In recent years, pilots at most major U.S. airlines have landed lucrative new contracts. Now, flight attendants are trying to get their fair share of pay raises, even as the economics of the industry have worsened somewhat.
With that in mind, United Airlines flight attendants just voted to strike. But don’t worry, it’s highly unlikely that a strike will actually happen, and if it does, it will be a long time coming.
United flight attendants approve strike
In mid-July 2024, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, which represents United’s 28,000 flight attendants, announced plans to authorize a strike vote. For the past four weeks, flight attendants have been able to cast their vote for a strike vote, and the results are now in.
As expected, United flight attendants voted overwhelmingly to strike. Over 90% of flight attendants cast their ballots, and of those, 99.99% voted to strike.
So even though a strike authorization vote has taken place, the reality is that a strike is almost certainly not going to happen, and certainly not in the next few months. Just because flight attendants vote for strike authorization doesn’t mean they’re actually going to strike.
Rather, United management and the union representing the flight attendants must follow the procedures of the Railway Labor Act, which include going to the National Mediation Board, to find a solution. A strike would only be permissible if that process fails. And even then, it would not be imminent, as there would first be a 30-day cooling-off period before a strike could begin.
In fact, strikes are not common on U.S. airlines. Moreover, United flight attendants are among the last to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement, and other airlines have had similar strike authorization votes, all without a strike.
What does a strike vote really mean?
This strike vote is a bargaining tool, nothing more. Still, it’s quite significant considering that United hasn’t had a strike vote among flight attendants since 2005, nearly 20 years.
Flight attendants at major U.S. airlines are at varying stages of negotiations when it comes to securing a new collective bargaining agreement. Southwest flight attendants have ratified a new collective bargaining agreement, American flight attendants are voting on a new collective bargaining agreement, and Alaska flight attendants had a tentative collective bargaining agreement but rejected it (Delta flight attendants are not unionized but will likely get a proactive raise if the other airlines get raises).
Since United flight attendants are the least advanced in negotiating a new contract, I also think it’s the least likely option that they’ll actually go on strike, since there are already plenty of precedents for what kind of contract they can expect.
Here’s how Ken Diaz, president of United’s flight attendants union, describes the outcome of the strike vote:
“We deserve an industry-leading contract. Our strike vote shows we are willing to do whatever it takes to get the contract we deserve. We are the face of United Airlines, and planes don’t take off without us. As travel begins on Labor Day, United management is reminded of what is at stake if we don’t get this done.”
“The United management team is giving themselves massive raises while flight attendants are struggling to pay their 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.”
United flight attendants filed for federal mediation about nine months ago and have been working under a mutable contract for about three years. United flight attendants are asking for a significant double-digit increase in base pay, increased pay for time worked, including time spent on the ground, backdated pay to the mutable date, flexible work hours and improvements to work rules, job security, retirement and more.
Conclusion
United Airlines flight attendants have voted to strike. Over 90% of flight attendants voted, and 99.99% of them voted to strike. That sounds bad, but it doesn’t mean much to passengers.
The likelihood of United’s flight attendants going on strike is almost zero. Rather, it seems to be just one of the steps in ratifying a contract these days. We’ve seen the exact same votes at most other airlines.
What do you think about the vote to authorize a strike by United flight attendants?
