Mesa Airlines Flight Attendants Open Strike Vote

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Mesa flight attendants, represented by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA), today began casting votes to authorize a strike to support efforts to reach an agreement at the carrier. Strike vote ballots have been sent to the over 1,000 flight attendants, with a vote count scheduled for March 29, 2017. Mesa Airlines operates flights for American Airlines (as American Eagle) and United Airlines (as United Express).

"Mesa Flight Attendants are among the lowest paid Flight Attendants flying under the United Express and American Eagle Brands," said Heather Stevenson, AFA Mesa President. "By taking a strike vote, Mesa Flight Attendants will send a strong message to Mesa Airlines management that we will not accept poverty wages. Mesa flight attendants are prepared to take action."

Mesa flight attendants have been in negotiations for five years.

"The stall tactics and excuses from Mesa have got to stop," stated Sara Nelson, AFA International President. "These Flight Attendants are drastically underpaid when compared to any other cabin crew doing this work, or minimum wage earners anywhere in the country. This is wrong for any worker in America, let alone this dedicated group of aviation's first responders who keep passengers safe and present the face of Mesa, American and United. Mesa Flight Attendants have the full backing of the 50,000 members of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA. Enough is enough. We expect a fair contract now."

This lack of progress could lead to the National Mediation Board (NMB) declaring that negotiations are deadlocked and releasing both parties into a 30-day "cooling off" period leading to a strike deadline.  AFA has a trademarked strike strategy known as CHAOS™ or Create Havoc Around Our System™. With CHAOS, a strike could affect the entire system or a single flight.  The union decides when, where and how to strike without notice to management or passengers.

Mesa Airlines is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona and provides 600 daily departures to 117 cities, 39 states, the District of Columbia, Canada and Mexico including Dallas, TX; Houston, TX; Phoenix, AZ; and Washington, DC.

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The Association of Flight Attendants is the Flight Attendant union. Focused 100 percent on Flight Attendant issues, AFA has been the leader in advancing the Flight Attendant profession for 71 years. Serving as the voice for Flight Attendants in the workplace, in the aviation industry, in the media and on Capitol Hill, AFA has transformed the Flight Attendant profession by raising wages, benefits and working conditions. Nearly 50,000 Flight Attendants come together to form AFA, part of the 700,000-member strong Communications Workers of America (CWA), AFL-CIO. Visit us at www.afacwa.org.

SOURCE Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA)

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http://www.afacwa.org