United Flight Attendants Authorize a Strike

The vast majority of unionized United flight attendants agreed to strike (image via Getty Images)

United Airlines flight attendants have been fighting for a new contract for three years – the longest negotiation the airline has ever seen. Last week, 99.99% of the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) members who voted chose to authorize a strike, should management fail to agree to their demands.

“In my 28-year career I’ve never seen anything like this,” says Elizabeth Hibbard, president of AFA’s Local 42 in Houston, which represents flight attendants flying out of Houston and Austin. United flight attendants last authorized a strike in 2005, but it was related to the company’s bankruptcy at the time – the last time there was a strike vote related to contract negotiations was the Eighties. “We hope this demonstrates to the company how unified we are, that we will take any action that would need to,” says Hibbard.

As it stands, flight attendants aren’t paid for time worked on the ground, and changing that is one of the union’s top demands. They also want wage increases and improvements to vacation, job security, and especially flexibility, “which is a major part of why flight attendants do what we do.”

Negotiations are currently stalled over management pushback on two key issues: union travel and compensation for contract violations. Currently, Hibbard has the ability to fly United to do union work – she does at least five times a year – and the company is trying to limit that. “Why on earth would we take less than we currently have?” The other sticking point is compensatory pay for contract violations, which are occurring more and more, says Hibbard.

One of the most common violations is last-minute schedule changes, in which flight attendants are essentially forced to work uncompensated overtime. The Railway Labor Act, which governs airlines’ labor disputes, allows companies to “fly now, grieve later,” meaning they can force employees to work what they consider a contract violation, and the employee’s only recourse is to file a grievance later.

“That just happened to a crew that I represent,” says Hibbard. “They were in Narita, Japan, on what was supposed to be a three-day trip. The contract requires that if something changes, they have to return you back to your home within 12 hours of when you were originally scheduled. They can’t just say, 'You can’t go home.’ Well, in this case, they extended the trip by two days. And these are people that have lives – they might have children at home, or pets, or doctor’s appointments.”

That’s why the union wants the issue resolved in negotiations. “They’re just going to keep doing it, because the Railway Labor Act allows them to,” says Hibbard. “So what we’re asking is, in that type of situation, that the company would be forced to pay that flight attendant for the violation. What the law provides is not enough to prevent the violations.”

If United management doesn’t agree to those points, the union could request a release from the National Mediation Board for a 30-day “cooling off” period, after which, if no progress is made in negotiations, they could use their trademarked strike strategy, Create Havoc Around Our System (CHAOS). Under CHAOS, the union decides where and when to strike without notice to passengers or the airline. “It could be just certain flights, or it could be a whole airport. We could say nobody’s flying out of Houston today.”

American, Alaska, and Southwest airlines have all taken high-percentage strike votes within the last year, and within a few months were able to reach their tentative agreements. “The fact is, our CEO last year made 229 times what the average employee makes at United,” says Hibbard. “If you’re a new flight attendant, you don’t get to choose where you’re based. Generally, they are going to send you to New York or San Francisco, and those flight attendants are making about $27,000 a year. Who can live in San Francisco on that? The corporate greed is sickening.”