MILWAUKEE, Wisc. — Midwest Express flight attendants, in conjunction with the Milwaukee County Labor Council, will be holding a rally to show support for the flight attendants’ struggle to secure a first contract with the airline. The rally will be held at 5311 S. Howell Ave. on July 30 from 5 to 7 p.m.
After two and a half years of negotiations for a first contract, the flight attendants declined the National Mediation Board’s offer of arbitration on July 26, since the process would prevent flight attendants from voting on a final contract. Under the rules of the Railway Labor Act, the law that governs airline labor negotiations and disputes, the NMB will set the dates for the 30-day “cooling-off” period that must precede a strike. That announcement is set to come at the beginning of this week.
During the 30-day period, the NMB will make another attempt to resolve the dispute in “super mediation.” At the end of the 30-day period, if no agreement has been reached, the parties are free to engage in “self-help.” For AFA flight attendants, that means CHAOS.
Create Havoc Around Our System(TM) is AFA’s trademarked strategy of public information and strike actions. Flight attendants may stage a mass walkout for a day or a week or strike individual flights — with no warning to management or passengers. 95 percent of Midwest Express flight attendants voted to support a strike, if necessary.
Midwest Express’ 465 flight attendants are joined together in AFA, the world’s largest flight attendant union. Visit AFA at http://www.afanet.org .