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United flight attendants demonstrate at Newark Airport: Video
United flight attendants demonstrate at Newark Airport on August 28, 2024.
NEWARK – United Airlines flight attendants held a demonstration at Newark Liberty International Airport on Wednesday, announcing that the union had voted overwhelmingly to vote to authorize a strike.
The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, the union that represents United flight attendants across the country, opened voting to its United members on Aug. 1 on whether to authorize a strike and announced at 1 p.m. Wednesday that 99.9 percent of members had voted yes.
Nearly 20 pickets at airports across the country held demonstrations on Wednesday, including United employees at LaGuardia Airport, the AFA-CWA said.
“I hope this vote will be a catalyst to bring United management to the bargaining table and give us the industry-leading contract we deserve and demand,” said Kim Montgomery, a flight attendant for 38 years and president of Council 6 of the AFA-CWA, which represents United Airlines flight attendants at Newark Airport.
The union has been negotiating with United for nearly three years, union representative Nathan Janda said. The last contract was amended in August 2021, Reuters reported.
Flight attendants are demanding, among other things, salary increases, a better work-life balance, fewer working days, and better use of reserves.
Montgomery explains her frustration with the deadlocked labor negotiations. “The company continues to make money like crazy. Our executives get regular raises, while some of us haven’t had a raise in years. We have flight attendants who are barely making ends meet while our CEOs are on private jets,” she said. “We want some respect reflected in the contract.”
A United Airlines spokesperson said in an email to NorthJersey.com regarding the strike authorization vote: “We continue to work toward an industry-leading agreement for our flight attendants, including negotiations this week and every month through November. Both sides have actively participated in these negotiations, which have been facilitated by the federal mediator requested by the union. We remain committed to reaching an agreement.”
However, some flight attendants argue that the company is not negotiating in good faith.
“We have been negotiating a contract for over 30 months. We have been in the direct mediation phase for four to five months and still have not received any serious proposals,” said Melissa Chipchak, secretary of Council 6 of the AFA-CWA.
Chipchak explained that flight attendants face many stresses in their jobs, from medical emergencies to the different personalities of passengers and safety issues.
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She explained the issue of working days, a topic that is very dear to the flight attendant. “They are very long, many travelers do not know that we can work up to 15 or 16 hours domestically, but only half of that time is paid.”
Chipchak said the union is fighting for a minimum wage. “We want you to be paid like a regular worker for all hours of service from the time you check in to the time you leave the workplace,” Chipchak said.
In addition to these long working hours, Chipchak said, flight attendants have no time to rest because the current contract only allows eight hours between duty days.
“When you are exhausted and work so long, it affects your mental and physical health,” said the union secretary.
“We were promised an industry-leading contract and industry-leading salaries years ago, but everything the company offers is more or less the same or cheaper,” Chipchak said.
Keturah Johnson, a flight attendant for six years and international vice president of AFA-CWA, said she felt disrespected by the company’s latest contract offer.
“Flight attendants mean business”
Alex, who declined to give his last name but works as a union grievance representative and has been a flight attendant for eight years, hopes the strike authorization “shows the company that the flight attendants are serious.”
Montgomery expressed hope that the vote would encourage the company to negotiate better terms, but stressed that the union is also ready to take the next steps necessary to reach a fair contract.
“We are definitely ready and willing to strike in the future if necessary,” Montgomery said.
As Reuters reported, flight attendants still need approval from the National Mediation Board before striking.
Montgomery and Chipchak said a successful vote to authorize a strike led to tentative agreements at American, Southwest and Alaska Airlines.
The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA represents more than 50,000 flight attendants at 20 airlines, including Delta and SkyWest. The union group that serves Newark Airport has 6,000 union members.
