United Airlines flight attendants haven’t seen a raise since 2021, because that’s when their contract became amendable. Negotiations were delayed by the pandemic (not a great time to ask for more money if you worked in travel) and because the union decided to wait to see what American Airlines flight attendants got in their deal first, to use that as a starting point for their own negotiations.
They even lent their union’s top negotiator to the rival union that represents flight attendants at American, to try to score the best deal possible (and to have American’s flight attendants strike if necessary, instead of walking off the job themselves).
The United union, though, is threatening a strike. That won’t come any time soon, because they first need the permission of the National Mediation Board.
- The NMB would first have to declare that negotiations are at an impasse.
- That starts a 30 day ‘cooling off’ period before the parties would be permitted to engage in ‘self-help’
- However, the NMB has adjourned mediated negotiations for the year. Eventually, Republicans will gain a majority on that board – and even the Biden administration-dominated NMB wasn’t willing to let airline unions strike.
- And it’s only been a couple of months since the United flight attendants union revealed their economic demands. They also just fired their negotiating committee. It’s hard to say things are at an impasse in any case.
However, with United flight attendants having overwhelmingly voted to authorize their union to declare a strike if the government lets them, the AFA-CWA union is currently soliciting volunteers from amongst their members to be the first to strike, as first reported by aviation watchdog JonNYC.
UA FAs
— JonNYC (@xjonnyc.bsky.social) December 14, 2024 at 9:26 AM
That’s because their strategy wouldn’t be a total walking off the job. Instead, the union’s tactic is called “CHAOS” which stands for (C)reate (H)avoc (A)round (O)ur (S)ystem.
- They engage in seemingly random, one-off strikes – hitting specific flights that change each day.
- That way they scare customers away from booking the airline – passengers don’t know which flights will operate and which ones won’t, so the carrier becomes unreliable.
- But only a small percentage of flight attendants have to strike, which means everyone else still earns their income (unless the airline locks them out and shuts down operations!).
Flight attendants are not well-positioned to endure a long work stoppage. They don’t have the financial resources, usually, to go without income. The airline knows this. So the union doesn’t want to get into a protracted airline-wide strike. They prefer to spread the pain, and have a given flight attendant endure it only for a total of a few days – maximize impact on the company, while minimizing economic cost to their members.
The greed at the top is disgusting. Wishing these flight attendants and pilots and other unions in other industries the very best. You deserve better. We all do.
Anyone else remember how the airlines got bailed out during the pandemic, receiving billions of dollars in taxpayer funds, then they proceeded to fire crew, do stock buybacks, and pay their top-level executives massive bonuses? Oh, I ‘memba.
*Incoming! Typical commenters who hate labor* (Something-something ‘lazy’ something ‘entitled’ something ‘bootstraps’). Remember, fellas, once you get up, pull up that ladder behind you. Keep bootlicking for the oligarchs. Please attack me personally. I enjoy it.
@1990. I’m with you. Pay the FAs and other front line workers a decent and competitive wage. I’m a huge UA fan and I’ve had nothing but great service from UA’s FAs over 15 years. These are the employees that keep me coming back to the airline — treat them decently.
1990,
you do remember (clearly not) that the feds gave US airlines money to KEEP crew – and the amount was directly related to their salary and benefit costs?
They would have all laid off very large numbers people and the feds simply kept that from happening. The airlines didn’t benefit but rather their workforces do.
And yes UA employees and FAs here deserve better but they elected the union they have – maybe decades ago but it wasn’t pushed on them.
now, UA and the AFA are in a standoff that simply means that UA FAs will never overcome the cost of the delays that are benefitting the company.
@Tim Dunn this statement you made is highly misleading.
“the feds gave US airlines money to KEEP crew – and the amount was directly related to their salary and benefit costs?”
Airlines were required to keep people on payroll in exchange for this money BUT THEY DIDN’T. They used this money to fund buyouts, reducing payroll. Several of them didn’t keep employees ‘ready to fly when passengers returned’ but rather pilots paid to sit home instead of remaining current.
The second and third payroll support programs were given out when airlines were getting ready to bring people back to work. We know exactly the most number of folks who might have been furloughed because they already were, in fact, furloughed. And the 2nd and 3rd bailouts only went overall ~ 15% to bring back people who might not otherwise have been working, with the vast majority of the money going to airline shareholders instead.
“They would have all laid off very large numbers people and the feds simply kept that from happening. ”
This was ARGUABLY true for the first covid bailout (CARES Act) but absolutely not true for the subsidized loan component of the bailout or the suspension of the excise tax on domestic tickets, and definitely not true for PSP2 or PSP3.
Remember that American Airlines even claimed that employees who had taken ‘voluntary’ separation and took jobs elsewhere were not eligible to return to the airline industry for PSP2 and 3!
“The airlines didn’t benefit but rather their workforces do.” This is blatantly false.
Fire people who don’t show up. Simple. Since they hate the job and they conditions, they should be happy to get canned.
Thanks Gary for calling out Tim Dunn.
I think the most senior flight attendants should volunteer, doubly so if they’re union representatives. First of all they need to show that senior FA’s aren’t just a pack of cowards preying on their junior colleagues as they always seem to and this would show some leadership. Also, senior people are in a much better financial position than someone who just signed up and can’t afford an apartment without a huge number of roommates.
Gary,
the airlines might have funded buyouts but they DID keep people on the payroll.
