Protesting United Airlines flight attendants are now under investigation, and have been removed from flying duties. Suspending the crewmembers who disrupted United’s big media event was probably inevitable.
At Monday’s launch event for its new business class suites product, a group of the airline’s cabin crew crashed the stage to protest the lack of new contract and five years without a raise as a result.
The FAs have their say at today’s UA new Polaris event pic.twitter.com/eyooJNbEGT
— JonNYC (@xJonNYC) May 13, 2025
But first, a brief protest by a very vocal group of United flight attendants demanding better contract terms. Good on them!
— Jason Rabinowitz (@airlineflyer.net) May 13, 2025 at 9:08 AM
They shouted, “if we don’t get it, shut it down” and “what do we want? A contract. When do we want it? Now!”
This wasn’t a protest on public property. These flight attendants crashed a publicity event and distracted from the airline’s message that it was elevating the business class experience to attract premium customer revenue.
New United Airlines Business Class Row 1
New United Airlines Business Class Row 1
And there are consequences. Aviation watchdog JonNYC confirms the removal from duty pending investigation.
***reportedly** (100% unconfirmed) "Reportedly the FA protestors have been removed from service pending investigations"
— JonNYC (@xjonnyc.bsky.social) May 14, 2025 at 12:03 PM
pretty confirmed
— JonNYC (@xjonnyc.bsky.social) May 14, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Flight attendants need a new contract. They’ve been promised one, and they can reasonably expect to be paid similarly to Delta, American, and Southwest cabin crew. The length of time it’s taken to get to one is a function first of the pandemic (it made no sense to negotiate a concessionary contract then, far better to wait it out) and the union’s negotiating strategy (to assist American Airlines flight attendants in their negotiations, finalize their deal first to have a higher baseline to negotiate from).
Of course waiting has had consequences – a change in administration that makes the threat of a strike less credible, a more uncertain economic environment. The union fired its negotiating team six months ago and regrouped on strategy.
Hopefully flight attendants will see a new contract soon. They’ve seen the value of their wages eroded by inflation. Hopefully the airline will have labor peace and be able to deliver on the product they’re promising to customers. And hopefully passengers won’t wind up in the middle of an unpleasant dispute.
*incoming* There gonna be a lot of happy right-wingers here… incoming!!
Just imagine what the customer experience must be on a United flight with such animus and anger.
“No soup for you!”
Those FA who display animus to the customer are displaying unprofessional conduct and should be suspended. You don’t accept unprofessional conduct from a CPA or MD. Sometimes, that results in a lifetime ban.
This was organized by the AFA and could be the start of many to come. Stay tuned
@derek — Yet another strawman. No animus towards customers here. This was flight attendants protesting management. Quite different from what you suggested.
Airlines do whatever they want to their FA’s including not agreeing to new contracts and giving raises.
The moment any employees voice their frustrations, done!
Just pathetic, petty and ridiculous.
Good. Get rid of them. They could be a security threat onboard.
They did not commit a crime!!!!! They should not be suspended either.
I’m an AA loyalist, but feel Kirby and his team have shown the most impactful & positive leadership decisions of any US airline. In a business where every CEO gets $25mln….whether your stock is up 100% or you retire tons of wide-bodies and cripple your expansion….UA has become the leader in taking risks and hitting it big.
But it will be very hard to keep that mojo if FAs start to revolt. They can tour all the caviar they want, but if FAs see customers as enemies by association all the work they’ve done can be unraveled very quickly.
As I’m sure Tim D will collaborate, part of Delta winning formula is getting employees on the same side as management. United has the financial metrics and bandwith to do that. Unless the union is being completely unreasonable…. management should get this done. Beating the union into submission shouldn’t be looked at as an accomplishment.
I think they should be forced to eat united catering for a month as punishment
@1990. “They’ll find out! They’ll find out! They’ll find out!” “That’s a red line”. Where’s your boy Hakeem J. when you need him?
Plain and simple, AFA and its leadership has failed the UA flight attendants. UA, like any big company has taken advantage of AFAs and the UA Membership weakness and miscalculations.
@1990, Here’s something for you. Inflation is at a 3 yr low. Job reports are better than expected hmmmm. Democrats haven’t been labors friend for a long time. I was sent back to work by Mr Clinton. How’s that for right wing crazy?
@Shaun, you sir are right on!
They deserve to be fired, plain and simple.
I’m all for FAs receiving a fair contract but the path towards a solution does not include damaging their employers business or promotional events.
@Coffee Please — Bah! Oh please; not counting on Schumer for this, either.
@Pilot93434 — ‘In this economy?’ I’d very much for us all to be ‘thriving,’ but the data shows otherwise, unless you’re the President or one of His grifters and oligarchs (even then). For nearly everyone else, it ain’t looking too good (small businesses, farmers, etc., all that self-imposed, completely unnecessary ‘uncertainty’). So, when the supply shortages from the tariffs begin (soon enough) and prices skyrocket, I’ll remind you of your comments here. Gravity still exists.
