United Airlines Flight Attendants Subject To Involuntary Furlough

Date: January 15, 2014

Management Fails to Recognize Legally Binding Contractual Involuntary Furlough Protection 

Washington, DC – United Airlines Flight Attendants, represented by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA), today calls on management to work collaboratively to find solutions and prevent any involuntary job loss.  After weeks of discussion and tireless work on behalf of the union, today United management has stated they will involuntary furlough some of our most junior members. Greg Davidowitch, AFA president at United issued the following statement:

“At the very basic level, today’s announcement is a failure by management to recognize protections of our contract.  Despite our recommendations to pursue options that would mitigate the company’s staffing overage, management declined to do the right thing and make the right choice for our airline’s success.

“Successful airlines do not lay off workers, they work with the union for solutions. We continue to meet with management and offer creative solutions to an involuntary furlough; while also addressing the company’s needs to mitigate an overage in manpower.

“They will try and create clever terms to justify their choice, and most certainly drop the blame on the union, but what it comes down to is simply the promise of United’s merger not being realized.

“AFA will continue to pursue any and all opportunities that mitigate the devastating effects this decision will have on those being laid off, and on our company as a whole.  We will continue to advocate to management to find alternatives that avoid job loss, and work collaboratively for creative and reasonable solutions. It’s not too late to turn this thing around, management can still choose to do the right thing.”

More than 55,000 Flight Attendants, including the over 25,000 Flight Attendants at United, join together to form The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA), the world's largest Flight Attendant Union. AFA is part of the 700,000 member strong Communications Workers of America, AFL-CIO. Visit us at www.unitedafa.org.