More than 6,500 US Airways flight attendants will take a strike vote after rejecting a contract with the airline.
The Association of Flight Attendants confirmed the move to ABC15.
"The decision to take a strike vote is not made lightly. It was the result of full deliberation of strategic options," said Corey Caldwell in an emailed statement to ABC15.
The vote on whether to authorize a strike is set to begin Oct. 31 and close Nov. 20.
According to a US Airways spokesperson, there would be a 30-day cooling-off period following the vote before any strike action could happen.
The cooling-off period would end just before the busy holiday travel before Christmas.
The move comes after the union twice rejected contracts submitted by the airline. The most recent rejection, last month, was voted down by a narrow margin, 51 percent to 49 percent.
Since America West and US Airways merged several years ago, the flight attendants from the two airlines have operated under separate contracts. The union has been negotiating to reach a joint agreement, which has failed.
Strike votes are not uncommon and typically approved, however, rarely lead to an actual strike.
SunDevil posted at 3:53 pm on Thu, Oct 11, 2012.
So 49% of flight attendants agree that the new contract is acceptable yet the union thinks its going to scare management by a strike vote LOL.
VofReason posted at 12:56 pm on Fri, Oct 12, 2012.
Are they working under the assumption that the world is scrace of people who can deliver food and drinks to passengers of airplanes? That doesn't sound like a position of leverage. What is next, the fry cook union going to pull rank on McDonalds?