Comments

1. By any means necessary. This is where we mind our business Gary.

2. I’ve seen these lanyards and have gone as far as to tell a pilot wearing one that I find them unprofessional and basically saying, “Contract First, United Next, Customers Last.” I’m not sure why they think I’m going to be sympathetic to their desire to make $500K a year so my airfares can shoot through the roof.

   Bunch of whiny-ass babies. And I say this as someone who grew up in a union household and is pro-union. These are the unions that give the unions trying to actually help people a bad name.

3. Did you just share a tweet from last year?

   Must be a slow day.

4. It is unprofessional, very unprofessional. Instead of working together the union tries to flex its “muscle” and gets these idiots to buy into the unprofessionalism. I wish United would just fold. Close their doors and say its been a good run. Guess what? Scotty will be just fine. Then you’ll have most of these idiots out of work or starting from the beginning with a new company. Make it make sense. Scott obviously has a passion for what he does this is why he’s here like most CEO’s. All I’m saying is you shouldn’t bite the hand that feeds you because at the end of the day everyone wants to provide for their families. United and/or any other airline that folds will have a lot of ex-employees not able to do this and Scotty and the rest of the C Suite guys will continue to live well.

   On another note, that hotel is horrible. Unfortunately AA or any other airline doesn’t own a hotel and will give what is available. This is where I say instead of providing accommodations like that, just sleep in the airport. Either way you won’t be happy. Does this person think airlines say “lets find the crappiest hotel to give our passengers”? I’m sure they dont but that just from my experience. If the hotel isn’t up to your standard then they could’ve book a hotel to their standards and just gotten reimbursed. Maybe not 100% but at least you would’ve slept in something that is up to your standards.

5. @SOBE ER DOC
   Just fly a better airline, it’s that simple (unless you use DEN, HOU, or IAD. AA beats UA in all but international route network, however, they have a ton of joint venture agreements and OneWorld partners that will get you where you need to.

6. United pilots have every legal and moral right to push the company in labor negotiations as they are doing. The collective bargaining process favors dragging out the process. There is no excuse for United not to settle its labor contracts as good as or better than Delta

   Delta and WestJet do not and never have had a joint venture. There is no joint venture to renew

7. I agree that their acting like spoiled children who don’t get their way. They obviously care little for their employer & the passenger. Thanks for this post.

8. Interesting. It must be “lanyard-season!”

   I just flew Alaska mainline, first class, from SFO – LAX and the flight attendants each wore a lanyard which read: “Pay Me For Boarding”

   They too must be starting contract negotiations and currently have that standard union FA contract where their compensation does not begin for a flight until the cabin door is closed. Non-union DL FAs are paid for boarding I believe. So “boarding” is now a thing I suppose.

9. In fairness to Delta, the utility of WestJet as a YYC-focused airline is pretty low when Delta has a hub in MSP & SEA. WestJet’s value to Delta was always going to be in YYZ before WS pulled back significantly from that market.

10. Paul Larsen
    Every flight attendant that doesn’t work for Delta now wants the boarding pay that Delta gave, not negotiated , to its FAs

11. Fly So – tell me you’re union scum without telling me you’re union scum. No place for unions in the 21st century.

12. Wow
    Speaking about whiny-ass babies, some of you that are trying to say something negative are just that, Plus clueless!!!!
    Who gives a flying #$%$&^ what lanyard a pilot wears. Their job is to fly the plane and get you from point A to point B safely. I say more power to them !!!!!!

13. The comments here are incredible to me. I am a retired United pilot. Airline pilots are union members. As such, they have every right to use any legal means necessary to secure a contract from a company that has been stalling for years on giving them one. The labor laws in the United States greatly favor, corporations over labor, and now people are mad that labor is using one of the few tools available to them. Airline pilots are not even allowed to strike. The amount of contact the general public has with an airline pilot is extremely limited. We spend most of our time locked behind that fortified cockpit door. I very much doubt a lanyard is too distressing for passengers to see as we walk through the terminal. The general sentiment on this page seems to be corporations can do whatever they wish, and employees should just accept it. How is under paying employees, all employees, not just pilots, somehow the employees not caring about customers? Explain that to me. United pilots have operated one of the safest airlines in the world for decades, having not had a pilot caused accident since 1978. Seems to me that we are pretty damn professional where it counts.

