when American Airlines flight attendants voted for industrial action if talks fail.

Last week pilots at Delta Airlines, which flies to Bermuda from Boston and Atlanta, voted to strike, which could begin after April 1, if contract talks break down. In a ballot vote released yesterday, attendants on American Airlines - which serves the Island from New York and Boston -- voted by 96 percent to allow their union leaders to call a strike.

Despite the vote, no strike is imminent at American, the nation's No. 2 airline and a unit of AMR Corp.

Under federal law, airline unions may not strike until they are released from negotiations by the National Mediation Board and go through a 30-day "cooling-off period''. The APFA has asked to be released from mediation, but the mediation board has scheduled renewed talks for March 2 and 3 in Chicago.

UNIONS UNS