By Matt McGregor
United Airlines flight attendants have voted in favor of authorizing a strike if the company’s administration refuses to improve conditions.
The flight attendants are represented by the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA).
Ken Diaz, president of the United chapter of the AFA, said in a press release that flight attendants are entitled to an “industry-leading contract.”
“Our strike vote shows we’re ready to do whatever it takes to reach the contract we deserve,” Diaz said. “We are the face of United Airlines and planes don’t take off without us. As Labor Day travel begins, United management is reminded what’s at stake if we don’t get this done.”
According to jobs website Indeed, a United Airlines flight attendant’s annual salary is averaged at $45,241.
The flight attendants are seeking a “significant double-digit base pay increase,” the AFA said.
In addition, they are calling for pay for their time on the ground, more flexibility, improvements in work rules, and job security.
The flight attendants voted almost unanimously in favor of the strike, the AFA reported.
“The United management team gives themselves massive compensation increases while Flight Attendants struggle to pay basic bills,” Diaz said. “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.”
In response to a request for comment on the strike, a United Airlines spokesperson said the company is working toward achieving an “industry-leading agreement.”
This effort includes negotiations taking place this week and monthly until November.
“Both sides have been actively engaged in these negotiations facilitated by the federal mediator requested by the union,” the spokesperson said. “We remain eager to reach an agreement.”
The spokesperson said there’s been no disruption in labor.
“Instead, off-duty flight attendants are exercising their right to conduct an informational picket,” the spokesperson said. “Federal law bars a strike until after a lengthy process that includes a release from mediation, which can only be granted by the National Mediation Board.”
The AFA said that the strike authorization now allows for the union to ask to be released from the National Mediation Board.
This would lead to what the AFA called a “cooling off” phase, which includes a strike deadline.
The AFA has implemented a strategy it calls CHAOS, or Create Havoc Around Our System, which could impact a single flight or the whole system.
“The union decides when, where and how to strike without notice to management or passengers,” the AFA said.
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