CHICAGO (CBS) – United Airlines flight attendants voted Wednesday to strike if labor negotiations remain at an impasse.
Shortly before the November deadline, as many as 28,000 workers said they might strike. United flight attendants overwhelmingly approved the strike, with a historic 99.9% of workers voting “yes.”
It was the first time in nearly 20 years that United flight attendants have voted to strike. The Association of Flight Attendants union said the move was spurred by the Chicago-based airline’s failure to negotiate in good faith. Union members have been working under a modified contract that expires in 2021.
Flight attendants demanded a double-digit increase in their base salary, as well as salary increases for flexible working hours, ground service and retroactive payments.
Many flight attendants said current pay is inadequate, especially given the ongoing cost of living in major cities like Chicago and San Francisco.
“I can’t save money,” says Amanda Tomaszewski, a United flight attendant for eight years. “Many of us are living on food stamps, and some of our colleagues in San Francisco are sleeping in their cars because they can’t afford to live right now.”
In a statement to CBS News Chicago, a United spokesperson said, “We continue to work toward an industry-leading agreement for our flight attendants, including negotiations this week and every month through November. Both sides have actively participated in these negotiations, which have been facilitated by the federal mediator requested by the union. We remain committed to reaching an agreement. To be clear, this is not a walkout or work stoppage. Instead, the off-duty flight attendants are exercising their right to conduct an informational strike. Federal law prohibits a strike until after a lengthy process that includes an exemption from mediation that can only be granted by the National Mediation Board.”
Nevertheless, the union believes that the negotiations are taking too long.
“The cost of living is the biggest issue. We need to get flight attendants a living wage,” said Scott Pejas, president of Local Council 8 AFA. “The company has the money. And they’re showing it. They’re giving our executives double-digit raises. Our pilots just renegotiated their contracts and it’s high time the flight attendants did the same.”
Robert Bruno, director of the Labor Education Program at the University of Illinois, said the union is trying to “get people to the bargaining table. And one way, perhaps the best way, for the union to do that is to tell the airlines, ‘All of our members are behind this. There is no division between them.'”
As of Wednesday, there was no timetable for a potential strike. The union said the strike authorization was simply a request for United leadership to return to the bargaining table to negotiate a contract that is fair to both sides.
