A SAV allows the Flight Attendants to show their solidarity and readiness to use all legal means under the Railway Labor Act (RLA) to secure the contract that we have rightfully earned.

Strike authorization votes show management that Flight Attendants are willing to go the distance to secure contractual improvements, up to and including exercising self-help as outlined by the Railway Labor Act. A strong ‘YES’ vote compels management to address the proposals remaining on the table.

The following steps would have to be exhausted before a strike could occur:

1. We will continue to meet with our mediators on our scheduled dates if progress is being made at the bargaining table.

2. If we stop making progress, APFA would then request the NMB to “release” the negotiations to a 30-day cooling-off period, followed by self-help (strike). The NMB has discretion to decide to grant the release or continue further mediation efforts.

3. If the NMB released us into a 30-day cooling-off period, negotiations would continue. If no agreement is reached by the end of the cooling-off period, and assuming no intervention by the President of the United States or Congress, we would then be free to strike or employ other self-help tactics to put economic pressure on management to reach an agreement. Management would have a similar right to engage in self-help tactics – like a lockout or imposed work rules – to pressure the Flight Attendants to reach an agreement.

A strike, otherwise known as ‘self-help’, can take on many forms. A traditional strike includes all workers walking off the job, however intermittent strikes targeting certain flights provide management with less certainty and have proven more effective.