United and Continental pilots have voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike against their combined employer, United Continental Holdings Inc., the Air Line Pilots Association International said Tuesday.
Several procedural steps must still occur before such action could take place, and at least one analyst said the likelihood of a strike is relatively small. Any possible strike is at least 90 days away.
The authorization follows two years of negotiations for a new joint pilot contract after the merger of United and Continental, announced May 2010.
The National Mediation Board has mediated negotiations between the pilots and the airlines since Feb. 28, 2011.
The vote by the pilots followed letters from the ALPA to the NMB in May and June, requesting that the NMB assist the parties by offering an arbitrated settlement.
The pilots have asked that, if either side rejects the settlement, they be released after a 30-day cooling period, to take lawful action, including the strike.
United Continental Holdings spokesperson Megan McCarthy emphasized that the vote doesn’t allow an immediate strike or walkout of the pilots.
“This is not uncommon at this point in negotiations and was expected,” McCarthy said.
United Airlines, together with United Express, operates more than 385 daily flights out of Denver.
“There is no way the National Mediation Board is going to allow a strike,” said Mike Boyd, an Evergreen-based aviation consultant. “They don’t want the hassle.”
However, Boyd said the vote by the pilots is significant in that it sends a message to United Continental Holdings about how upset the pilots are.