Wisdom and restraint are helpful in negotiations. Yes FA’s you need a new contract but the strategy has been missing. The pilots sent their message in 2022 by turning their backs to Kirby. Be smart and succeed. You got this.
Bye Felicia.
@1990. You have a sense of humor. I like that.
@Coffee Please — It’s kind of necessary, in life, I think. Self-deprecating may be my personal favorite. I’ll happily ‘talk shop,’ but if anyone just wants to call me some silly names instead, I’m always down to clown. And my only ‘vice’ is caffeine, so yes, coffee (and tea) please, no milk or sugar.
Year over year CPI inflation is at a 4 year low, last being lower in February 2021. I would say that the USA has not been thriving for quite a while. The stock market has done well lately and has almost clawed back all of the losses due to widespread fears of tariffs. I don’t think Main Street has been doing great since maybe 1999 of the Clinton regime, before the dot com bust. I can understand the United flight attendants being upset due to not getting raises by way of amendments to their contract. The contract as it is without pay increase amendments, is still intact. The 12% excess inflation over 2% a year has to hurt. At the end of August the flight attendants will have gone 5 years without a raise unless they were still getting yearly step raises. I wonder what percentage have not got any raises during that time. The contract is online.
The people commenting here are seriously the problem why United doesn’t negotiate in good faith. Hope your flight attendants drop your short rib on the floor before they serve it to you.
I respect these flight attendants for standing up to corporate greed.
Gary, get a job and stop spreading fake news.
deport them to el Salvador like all lefties deserve.
@1990
The new cuckoo on here trying to outdo Tim Dunn in mental derangement… Good grief.
How about just one primary post and one rebuttal per user per article? Please.
@Marco — You do you. Ignore or engage. Got anything ‘on substance’ (this post was about United), or will it only be ad hominems against me and others? Either way, I’m always up for whatever. Tim can speak for himself, but I think he handles his own just fine.
Entitled lazy unskilled labor have jumped the shark. They really think gross, public insubordination while undermining the business prospects of their employer will achieve their goals? They and their leach union leaders better watch out, they’re gonna find out just how expendable they really are. Lock them out and 10k hard working, service oriented potential employees will apply within a week to take their place.
Unions do nothing but raise prices, reduce productivity (this also economic growth), reduce service quality, and make everyone miserable, including the employees themselves. Their time is long gone.
Enjoy the cash register at Wal Mart. Now those people that would bring stream trunks onto the plane will be in the cashier line you’re working at Wal Mart.
@Mantis — Ah, yet another anti-worker dog-whistle (‘unskilled’). The good, decent people who perform these roles are talented and worthy of dignity, regardless of your derogatory comments. You should know that in aviation it takes real time and effort to train and certify, especially for these essential safety roles. So, no, there are not ’10k’ scabs in-waiting. United’s management should ‘do the right thing’ and negotiate in good-faith with the union for a new contract now.
@George N Romey — I know you were being tongue and cheek, again, attacking your fellow citizens and workers who are just trying to get by and, again, deserve dignity, regardless of their titles. But, what cashiers?? Each Wal-Mart I’ve been to has like 1-2 human ‘cashier’ with forever-lines of 50 customers at check-out; otherwise, it’s just automated checkout for everyone else. Those companies are horrible examples of mistreating both workers and consumers. Because relying on a ‘death star’ company like Wal-Mart isn’t fixing anything for anyone. They underpay their people so poorly that they rely on government assistance anyway; the taxpayer is ultimately subsidizing Wal-Mart. Not to mention, they killed off a lot of small businesses in the process. And this administration isn’t doing anything meaningful, just propaganda, culture war, etc. We need actual reforms in the USA that benefit the people, not just the super-rich.
This will be a test of the Union.
Does it cry “victim status”, or does it fight like hell to re-instate the gate crashers.
If it goes for the former, I’d vote to remove every one of the union executive committee.
Even if its members were out of line, it needs to show some cojones.
Delta….. DElta….. DELTA
They have the secret recipe. Happy wife happy LIFE
Happy Flight Attendants
Happy CUSTOMERS
No they didn’t because we hired actors……… LIES!!!!
@1990, okay you got me,,,,WAIT no you didn’t! Your use of selective “data” is your unconscious bias.
The data is the data, you just don’t like that it’s positive. Just by using the word oligarch you outed yourself as a progressive lib with TDS. My small company that does many tens of millions in business is up YOY. We’ve been expanding as well. The tariff kerfuffle is far from being settled, but by all means lose your mind over it.
Its fun to watch the uniformed parrot CNN. TARIFF, TAXES, TARIFF, DEI YACK YACK, with the brains God gave that parrot.
The United flight attendant insurrectionists are a flight risk. If they do this at company HQ, just imagine what these juvenile activists might pull on a plane?!? Fire them all. No more nonsense.