United Airlines flight attendants have voted overwhelmingly to strike unless the Chicago-based airline agrees to double-digit pay raises and a host of other demands, including backdated payments and pay for time flight attendants spend on the ground.
With a turnout of 90% of eligible crew members, the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA) announced on Wednesday that after voting lasting almost a month, 99.99% voted in favor of authorizing strike action.
With Wednesday’s vote, the airline’s flight attendants have authorized a strike for the first time since 2005, when United was under bankruptcy protection, if lengthy negotiations do not result in the concessions they demand.
“We deserve an industry-leading contract. Our strike vote shows that we are willing to do whatever it takes to get the contract we deserve,” said Ken Diaz, president of the United branch of the AFA, after the voting results were released.
Diaz added: “United’s management team is giving themselves massive raises while flight attendants are struggling to pay basic bills.”
“The 99.99% yes vote is clear evidence that we are united in the fight against corporate greed and ready to fight for our fair share of the profits we generate.”
Voting to authorize strikes has become a standard part of airline collective bargaining, and recent deals at American Airlines and Southwest came after flight attendants threatened crippling strikes.
A vote to authorize a strike also preceded a tentative agreement for Alaska Airlines flight attendants, even though the Seattle-based carrier’s crew members recently rejected the proposed contract. AFA-CWA must now work with the airline again to try to renegotiate elements of the agreement.
Flight attendants at Alaska and American Airlines fought to have the concept of “boarding pay” included in their updated contracts. As the name suggests, it pays them for the time they spend boarding and disembarking.
United’s flight attendants want to take this concept one step further with “Ground Time Pay”: Crew members receive half of their hourly wage whenever they are on duty but not physically flying.
Traditionally, United flight attendants are only paid from the time the plane leaves the gate until the time it reaches its destination.
Newer flight attendants, who spend much more time on multiple short flights per day and changing from aircraft to aircraft, would benefit enormously from ground time pay.
United’s collective bargaining has dragged on for three years, but a potential strike is still a long way off. For a strike to occur, the union would have to ask the National Mediation Board (NMB) to declare a stalemate and give both sides a 30-day cooling-off period.
During negotiations between the flight attendants’ union and American Airlines, the NMB was extremely reluctant to declare an impasse and continued to urge the two sides to negotiate until an amicable agreement was finally reached.
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