U.S. BLASTS CHINA AND RUSSIA FOR FAILING TO MEET MINIMUM STANDARDS TO FIGHT HUMAN TRAFFICKING *

STATE DEPT DOWNGRADED THE COUNTRIES, PUTTING THEM ON A PAR WITH N KOREA AND SYRIA *

THE U.S. ALSO DOWNGRADED UZBEKISTAN OVER ITS STATE-SANCTIONED USE OF FORCED LABOR IN ITS ANNUAL COTTON HARVEST *

PRES OBAMA NOW HAS 90 DAYS TO DETERMINE WHETHER TO APPLY SANCTIONS, ALTHOUGH THAT WOULD BE UNLIKELY *

ACTOR JAMES GANDOLFINI, BEST KNOWN FOR HIS PORTRAYAL OF MOB BOSS TONY SOPRANO ON THE HBO SERIES "THE SOPRANOS," HAS DIED *

THE EMMY AWARD-WINNING ACTOR WAS WORKING ON A NEW SERIES FOR HBO AT THE TIME OF HIS DEATH *

GANDOLFINI SUFFERED A POSSIBLE HEART ATTACK ON VACATION IN ITALY *

U.S. AND SEVERAL OTHER COUNTRIES WILL MEET IN QATAR THIS WKND TO DECIDE ON HOW TO RESPOND TO REQUESTS FOR HELP FROM THE FREE SYRIAN ARMY *

MEETING WILL INCLUDE GOVT OFFICIALS FROM 11 COUNTRIES IN THE SO-CALLED FRIENDS OF SYRIA GROUP *

TALKS COME A WEEK AFTER THE OBAMA ADMIN AGREED TO SEND ARMS TO SYRIAN REBELS AMID THE COUNTRY'S DEADLY TWO-YEAR CIVIL WAR *

FED RESERVE SAYS IT EXPECTS UNEMPLOYMENT TO FALL FASTER THIS YEAR THAN ITS PREDICTION IN MARCH *

THE FED NOW PREDICTS THE JOBLESS RATE WILL FALL TO 7.2% OR 7.3% BY THE END OF 2013 *

THAT'S DOWN FROM ITS PREDICTION OF 7.6% THREE MONTHS AGO *

THE FED ALSO EXPECTS THOSE RATES TO FALL BETWEEN 6.5% AND 6.8% BY THE END OF NEXT YEAR *

STOCKS CLOSE LOWER ON WALL STREET AFTER THE FED RESERVE SAYS IT COULD SLOW BOND PURCHASES LATER THIS YEAR *

THE DOW SANK 206 POINTS ON WED TO CLOSE AT 15,112, A LOSS OF 1.4% *

S&P 500 FELL 22 POINTS WHILE THE NASDAQ WAS DOWN 39 *

HOUSE VOTES TO CUT FOOD STAMPS BY $2 BIL A YEAR *

THE BILL CUTS ABOUT 3% FROM THE $80 BIL-A-YEAR FOOD STAMP PROGRAM *

THE CHAMBER REJECTED A DEMOCRATIC PLAN TO MAINTAIN CURRENT SPENDING LEVELS ON FOOD STAMPS AND CUT FARM SUBSIDIES INSTEAD *

HE WAS 51 YEARS OLD *

THE MOTHER OF A 10-YR-OLD PA GIRL WHO FOUGHT FOR A LUNG TRANSPLANT SAYS HER DAUGHTER IS IMPROVING *

JANET MURNAGHAN SAYS HER DAUGHTER SARAH IS NOW ON A VENTILATOR *

SARAH, WHO SUFFERS FROM CYSTIC FIBROSIS, RECEIVED TWO NEW LUNGS AFTER A JUDGE GAVE HER A CHANCE AT THE LIST OF ORGANS FROM ADULT DONORS *

