Could the
power of the United States government break the stalemate?
Is the aura
of the nation’s capital enough?
American
Airlines management and the union representing its flight attendants were
summoned to a rare meeting in Washington of the National Mediation Board on
Saturday. Such weekend meetings are uncommon, but this was in the hopes to
break an impasse in the years-long struggle between the two sides in the hopes to
avoid a strike.
By law, the
flight attendants cannot strike until given permission after a 30-day cooling
off period.
But just
this rare meaning alone is a sign that we are nearing that point.
The National
Mediation Board is a three-person federal committee that overseas the nation’s airlines
and railways. American’s flight attendants did vote to enact a strike more than
two years ago, but the National Mediation Board has successfully avoided that
prospect and not allowed any action.
But the
situation has become dire, even to the point where Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Acting Labor
Secretary Julie Su have become involved in the negotiations.
“After
weeks of intensive mediation broke off last week, your APFA Negotiating Team
has continued to aggressively press our case that American Airlines Flight
Attendants need a contract that addresses our concerns,” the union said in a
statement. “The time is long overdue for American Airlines management to
resolve these negotiations and agree to the contract we deserve.”
American
Airlines previously
made an offer to the flight attendants earlier this month that was
apparently rejected.
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