United Airlines flight attendants vote to authorize strike

In recent years, pilots at most major U.S. airlines have landed lucrative new contracts. Now, flight attendants are trying to get their fair share of pay raises, even as the economics of the industry have worsened somewhat.

In that spirit, United Airlines flight attendants’ union leadership just voted to hold a strike ballot. But don’t worry, it’s highly unlikely that a strike will actually happen, and if it does, it will be a long time coming.

United flight attendants union approves ballot

United’s flight attendants union leadership has just announced plans to authorize a strike vote. Specifically, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA has informed its members that they can cast their ballot for a strike vote between August 1 and August 28, 2024, before the busy travel period on Labor Day.

This means that United’s approximately 28,000 flight attendants will soon be voting on whether or not to authorize a strike. It is almost guaranteed that voter turnout will be close to 100% and that nearly 100% of flight attendants will vote in favor of a strike.

While we’ll be hearing a lot in the media in the coming days about United flight attendants and a strike vote, the reality is that there almost certainly won’t be a strike, and certainly not in the next few months. Just because flight attendants vote for strike authorization doesn’t mean they’ll actually strike.

Rather, United management and the union representing the flight attendants must follow the procedures of the Railway Labor Act, which include going to the National Mediation Board, to find a solution. A strike would only be permissible if that process fails. And even then, it would not be imminent, as there would first be a 30-day cooling-off period before a strike could begin.

In fact, strikes are not common on U.S. airlines. Moreover, United flight attendants are among the last to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement, and other airlines have had similar strike authorization votes, all without a strike.

What does a strike vote really mean?

This strike vote is a bargaining tool, nothing more. Still, it’s quite significant considering that United hasn’t had a strike vote among flight attendants since 2005, nearly 20 years.

Flight attendants at major U.S. airlines are in various stages of negotiations when it comes to securing a new contract. Southwest flight attendants have ratified a new contract, Alaska flight attendants have a tentative contract, and American flight attendants are reportedly close to a new contract (Delta flight attendants are not unionized but will likely get a proactive raise if other airlines get raises).

Since United’s flight attendants are the least advanced in negotiating a new contract, I also think it’s the least likely option that they’ll actually go on strike, since there are already numerous precedents for what kind of contract they can expect.

Here is how Ken Diaz, president of United’s flight attendants union, describes the development of the strike vote:

“United flight attendants cannot afford to wait for improvements. We deserve an industry-leading contract and are ready to show United management that we will do whatever it takes. There is no time to lose. Our negotiations are at a critical stage, the issues are clear and now is the time to act.”

United flight attendants applied for federal mediation nearly eight months ago and have been working under a mutable contract for nearly three years. United flight attendants are demanding a significant double-digit base salary increase, increased pay for time worked, including time spent on the ground, backdated pay to the mutable date, more flexible hours and improved work rules, job security, retirement and more.

Bottom line

The United Airlines flight attendants union leadership has voted to hold a strike vote. Now the flight attendants will vote on whether or not to strike. It is expected that the turnout will be close to 100%, as almost 100% of the members will vote in favor of a strike.

But that doesn’t mean much to passengers. The likelihood of United’s flight attendants going on strike is almost zero. Rather, it seems like just one of the steps to ratifying a contract these days.

What do you think about the upcoming vote on strike authorization?