Skip to content
Log in
Log out
  • There are no suggestions because the search field is empty.
  • There are no suggestions because the search field is empty.

Negotiations Update - December 6, 2024

Share links

This week, the AFA MEC Negotiating Committee met in Washington, D.C., to further our strategy to win an industry-leading Contract. As we aggressively push to obtain the Contract we deserve, a major obstacle is management’s far-reaching demands for concessions. 

The Negotiating Committee, the MEC, and the entire membership have been crystal clear that we are not agreeing to concessions. Management’s demands for concessions are unheard of and certainly not something we see anywhere in the industry, including with other work groups at United. 

Below is a partial list of the far-reaching concessions the company has been demanding in our bargaining. This is not a complete list, but it provides examples of the concessions the company is seeking.

  • Institute PBS
  • Institute minimum flying requirement for medical benefits
  • Delete night pay
  • Reduce reserve guarantee to 75
  • Lengthen Duty Day (domestic and international)
  • Eliminate 1 in 7 provisions
  • Less layover rest (eliminate 8 hr place of lodging)
  • Less international layover rest
  • Less home domicile rest
  • Increase island hopper duty day
  • Must remain contactable on layover
  • Weaken ability to trade trips and limit flexibility
  • Weaken our reassignment provisions
  • Eliminate PTO
  • Offset reserve pickup on days off by sick leave used during month
  • Reduce RSV call-out time to 2 hours
  • Reserves required to be within 50 miles of their Domicile on availability days
  • Vacation Fly Through at Company's discretion
  • Eliminate Traditional Medical PPO
  • Eliminate required optional medical plans
  • Reduce Kaiser HMO options
  • Increase spousal surcharge
  • Eliminate required optional dental plans
  • Increase contributions for medical plans including premiums, deductibles, co-pays and other fixed values through indexing

In their communications, United management is drastically minimizing the nature of the concessions they have been demanding. To have them tell it, they are just asking for a couple of tweaks. That is neither accurate nor helpful, and that is why we encourage all Flight Attendants to get accurate negotiations information by going to the AFA United MEC official Contract website.

Recently, management set up a website containing misleading information about negotiations, including dramatically inflating the number of hours Flight Attendants fly. As a pointer to management, if you have to assume a Flight Attendant flies 125 hours every month to make your proposals look good, perhaps you need to go back to the drawing board. In addition to being factually incorrect, it attempts to directly negotiate with individual Flight Attendants rather than engage in their legal obligation to negotiate with our union. Just tell them, “Talk to my Union”. 

To move these negotiations forward, management needs to pull these concessionary proposals and focus on resolving the remaining quality of life and economic improvements United Flight Attendants deserve and need. United management just this week boasted about their “best revenue day ever” in the entire history of the airline on December 1st, and the stock is up over 150% this year, at an all-time high. Delays and distractions will not be tolerated, and these negotiations are moving forward one way or another.

Wear your red pin and red lanyard, and keep informed. These negotiations are going to heat up as we push for an agreement and we need all Flight Attendants actively engaged. 

If you have not signed the letter to Scott Kirby, please sign here and RSVP for our next picketing event on December 19th. 



In Solidarity,

 

Your Negotiating Committee

Ken Diaz, MEC President

Melinda Beal, Council 63 President

Chris Bruton, Council 9 President

Randy Hatfield, Council 22 President