United Airlines flight attendants haven’t seen a raise in five years. Their union negotiated a contract which they told crew was the best they’d do. However, many flight attendants didn’t like elements of it – like language around hotels which seemed to allow lower quality lodging farther away from cities – and others simply believed you should ‘never take the first offer’ and that they can always do better. 71% voted against it.
- The value of their wages had eroded about 25%.
- The new contract provided average increases of less than 27%.
Now they’re demanding increased pay even before a new contract gets negotiated, according to a message to flight attendants from their AFA-CWA union.
What the union understood was that they were losing negotiating leverage in the Trump administration, which seemed less likely to allow an airline strike (and Biden administration appointees had not allowed airline unions to strike, even), and that to get additional concessions from United the airline would want things in return.
The union wants United to start paying flight attendants more right away – even before they reach a new contract. Ironically, this was a tactic American Airlines tried while negotiating its current contract, as a way to forestall momentum towards a strike.
However, as American also learned when negoitating with its mechanics seven years ago, increasing pay without a contract is a recipe for the union not to ever agree on a contract, and it removes the incentive for employees to actually vote for a new contract.
Here’s the list of demands the union came up with that they’re trying to negotiate for:
Pay for waiting on the ground between flights
Less tiring red-eye flying
No more layover notifications
More rest on longer flights
Contract compliance guarantees
Improvements for reserve flight attendants
Better layover hotels
Improvements to health care and retirement benefits
United said they want concessions from the original tentative agreement if they’re going to add things flight attendants want in a new round. They can’t just ‘pay more’. They can negotiate a new deal that allocates the cost of the contract into different buckets that better meet what the flight attendant group wants. The union called this a “non-starter and will not form the basis for discussions moving forward.”
One of the major things United says it wants is a ‘preferential bidding system’ that changes how flight attendants pick trips. Most flight attendants don’t want it, though it’s common at other airlines. I read this as a threat, that the union can then ‘beat back’ and claim victory over, so that United ultimately doesn’t need to pay much more for cabin crew to feel like they’re getting a win.
The contract is a bundle, that includes pay and work rules. The two pieces are inseparable. And the more onerous the work rules, the more costly the contract. AFA-CWA complains that United sees a tradeoff between higher pay and more generous non-pay elements of the contract but of course that is how it works.
We will need to work together if we are going to beat back a greedy corporation that wants to take money out of our pockets to pay for quality of life and wage improvements that we have earned.
United can pay in ‘quality of life improvements’ and they can pay in ‘wage improvements’ and the contract is a balancing – the union has to decide how they want to allocate that money. In the first round of negotiations, the union read their members wrong and the contract they negotiated with United got voted down overwhelmingly.
Ultimately, if the union believes it already got all the economic value there was to get in the first deal, they’ll need to shift some things around to be able to tell their members they’ve gotten more even without getting materially more. Time passing alone will mean starting in a new year, and a higher wage. So pushing out the start date of the contract will let them report back a bigger percentage increase.
Or they might fold that bigger increase into flat payments for long layovers, to report that they’ve now got ground pay. Meanwhile, ‘contract compliance guarantees’ are in some sense easy. Everyone says they’re going to abide by the contract they’re signing, and there are processes in place to address potential breaches. Just add more of those.
Hopefully this process doesn’t drag on too long because flight attendants at United are now earning far less than their counterparts at American and especially at non-union Delta, where profit-sharing payments continue to put them in an advantaged position.
Stupid unions – understand these positions are easily replaced and there are many that would sign up for the jobs even at the current pay levels. I say quickly start training stand by non-union FAs then lock them out and replace them permanently with non-union workers. Sure the union will whine but Trump isn’t nearly as union friendly as Biden and I don’t see much sympathy there.
FAs and their stupid union overplayed their hand now they have to live with the consequences. Good for the rest of us.
Yeah, well, United should pay them more.
United tried !
And they will…
Define “more”. Such a vague and empty term.
@Gary Leff — Maybe they should ‘try’ harder.
@Mike P — Perhaps the definition changes based on the circumstances.
@Gary, they tried and offered to gut all of their benefits and QOL provisions to give a pay raise. Doesn’t seem like they tried very hard…
Pay for waiting on the ground between flights No, we’ll give you boarding pay, industry standard.
Less tiring red-eye flying Yeah, no, we have a schedule to fly.
