US airline flight crews confident and angry as unions seek richer contracts By Reuters

By Rajesh Kumar Singh

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Alaska Airlines flight attendant Rebecca Owens works 10 hours a day but is only paid for half that time, a legacy of a common U.S. airline policy of paying flight crew members. cockpit only when the planes are in motion. Owens and thousands of cabin crew like her want that to change.

In August, 68% of Alaska flight attendants in a ratification vote rejected a contract that would have increased average pay by 32% over three years. It was also the first labor agreement that would have legally required airlines to start the clock for paying flight attendants when passengers board, not when the flight begins taxiing down the runway.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:), the only major U.S. airline whose flight attendants are not unionized, instituted boarding pay for its flight attendants at half their hourly wage in 2022 as they attempted to organize.

Alaska and union leaders have resumed federally mediated contract negotiations this week.

“I want to be compensated for my time on the job and I want a living wage so that you can support yourself while working this job,” Owens, 35, said. She said that without her husband's income, her family would not be able to meet basic needs.

Negotiations in Alaska are being closely watched because an airline contract tends to become an industry benchmark. Cabin crews at PSA Airlines, a regional subsidiary of United Airlines, Frontier and American Airlines (NASDAQ ), are also negotiating new labor agreements.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:) crews rejected two contract offers before ratifying an agreement in April that included a 22% pay increase this year and 3% annual pay increases through 2027.

Flight attendants have been negotiating with more confidence this year, encouraged by improving airline revenue and the extraordinary pay deals negotiated by pilot unions over the past two years and by Boeing factory workers (NYSE 🙂 this year, according to interviews with a dozen airline and union crew members. officials.

The plane's crew told Reuters that these negotiations are also based on years of resentment over wages that have been below inflation while working hours have increased, harming their quality of life.

Alaska and United cabin crew have authorized their unions to call strikes if negotiators cannot reach a contract agreement.

Alaska Airlines responded to a Reuters question by saying its goal is to provide “flight attendants – and all employees – with market-competitive salaries and benefits.” United said it is offering “significant” increases to match recently approved agreements at other airlines, as well as a boarding fee. It has also offered to reduce “on-call reserve periods,” when flight attendants are on standby and must report to work at short notice, to 12 hours from the current 24-hour period, the company said.

“We continue to work toward an industry-leading contract,” a United spokesperson said, adding that federally mediated contract negotiations are expected to resume early next year.

But the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA), which represents United flight attendants, told Reuters the airline was seeking several concessions, including increasing requirements to qualify for medical benefits and reducing the sick leave coverage in exchange for a reduction in “on-call reserve.” periods.”

“United's offers would come with concessions to other parts of the contract that no other working group has agreed to,” the AFA said. When asked about the concessions, United declined to comment.

CONSUME

In previous contract negotiations, airlines won concessions from workers as the industry struggled due to economic downturns or fallout from the COVID pandemic.

However, this year, many US airlines have posted healthy profits and cabin crews feel they have more than earned a bigger slice of that pie.

United cabin crews have not received a raise since 2020. The Chicago-based airline unveiled a $1.5 billion stock buyback plan in October. “The flight attendants are very, very angry,” said Sara Nelson, international president of AFA, which represents more than 50,000 cabin workers. crew from 20 airlines, including Alaska.

“They can't afford to pay their bills.”

Some new employees are forced to live in their cars because they can't pay the rent, said Ken Diaz, head of United's flight attendants union. A starting salary at United is $28.88 an hour. In Alaska, the base salary for a newly hired flight attendant is $27.69.

One of the attendants' top priorities is payment for hours worked, not just when the plane is in motion. A San Francisco-based United flight attendant told Reuters he earns only $2,400 to $2,500 a month before taxes despite working more than 200 hours. Several of his colleagues supplement their income by driving for Uber (NYSE and DoorDash (NASDAQ ), he said.

A flight attendant who was aboard the Alaska Boeing 737 MAX plane that lost its door panel in mid-air in January had a second job as a delivery driver for amazon (NASDAQ:), according to testimony released by investigators. The flight attendant, whose name was not identified, had worked two shifts delivering packages on the day of the door explosion.

Some airlines blanch at the additional costs of paying flight crews for tasks such as boarding passengers and waiting at the airport before and between flights. American's union has estimated that crews will earn an additional $4.2 billion under its new five-year flight attendant contract, which includes back pay, boarding pay, and compensation for some hours between flights.

Owens says airlines must rethink their strategy or face an increasingly hostile reaction from crew members.

“People can only take so much,” Owens said. “They're tired. They're exhausted.”