Given that airlines took on debt, it is pretty hard to prove that they didn’t do what was intended which was to keep people on the payroll that the feds intended to keep.
There were lots of moving parts and you see only the ones you want.
The simple fact is that tens of thousands of airline employees would have been laid out – not bought out – if the federal money did not come.
None of that changes that other airlines including DL and WN have settled with all of their workgroups in the post covid period which UA has not.
You and the AFA and their sympathizers can argue about the past but it is the present that matters.
The AFA has failed and UA is loving every minute of it because they don’t have to spend money.
And the AFA is asking for people to stick their necks on the line instead of doing a mass strike which will force UA to settle or damage bookings – which no party in Washington can stop
The APFA at least did enough damage to AA’s finances and reputation that the company had to settle.
The AFA is not going to settle this by getting a few martyrs to do CHAOS while the rest of the workforce stays comfortably employed – and underpaid.
FAs with a lot of seniority need their pay CUT and those with little seniority need to get a pay raise. After about 3 -5 years of service, the pay should not rise anymore based on seniority, only inflation.
@tim dunn – we know the maximum number of employees at risk of furlough prior to PSP2 so we can calculate what subsidy was needed to keep those employees on payroll and it was only about 15% the cost of the second and third bailouts. It is simple math.
Delta had already pledged not to furlough so how can it be said that the subsidies they subsequently received caused them not to furlough? It was free money for them from stupid people (us).
Airline investors should have taken a haircut not taxpayers.
AFA-CWA is the primary reason those subsidies happened.
Barry
I’m not sure what is your biff with us UA FAs, but sir, your idiotic criticisms are getting old.
I have almost 30 years in the house and sir, I deserve and have earned the privileges that I have now. WTF do you know about 14 hours work and getting paid 5? WTF do you know about having 10 hours layovers from block to block, meaning by the time you get to the hotel, shower, come down, you end up having 5 hours, if that, to sleep to have another 14 hours day? Your little cushy job writing BS about a life you have never been a part of, doesn’t give you the right to criticisms.
Tell you what, spend a month with me as a senior FA flying 130 hours a month and see how you feel.
And yes, we make more money than the junior FAs do, but gess what, who support my kids and grand kids? I DO. Many of us seniors don’t have a pot to piss in. We lost our pension, went through bankruptcy, 911,Covid and had to give so many concessions you’ll cry to your mother if it happened to you.
So, before critiquing us senior UA FAs, please, come fly with me.. If not, Shut the F…. p.
And, welcome to the friendly sky
gary,
the airlines were getting less than 25% of their revenue so could have easily justified laying off way more than 25% of their employees
airline investors did take a haircut. Stocks were down below covid levels for at least 2 years before returning. Some airlines have still not returned to what they were pre-covid. DAL and UAL are the only airline stocks that have beaten market averages.
yes, the unions were behind the subsidies and it was because they knew that massive layoffs would have collapsed the airline labor movement.
and none of this changes that it is unionized employees esp. FAs that have taken longer to get their salaries back up post covid than non-union employees.
In the case of both AA and UA FAs, the unions are looking for people that will stick their necks out to do CHAOS instead of pressing for a full-scale strike or even full-scale strike threat that the airlines have to deal with.
And if the excuse is that the big 4 are too big to allow to strike, then unions have been rendered worthless and salaries will never meaningfully rise again.
Interesting how CHAOS is trademarked.
Wow Tim Dunn making misleading and false statements, I’ve never seen that on this blog before…
“yes, the unions were behind the subsidies and it was because they knew that massive layoffs would have collapsed the airline labor movement.”
Damn those unions just trying to support the airline Labor movement and not at all trying to support those union members. Those greedy union leaders were only thinking about themselves and the thousands of employees that kept getting paid was just a byproduct! Do you hear yourself Tim?
You love to point out that DL FAs do well without a union, it could not be due to the fact that there is a continual threat of a union right? Like if the other 2 weren’t unionized, Delta would definitely be looking after their flight attendants out of the goodness of their heart right?
“And if the excuse is that the big 4 are too big to allow to strike, then unions have been rendered worthless and salaries will never meaningfully rise again.”
Yeah man, read the RLA. The unions in this industry are inherently kneecapped in power. Like this is just a fact of the industry, they always have been and will continue to be if the RLA stays in its current form. But to say that the unions created billions in subsidies to save employees’ payroll and then say they are worthless in the same comment just shows you don’t even understand the words that you’re saying.
The unions suck sure, but for the flight attendants it’s all they have when management treats them like crap. I don’t know why you think these hard working, low-paid workers are so beneath you. Do you not have an empathetic bone in your body?
Also no one thinks that the Union is going to be able to strike, especially under a Trump administration. This is the union just trying to make whatever pressure it can. Everyone keeps saying that the AFA dropped the ball here with UA, well out of the major airlines, UA had the latest contract (amenable from 2021). Kirby has been on record in the media saying he would not address the FA contract until the pilot contract was signed. That was in September 2023 – so yeah tough to do much when the other side refused to negotiate for 2 years. Then yes their strategy was to try and get AAs contract signed first so they would have something to leverage and well that has somewhat happened. And it has led to movement from management, they have said they may include boarding pay, they have also said they may include retro pay (both of which were considered 100% off the table back in September 2023). Do I think that AFA is doing a wonderful job? No. But you have to evaluate their performance within their context and resources. You proclaim to be knowledgeable of the industry Tim, why can’t you do that? Or are you so blinded by your own ignorance?