14. Fred, your comment is disgusting. You’d fit right in with the strike breakers of the 1920’s. Breaking heads for their corporate overlords. You’ve obviously swallowed the Right Wing narrative hook, lime and sinker.

15. Fred,
    Get a life.

16. Mark D – I promise you I absolutely would. Right there with the Pinkerton’s breaking the heads of union scum.

17. Fred, you probably work at a Walmart. Another Right Wing Dunning-Krueger genius.

18. Mark D, you made a solid argument until you went to the right wing name calling. You went from well spoken and classy to another political asshole. Grow up.

19. @SOBE ER DOC

    No those are the unions that actually give their employees what they ask for. These are actual unions that work on actual issues not woke issues like how many people in leadership are “Trans”.

20. Down with the unions. I understand/agree with the original premise years and year ago, but now it’s just a money-grab for overinflated administrators like so many other industries in the US.

    Disagree? That’s fine. Keep giving a chunk of your paycheck to folks who, just like the company you “need protection from”, are looking out for their own interests more than yours

21. Those that want to diss or glorify unions miss the point. Pay raises have been granted by Delta to all of its nonunion and unionized employees. American Southwest and United could do the same if they wanted. Scott Kirby bragged over a year ago that United would be the first to settle a pilot contract and it would be industry leading. American bested United’s contract by peanuts and then Delta won from the 3 point line. Multiple low cost carrier pilots have new contracts.
    It is not a surprise that United pilots have expectations that remain unmet.

22. Unions are useless in this Country.If you want any attention from a company you got to hit them where it hurts and that means striking.Learn from European unions.

23. Mark D – I don’t, in fact. Nor do I shop there. Too much white trash like you there.

24. Wow tim. That’s a unique take. Did you forget about all the delta employees during the pandemic forced to take a 1/3 pay cut by delta despite delta taking all the federal money designed specifically to prevent that? That didn’t happen to the comparable frontline folks at AA, United, or southwest.
    Delta is the only major carrier during the federal bailouts of the pandemic that took all the federal government but didn’t give it to their workers where it belonged.

    And delta didn’t give a pay raise for years, tim. Roughly three years and they were off buying equity stakes in other carriers while their employees still hadn’t received a raise.

    A full 1/3 of AA’s people received union pay increases during the pandemic. More than any of delta’s folks.

    I’m not here to support or go against unions. They serve their purpose. But speak with facts if you attempt to cheerlead. Delta was the leader in screwing their employees with taxpayer money.

25. max,
    you are patently falsed.
    AA and UA laid off thousands of management workers and then touted that they didn’t have to pay them.
    WN offered very generous leaves for salaries that were paid for by government (taxpayer) money.

    And tell us how much Delta paid in profit sharing on Feb 14, 2020, just before the bottom fell out and then compare that to the rest of the industry.
    Then tell us how much profit sharing AA, UA and WN paid compared to DL.

    Now, once again, tell us why AA, UA and WN haven’t bothered to get contracts for its employees NOW esp. by Scott Kirby since he ran his mouth about how he would be the first carrier to settle and would come up w/ an industry leading contract – and yet AA AND DL have both bested UA.

    and let us know how long UA FAs will have to wait for boarding pay.

    it’s really rather simple for anyone with the slightest bit of objectivity
    We aren’t in the pandemic era any more.
    Delta wanted to provide industry leading compensation to all of its employees – union and non-union – and it will now HURT for every other carrier to match those levels – so they drag the process out.

    And UA’s pilots are completely free to do whatever they want to show their disdain while WN employees walk out of company pep rallies and AA pilots are set to start informational picketing next week even as the company AND the union tells pilots to enjoy their time off w/ their families.

    It will be a rough summer for employees at 3 of the big 4. Delta employees might work hard but they will at least be well paid.

    That is all UA pilots want and deserve.

    It’s no surprise that you would do everything possible to argue AGAINST that.

26. The way you misconstrue just about everything is impressive Tim and suggest fact where there is none…

    In 2022, after not getting a raise since 2019 and inflationary pressures far above this while delta was out buying other airline equity stakes, delta gave their non union people a 4% raise, about 1%/year adjusted for time since their last 2019 raise. In 2023, a 5% raise. Still below inflation since 2019.