No more layover notifications Okay, unless operational.
More rest on longer flights Again, no, we have a schedule to fly.
Contract compliance guarantees When you sign a contract, we’ll give those.
Improvements for reserve flight attendants Again, It’ll be in the contract when you approve one
Better layover hotels define better.
Improvements to health care and retirement benefits We’ve pitched those and you voted them down.
@Pilot93434 — So much for solidarity. Are you actually a pilot, with your own union, or with management? Psh.
Perfect, here’s an additional $1 per hour. That’s “more”.
Um, did those that voted down the last contract not know the old adage ” cannot have your cake and eat it too? . Asking for the raise upfront could be risky.
@Pilot93434 given you speak as if you are management.
1. Why do you expect to control FAs time when they are on the ground, set standards for what they can and can’t do and yet don’t expect to pay them? Also you pay pilots on rigs so why not flight attendants (not saying you should pay them the same rate, but their labor is similarly structured so why not their pay?)
2. Under your logic everyone should just work 24/7 – they are asking for a QOL improvement but fine.
3. Then why did you propose being able to call flight attendants whenever on their layovers then? Perhaps if you want that you can pay them to be on call? This is actually a change from the current contract that you are trying to add?
4. Similar point to #2. I mean to what end?
5. You have never offered to have compliance guarantees so are you saying it is now on the table? I agree a contract should have punishments for breaking the contract – but you demanded they were removed from the current contract and refuse to put them into the new contract. Currently an FA can be fired for breaking the contract but when the company does a grievance is filed and nothing happens. So maybe explain your logic here?
6. Then why not put the improvements in the contract lol? I doubt they’ll just turn up without being in the contract.
7. The FAs did define better – they said same as the pilot hotels, you said no.
8. You pitched removing some retirement benefits and having minimum flying to get healthcare coverage – explain how this is an improvement?
Overall it sounds like you have not read the current agreement or TA1 – I suggest you do that before you post.
@Mike P — Sorry, not enough. Try more, more.
@Maryland — How about ‘let them eat cake,’ which I what management was saying.
1990. My point was not to sacrifice your bargaining chip.
@Maryland — These days, not great for anyone who isn’t extremely wealthy; so, yeah, not much bargaining, other than striking, yet, this administration isn’t gonna give the green light to NLRB. (Unrelated, but, I hear there’s a bad flu going around… *cough*)
1990. Actually I have a barf flu! But really should we all not push for a resolution as this hesitancy is not helping. Pick what’s important and stick with your choices.
This one’s dedicated to @1990 … ‘”Ah, let ’em eat a Stroopwafel ! ”
( and that can apply to management, ;union and/or both ! )
🙂
@Maryland — Oh no! Hope you recover quickly. Hydrate anyway you can. Those and norovirus are the worst!
Dear 79%, ha ha (as Nelson Muntz).
1990 . it’s the new K flu virus. Thank you for thinking of me.
United already has won by playing the game of Survivor: Outwit, Outplay, Outlast. The FAs and their union only have power now if they actually strike. Five years and counting indicates they will huff and puff, nothing more.
Anything more than minimum wage is throwing money away. Plenty of eager, friendly workers would happily take their place, just for the lifestyle and the benefits. You’re paying a premium for tired old workers who hate their job and their lives to not leave. That’s dumb.
And that uniform modeling pic, jeez, what a freak show. Just gross. I envision 1990 would fit right in with that crew.
@bossa — I love me some Daelmans stroopwafel. Honestly, I’ve tried fresh stroopwafel in Amsterdam… and I still prefer the prepacked kind. *gasp*
@Robert J Fahr — These FA’s just need to find the immunity idol or do a double-cross at tribal council, then they should be good to go, unless the jury finds their methods unappealing.
@Mantis — As usual with your awful ‘hot takes’ on here, yet another farce. $7.25/hour is not gonna work for aviation; honestly, it doesn’t work for anything anymore; it’s poverty.
UNION: vote to approve this super awesome contract we got on your behalf, its the best deal ever
FLIGHT attendants: 71% voted no
UNION: United is an evil greedy corporation who hates the worker and wont pay them
UNITED: you just said this was a super awesome contract.
NON UNION DELTA FLIGHT ATTENDANTS: HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
@JOJO — Also non-union delta flight attendants: Wait, you’re laying me off for no reason?