DENVER — As travelers swarmed in and out of Denver International Airport on Labor Day, many frequent United Airlines fliers had no idea flight attendants might go on strike.
Last week, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA) announced 99.99% of participating United Airlines flight attendants voted to authorize a strike.
"This is the first thing hearing about that," said Brian Jensen, who flew United on Monday afternoon.
The strike has not happened yet. The National Media Board would have to authorize a release to the AFA, sparking a 30-day "cooling off" period and strike deadline.
However, if no agreement is met between United Airlines and the union, the strike could take effect just before the busy holiday travel season.
Jensen frequently uses United for business trips.
“It's interesting timing... It would be awful if it happened right now. I feel like there's enough busyness and stress with traveling that you don't want to worry about that kind of thing," said Jensen.
Denver
99.99% of participating United flight attendants vote to authorize strike
The Denver International Airport (DIA) anticipated Monday would be one of the busiest travel days of Labor Day weekend.
"As Labor Day travel begins, United management is reminded what's at stake if we don't get this done," said Ken Diaz, president of the United chapter of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, in a statement last week.
The strike strategy United flight attendants would use is called CHAOS, which stands for Create Havoc Around Our System. The system means "when, where or how we strike — nobody knows," said one local spokesperson for the flight attendants.
"I am traveling on United the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. I'm going back to Germany, so that's good to know. I didn't know that, so I'll keep an eye on it," said Jeff Cornelius, who was catching a United flight out of Denver on Monday afternoon.
In a statement to Denver7, United Airlines said there would be no "work stoppage or labor disruption" as a result of the vote.
Full statement:
We continue to work toward an industry-leading agreement for our flight attendants, including negotiations this week and every month through November. Both sides have been actively engaged in these negotiations facilitated by the federal mediator requested by the union. We remain eager to reach an agreement.
To be clear, there is no work stoppage or labor disruption. Instead, off-duty flight attendants are exercising their right to conduct an informational picket. Federal law bars a strike until after a lengthy process that includes a release from mediation, which can only be granted by the National Mediation Board.
United Airlines is the largest airline operating at DIA.
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