United Flight Attendants Ready to Strike: What You Need to Know About the Historic Vote
While any strike remains far from guaranteed, an almost unanimous vote in favor of action pressures United management into listening to demands
Photo: Courtesy of Jason Leung / Unsplash
United Airlines flight attendants have voted overwhelmingly in favor of authorizing a strike, the first time in nearly 20 years that the carrier’s cabin crew have authorized such action.
The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA), the trade union representing the airline’s workers, announced on Wednesday that United’s flight attendants had voted 99.99 percent in favor of authorizing strike action, with 90.21 percent of eligible union members participating.
The near-unanimous vote threatens a strike should United management fail to agree to their demands.
Eight Months in the Making
The dispute, which has been ongoing for over eight months, concerns several contract concerns United’s flight attendants raised. Demands include a double-digit base pay rise, pay for time spent at work while on the ground, retroactive pay, higher schedule flexibility, improvements in employment rules, job security, retirement benefits, and more.
⚠️ Happening now the Local Council 9 DEN/PHX Association of Flight Attendants picketing ahead of the announcement of their strike vote results. So far @united says there’s no impact to travel operations. pic.twitter.com/dqHbPTAKq8
— Carly Moore | CMoore News® (@CMoore_News) August 28, 2024
“We deserve an industry-leading contract,” said Ken Diaz, president of the United chapter of the AFA. “Our strike vote shows we’re ready to do whatever it takes to reach the contract we deserve. We are the face of United Airlines, and planes don’t take off without us. As Labor Day travel begins, United management is reminded of what’s at stake if we don’t get this done.”
Diaz continued, “The United management team gives themselves massive compensation increases while Flight Attendants struggle to pay basic bills. The 99.99 percent yes vote is a clear reminder that we are unified in the fight against corporate greed and ready to fight for our fair share of the profits we create.”
What to Expect?
This historic vote result marks United flight attendants’ first authorization of a strike since the airline’s bankruptcy negotiations in 2005. However, while this significant step increases the threat of any strike becoming a reality, it’s still unlikely to go ahead, so passengers who have upcoming flights booked with United don’t have to worry just yet.
Strike authorization votes have become commonplace in airline staff contract negotiations, and United flight attendants’ latest call to action is more a regulatory procedure than a confirmation of anything concrete.
Photo: Courtesy of Denver International Airport.
For the strike to go ahead, the union must request a release from negotiations from the National Mediation Board (NMB), after which a mandatory 30-day cooling-off period would kick in. Should an agreement not be reached within that period, and the Biden administration doesn’t block the strike, a strike can be permitted. But even then, flight attendants wouldn’t go on strike immediately, giving any affected passengers time to prepare.
“To be clear, there is no work stoppage or labor disruption,” said United Airlines in a statement to ABC News. “Off-duty flight attendants are simply exercising their right to conduct an informational picket.”
United flight attendants’ strike authorization is the latest in a string of similar votes from employees at other U.S. airlines that have pushed their employers to enter contract negotiations, including American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, and Southwest Airlines.