NEW COLORADO WILDFIRE BURNING IN THE FOOTHILLS SW OF DENVER *

THE "LIME GULCH FIRE" HAS FORCED DOZENS OF PEOPLE FROM THEIR HOMES *

THE FLAMES ARE BEING FUELED BY HOT, DRY AND WINDY CONDITIONS *

THE FIRE ERUPTED ROUGHLY 50 MILES FROM THE NOW NEARLY-CONTAINED "BLACK FOREST FIRE" *

THAT FIRE IS BEING CALLED THE MOST DESTRUCTIVE IN STATE HISTORY *

THE TALIBAN OFFERING TO HAND OVER AN AMERICAN SOLDIER IN EXCHANGE FOR FIVE GUANTANAMO DETAINEES *

U.S. ARMY SGT BOWE BERGDAHL OF HAILEY, ID, HAS BEEN HELD CAPTIVE SINCE DISAPPEARING IN EASTERN AFGHANISTAN FOUR YRS AGO *

A TALIBAN SPOX SAYS HE BELIEVES BERGDAHL IS IN GOOD CONDITION *

THE OFFER COMES AS THE U.S. TRIES TO SALVAGE PEACE TALKS WITH THE TALIBAN *

THE PROPOSED NEGOTIATIONS HAVE BEEN CONDEMNED BY AFGHAN PRES HAMID KARZAI *

news

US Airways flight attendants authorize strike

by Posted in: ,

Nov 20 2012 - 8:29 PM ET

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See Association of Flight Attendants news release below and post your thoughts on the strike…

US AIRWAYS FLIGHT ATTENDANTS AUTHORIZE STRIKE

Washington, DC -US Airways Flight Attendants, represented by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA), today voted 94 percent for strike authorization. Flight Attendants are calling on management to finish the US Airways/America West merger with a single contract for all US Airways Flight Attendants. Today AFA members made clear what they are willing to do to push management to negotiate a contract that can be ratified.

 

“US Airways Flight Attendants are determined to do whatever it takes to get our long overdue contract,” stated Roger Holmin and Deborah Volpe, presidents for AFA representing Flight Attendants for pre-merger US Airways and America West, respectively. “Parker and his team of negotiators have failed to address the issues that Flight Attendants believe are paramount for a single contract. Seven years after the supposed merger of America West and US Airways this management hasn’t gotten it done. That means pre-merger America West and US Airways Flight Attendants still don’t work together. We may not fly together, but today we’ve made clear that we will walk out together if Parker pushes this to a strike deadline.”

 

“We don’t want to strike. We want to work for a successful airline – but the airline will never be successful when its frontline workers are hurting. Profits are soaring but Flight Attendants still shoulder the sacrifices forced through bankruptcy a decade ago as well as disparate, industry-low pay of a first contract from 1999. It’s a black eye for US Airways and no foundation for a new marriage with American. Parker knows exactly what needs to be done in order to reach an agreement Flight Attendants can ratify. And today he also knows it could be CHAOSâ„¢ without finishing what he started with our merger first. Contract now,” said Holmin and Volpe.

 

If US Airways management fails to reach an agreement and the parties are released from mediation the National Mediation Board would start a 30-day cooling-off period. If no agreement is reached during the cooling-off period US Airways Flight Attendants would utilize AFA’s trademarked CHAOS tactics to strike. CHAOS stands for Create Havoc Around Our Systemâ„¢ and includes intermittent strikes, targeted and called without warning to management or the traveling public.

 

Negotiations are under the jurisdiction of the National Mediation Board. AFA is prepared to return to negotiations with a focused proposal that meets the primary concerns of Flight Attendants. The economic improvements Flight Attendants expect are commensurate with their long-term contributions and dedication to US Airways.

The Association of Flight Attendants is the world’s largest Flight Attendant union.

 

Focused 100 percent on Flight Attendant issues, AFA has been the leader in advancing the Flight Attendant profession for 67 years. Serving as the voice for Flight Attendants in the workplace, in the aviation industry, in the media and on Capitol Hill, AFA has transformed the Flight Attendant profession by raising wages, benefits and working conditions. Nearly 60,000 Flight Attendants come together to form AFA, part of the 700,000-member strong Communications Workers of America (CWA), AFL-CIO. Visit us at ourafa.org.

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