Hawaiian Airlines flight attendants held a major labor demonstration Wednesday at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in advance of the first strike vote that the company’s flight attendants have taken in the carrier’s 90-year history.

The contract between Hawaiian Airlines management and the flight attendants, who belong to the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA union, became amendable on Dec. 31, 2016. The company and its flight attendants union have been in mediation since the fourth quarter of last year. So far, four protests including the one Wednesday, have been held in Honolulu and a fifth protest was held at Los Angeles International Airport

While the atmosphere is contentious, it’s hard to predict whether Hawaiian flight attendants actually will go on strike, even if a majority approve the vote, which is slated to begin Oct. 28 and run through Nov. 20. Some 2,100 flight attendants are eligible to vote.

>> Photo Gallery: Hawaiian Airlines flight attendants picket ahead of strike vote

Often such votes are mostly symbolic because airline workers fall under restrictions in the Railway Labor Act, federal legislation that discourages transportation industry workers from going on strikes and lockouts that could dampen the economy. The RLA requires transportation unions to get approval from a federal mediator to strike. Even if they get permission, they can’t strike until a 30-day cooling-off period passes. If they do strike, President Donald Trump can order them back to work.

“We’ve never had to take a strike vote before. It’s a serious step and we want to send a serious message to management,” said Sharon Soper, a flight attendant who has worked at Hawaiian Airlines for 54 years.

Soper said the union and management are slated to return to the bargaining table Oct. 24. Sticking points are mostly about wages and benefits, which haven’t kept up with the industry or with Hawaii’s cost of living, she said.

Hawaiian Airlines spokesman Alex Da Silva said the airline is focused on working with AFA negotiators through federal mediation to finalize a new contract and have reached tentative agreements on many issues. The latest union announcement will not disrupt flight operations or guests’ travel plans because such actions are illegal as long as good-faith negotiations are ongoing, Da Silva said.

“We remain entirely focused on mediating the final items of a contract that recognizes our flight attendants’ contribution to our success in a way that is equitable with other bargaining units and reflective of our competitive standing,” he said.

Soper said the company has offered a “small raise,” which wouldn’t offset corresponding increases in medical costs.

“We’ve always stepped up and given back so the company could survive. Now that the company is profitable and things have improved, we’re asking them to share those profits with us,” she said.

That’s why, Hawaiian flight attendant Jeff Fuke, who is on the bargaining committee, said he believes a majority of workers are prepared to strike. While permission isn’t a slam dunk, especially under a Republican president, Fuke said it’s been awarded in prior labor disputes involving other carriers.

Fuke said to stop labor unrest, Hawaiian needs to increase pay for flight attendants, who make about $20 below what other carriers are offering. The last raise for Hawaiian flight attendants was in March 2016, which brought starting pay to $22 an hour. Top-scale workers, who have 20 years on the job, make $55 an hour — while that might sound high to some, attendants only get paid when the aircraft is moving.

While the latest picket appeared to inconvenience some travelers, others offered support. Zohreh Furtado, a Hawaii island teacher, embraced a picketer and said she hoped that Hawaiian soon would offer flight attendants a fair contract.

“People shouldn’t have to picket just to get a fair wage to raise a family. I had tears in my eyes to see the children here on the picket line ,” Furtado said. “As a teacher, I understand what it means not to be able to make ends meet. Hawaii’s high cost of living has to be taken into account. The people who run the wheel of the economy need to be cared for.”