American Airlines Readies For Strike

Hunkering down in case its pilots strike, American Airlines is building up a war chest and preparing layoff notices for flight attendants and other employees.

American stepped up preparations for a walkout in advance of negotiations Monday with its pilots’ union in Washington, under the auspices of the National Mediation Board.

If the bargaining is not successful, American’s pilots can legally go on strike at 12:01 a.m. EST on Feb. 15, the end of a 30-day cooling off period and the start of the busy Presidents Day holiday weekend.

If the pilots walk off the job, American plans to ground the airline.

On Friday, the company began notifying about 70 percent of its 90,000 employees, including flight attendants, ground workers and others, of possible layoffs due to the labor dispute.

Although the notification is not required by federal labor laws, company spokesman John Hotard said, “We have to tell our employees - that’s a courtesy.”