We're still a ways off from any sort of strike in this domain, and contract negotiations do seem to be continuing well, but the Allied Pilots Association overwhelmingly voted to support a strike action if negotiations break down. On 96% turnout, the 15,000-strong union voted 99% in favor of authorizing a strike. The Southwest Airlines Pilots Association has also begun a strike authorization vote which is expected to easily pass, and a similar story seems likely to occur there.
Big points of note in both contract talks are pay, although it doesn't seem they're really in contention. After Delta Air Lines pilots won a 34% raise both American and Southwest are expected to match that amount to keep competitive; the APA was apparently even offered a comparable raise from the beginning by American. An actual point of contention from the APA though is scheduling, which became a serious issue last year. 4% of American flights during the summer months last year were cancelled, and that's a fiasco that the union does not want repeated this year. They're calling for significant changes to flight scheduling by American.
At Southwest, similar scheduling snafus are a point of contention but the big enchilada is Southwest's abysmal technological situation. SWAPA president Casey Murray stated in a press release yesterday that “It is essential that we modernize systems and procedures to be able to keep pace with other carriers and give our passengers the level of service they expect,” and decried Southwest for its failure to do so. Not coincidentally, the strike vote was announced following Southwest's total meltdown during last year's winter holidays—a meltdown genuinely historic in scope and which left hundreds of thousands stranded around the United States.
Ultimately, the strike votes are more an attempt at leverage than serious threats from APA and SWAPA in their respective contract negotiations. Because they constitute vital infrastructure pilot strikes are extremely uncommon and must be approved by the federal National Mediation Board, and only after an extensive process plays out between the parties. Put another way: it will be months before any formal strike takes place, if one even does at all. Nonetheless, APA members have already committed to informally picketing the company in the days to come; I'm unsure about SWAPA, but we'll see what they have planned.