SEIU Local 1877, representing 2,500 LAX service employees, voted today by an overwhelming margin of 95% to authorize a strike, which can now be called at any time. The union has been in negotiations with subcontractors for months, but is also also upset with the airlines themselves, for not pursuing a more active leadership role during the conflict. The union wishes the airlines would have stood up for employee rights. The workers are fighting for better pay, training, health care, and staff support, and are concerned by the high rate of job turnover that has been created by poor wages and lack of medical coverage.
See "LAX service workers vote to authorize a strike", Tami Abdollah, Los Angeles Times, August 21, 2008