Strike Vote: What’s Next?
We turned out a 99% strike vote on Wednesday! This should be a clear message to Air Wisconsin management that Flight Attendants are standing behind their Negotiating Committee, and they will not be ignored and disrespected.
Next week AFA leadership will be meeting to determine our next steps with negotiations. With the National Mediation Board’s agreement, we may request one last meeting with management to see if we can get a fair offer on the table.
We can also request “release” from the NMB. We would request this if we believe we have reached an impasse in negotiations, and no further progress can be made. In this situation we would not be immediately released to go on strike. Instead, the NMB may do a number of things in response. It may make a “Proffer of Arbitration'' to both parties – this an offer to submit outstanding issues to binding arbitration. The NMB may also put us into a 30-day “Cooling Off” period, where it would engage in “super mediation” -- likely in Washington, DC – to strongly encourage the parties to reach an agreement before a strike.
We thank everyone who took the time to vote. Look for a communication next week about our next steps toward the contract we deserve.
In Solidarity,
Your Air Wisconsin AFA Leadership