Flight attendants strike for the first time in nearly 20 years

(WTVO) — United Airlines flight attendants voted 99.9% in favor of authorizing a strike. This is the first vote of its kind in almost two decades.

The last authorization came during the 2005 bankruptcy negotiations. The announcement came as hundreds of flight attendants, across the country, demonstrated, including at Chicago O’Hare International Airport.

The flight attendants are calling for several improvements including better pay, flexibility and work rule improvements.

“We are here today because we have been in three years of negotiations with very minimal progress from a corporation that is making billions on the backs of their frontline workers,” said United Master Executive Council President Ken Diaz. “The flight attendants at United Airlines have earned an industry-leading contract and we will accept nothing less.”

Flight attendants still cannot walk off the job until the National Mediation Board determines both sides are at a standstill and grants permission for the strike, according to the Associated Press.

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