Pilots at United Continental Holdings on Tuesday voted to authorize a strike, showing their growing frustration after failing to agree on a contract after two years of talks with management.
The Air Line Pilots Association, which represents pilots who flew for what were United and Continental Airlines before the two merged in 2010, said 99 percent of the voters supported a withdrawal of services, if required.
Still, the vote makes a work stoppage far from certain. Federal law makes it difficult for airline unions to strike, and the White House can intervene to stop any walkout in the interest of keeping U.S. commerce going.
“This is not uncommon at this point in negotiations and was expected,” Chicago-based United Continental said in a statement. “The vote results alone do not permit the union to take any action, as there are several other procedural steps required under the Railway Labor Act.”
via United Continental pilots vote to authorize strike – chicagotribune.com.
