United Airlines flight attendants hold strike vote

July 17, 2024

As flight attendants at United Airlines seek a new collective bargaining agreement, a vote to authorize a strike will take place next month. This should be viewed as a formality to continue negotiations, not a real threat of an impending strike.

United Airlines flight attendants to vote on whether to authorize a strike in August 2024

Strikes in the United States are associated with a certain pomp, which is regulated by the Railroad Labor Act. If collective bargaining stalls:

First comes a strike permit
This is followed by further concerted efforts by the National Mediation Board (NMB) to bring the two sides to an agreement (the two sides are already negotiating through the NMB).
If an “impasse” is reached (as determined by the NMB), the two sides will be “released” for a 30-day “suspension period.”
After the 30 days have expired, employees can go on strike and/or be locked out.

Bottom line: A strike is still months away. But the vote to authorize the strike will take place between August 1 and 28, 2024, and it’s safe to assume that nearly 100% of flight attendants will vote in favor.

United Airlines has taken a slower path in ratifying a new contract with its 28,000 flight attendants, who have been working under a valid collective bargaining agreement since August 2021.

Flight attendants ask:

double-digit increases in basic salaries
higher pay for working hours, including on the ground
retroactive payment (from 2021)
Schedule flexibility
Improvements to working rules (especially with regard to sick days)

Ken Diaz, president of the United division of the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), said:

“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.”

Of course, this attitude is reasonable in times of inflation and United Airlines has stated publicly and privately that it wants to conclude a generous new contract with its flight attendants, but generous is a completely subjective term, so the devil is always in the details.

Since Southwest has a new contract and American Airlines is close to a new contract, you can expect similar prices on United (not dramatically higher or lower).

I fly United most often and find that most of the flight attendants are excellent – an asset to the company. Happy flight attendants ensure that passengers are happy on board, so a new contract will also help United compete with Delta Air Lines for dominance in the premium market segment.

But we also can’t turn a blind eye to the reality that earnings are falling, growth has slowed and “revenge trips” are over. If you look at the industry, earnings in general are disappointing and the new contract can (and should) reflect that, and also the reality that there is far more demand than supply for flight attendant jobs. In short: pay rise, yes. Pilot-style pay rise, no.

DIPLOMA

United Airlines flight attendants will vote on a strike in August, which is a formality as negotiations on a new contract are ongoing. I fully expect a non-strike agreement to be reached, but this vote will add some pressure to the negotiations.

Image: United AFA