    Delta’s union pilots got SIGNIFICANTLY higher inflationary increases than anything close to the paltry 1%/year increases delta gave other employees in 2022. And the pilot increases had nothing to do with delta’s discretion or good heart, their pilots negotiated it.

    Per management employees that you don’t seem to know much about, not true re United and AA. It just isn’t. Not worth arguing since you’re just ignorant on the topic and doing your random throw fake news at a wall at everything to hope it diverts attention from the topic.

    But since you brought it up, Delta forced 1/3 salary cuts on their frontline workers and management as well. All airlines provided varying levels of optional voluntary leave packets. Nothing unique to delta or anyone about that.

    Profit sharing? If delta had no idea how badly they’d need the profit sharing cash a month later, their inability to project the magnitude of the pandemic, unlike United, really isn’t a point to brag about since they FORCED 1/3 salary cuts on the entire non union company about 60 days after the profit sharing in February, 2020. Id imagine delta people would’ve preferred their salaries over a profit sharing check creating a false sense of workplace security.

    You say aa, ua, and wn could pay their union workforces now instead of waiting for a contract, like delta… but delta did not do that. Their union pilots had to wait for a negotiated raise just like the unions at the other airlines. When delta gave their measly 4% raise in 2022 after three years and significant inflation, delta did not give one to their union pilots, just like aa, ua, and WN.

    Again, The facts are that delta was buying equity stakes in other airlines before giving their own non union groups a raise, groups that literally HAVE to wait on Delta’s good graces to get a raise but delta chose not to give one for three years and to cut their salaries by a third during part of that time… then use the employee salary savings, from the federal government, for other purposes while their employees waited…

    Per boarding pay… who cares? If it means much to flight attendant unions, they’ll negotiate it and get it in exchange for something. But frankly, we don’t know if the majority of delta flight attendants even value that. They don’t have the ability to say anything on the topic aside from company-picked employee advisory councils. We do know delta chose a marketing bullet of boarding pay over increased salary pay to keep AFA at bay. But I think it’s fair to say all delta flight attendants would’ve liked their full taxpayer-funded salaries during the pandemic (or backpay for that time) and a 2022 increase more than ~1%/ year vs 2019 over boarding pay.
    Per what unions are telling people to do this summer… delta’s pilot union was yelling lots last summer too. Unions have many tactics to get what they want and, for the pilots’ at all airlines sake, let’s hope they get some contracts soon. It’s hardly a surprise to anyone except you that trying to yell loudly above the negotiating fray is a common union tactic.

    Delta is a for profit company, just like every other airline. They aren’t saints and any objective commentary on what delta actually has done with raises and taxpayer bailout money since 2019 shows that.
    Speak with facts, Timmy. This delta rah rah nonsense from you, absent fact and reality, gets so old.

27. And Scott Kirby yelling and boasting loudly… so?
    That’s Scott Kirby. Hardly a first for him to boast about something and have it not come true as smart as he actually is.
    If unions and the companies don’t have contracts yet, that’s on both sides to get it done. But I’d imagine the unions are busy trying to get inflationary increases in their new contracts, unlike delta did for its people that didn’t have a say in the matter.

28. The company -any company – controls the purse.
    Kirby isn’t as smart as some would like them to believe if he asserted that he would have the first pilot contract and it would be the richest in the industry.
    UA pilots expect to get a new pilot contract that is as rich or richer than DL’s. They don’t have one. They are completely in the right to use every legal method to express their displeasure.
    UA FAs don’t have a new contract including the boarding pay that DL UNILATERALLY gave its FAs. They too are justified in expressing their displeasure w/ the speed at which negotiations are going.

29. Waiting for the flight attendant’s lanyard that says, “pay me for cleaning up vomit from your passenger seat.”

30. all of that keyboard banging, Max, and you still can’t tell tens of thousands of employees at AA, UA and WN when they will see wage rates comparable to DL.
    Dwelling on the past (and altering the details of it) doesn’t change that thousands of real airline employees are waiting on their employers to come to the table to offer competitive raises. When you can tell us that AA, WN and UA have offered packages competitive w/ DL and those 6 unions reject them, you might have an argument.

    In the meantime, all of those labor groups are free to express displeasure even while you make excuses and cling to a manipulated past.