/Huntsville, Ala. Charlotte/New Bern, N.C. Charlotte/Gainesville, Fla. Charlotte/Tri-Cities, N.C. Charlotte/Chattanooga, Tenn. Charlotte/Montgomery, Ala. Charlotte/Columbia, S.C. Charlottesville, Va/Fayetteville, N.C. Charlottesville, Va./Pittsburgh, Pa. Charlottesville, Va./Philadelphia Charlottesville, Va./Charlotte Miami/Key West, Fla. Miami/Orlando, Fla. Miami/Jacksonville, Fla. Miami/ Aluthra, Bahamas Miami/Governor's Harbor, Bahamas Newport News, Va./Philadelphia Newport News, Va./Charlotte Norfolk, Va./New York LaGuardia Norfolk, Va./Baltimore Norfolk, Va./Charlotte

Norfolk, Va./Washington D.C. National Norfolk, Va./Baltimore Norfolk, Va./Pittsburgh Norfolk, Va./Philadelphia Philadelphia/White Plains, N.Y. Philadelphia/Washington D.C. National Philadelphia/Newport News, Va. Philadelphia/Baltimore Philadelphia/New York LaGuardia Philadelphia/Raleigh-Durham, N.C. Philadelphia/Greensboro, N.C. Philadelphia/New Haven, Conn. Philadelphia/Charleston, W.Va. Pittsburgh/Charleston, W.Va. Pittsburgh/Toronto Salisbury, Md./Philadelphia Salisbury, Md./Washington D.C. National Salisbury, Md./Baltimore Tallahassee, Fla./Orlando, Fla. Tallahassee, Fla./Tampa, Fla. Tampa, Fla./W. Palm Beach, Fla. Tampa, Fla./Jacksonville, Fla. Tampa, Fla./Pensacola, Fla. Tampa, Fla./Tallahassee, Fla. Tampa, Fla./Miami Washington D.C. National/Charlotte Washington D.C. National/Charleston, W.Va. Washington D.C. National/New Haven, Conn. Washington D.C. National/Philadelphia Washington D.C. National/White Plains, N.Y. W. Palm Beach, Fla./Marsh Harbor, Bahamas W. Palm Beach, Fla./Treasure Key, Bahamas W. Palm Beach, Fla./Orlando, Fla. W. Palm Beach, Fla./Tampa, Fla. White Plains, N.Y./Baltimore

 

More than 50,000 flight attendants at 27 airlines join together to form AFA, the largest flight attendant union in the world. For more information, visit AFA's website at http://www.afanet.org.

(First Story)

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December 21, 2000