(Reuters) -Southwest Airlines flight attendants voted to approve a strike against the carrier, the Transport Workers Union of America Local 556 union said on Tuesday.
Over 98% of the members voted in favor, marking the first time in the union’s history that flight attendants authorized a strike against the company.
Southwest flight attendants have been demanding higher pay and a better work-life balance in their new contracts.
Unions across the aerospace, construction, airline and rail industries have also pushed for higher wages and other benefits in a tight labor market over the past two years.
The announcement comes on the heels of the carrier and its pilots approving a new labor agreement, which will offer about a 50% pay raise over a five-year period.
(Reporting by Nathan Gomes in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)
