Mesa Flight Attendants, represented by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA), are gearing up for a possible strike at the carrier after mediated negotiations recently stalled.
Strike vote ballots will be sent to the over 700 Flight Attendants on February 28, 2017, 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 have engaged in years of stalled contract negotiations and are underpaid compared to other flight attendants flying for United and American airlines.
“Mesa Flight Attendants are falling further behind with substandard wages. We need wage increases now,” said Heather Stevenson, AFA Mesa President. “It is time for management get serious about moving forward on a new and significantly improved contract for Mesa Flight Attendants. Mesa Airlines is an important partner in the highly-profitable American Airlines and United Airlines networks.”
With negotiations recently stalled out over economic issues, Mesa flight attendant leaders are seeking membership approval to pressure Mesa Airlines management to agree to a fair contract.
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.
