Yesterday, I wrote about a decision by the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) to decline to pursue a new involuntary furlough mitigation program (IVFMP) ahead of looming job cuts in April. Many flight attendants and the AFA took issue with how I characterized the process.
AFA Defends Conduct, Disputes “Secret Vote” Characterization
I framed the issue as a secret vote and noted that junior and senior flight attendants were at odds over how the AFA should proceed concerning a new IVFMP (for more background on IVFMP, please check here).
A spokesperson from the AFA reached out to me shortly after the story was published asking for a correction and provided the following statement:
This was not a vote, nor was it secret. The assertion that this was a junior/senior split in the survey process is incorrect. There is no evidence of that whatsoever. This was a member survey conducted alongside local councils member meetings over the last month as a means to collect feedback from Flight Attendants about how to address the potential, upcoming furlough.
Section 18 of the United contract contains furlough mitigation programs that were first of their kind in the industry. These include voluntary furloughs that maintain healthcare, seniority, and return to base rights in addition to partnership flying. Additionally, the union continues to encourage voluntary options for Flight Attendants to mitigate the extraordinary impact of this pandemic. United is now offering another early out program that will help reduce any overages in addition to standard attrition.
We will continue to do everything in our power to protect our members’ jobs and healthcare including extending the Payroll Support Program that has been effective at doing so.
Was It A Vote Or Not?
Today, I give you both sides. You can decide. The AFA is adamant that this was not a vote but simply a member survey. Many flight attendants have echoed that assessment.
The reason for my headline yesterday was not simply to grab attention, but because I consider the matter like this:
If I’m a member of your organization and you send me a survey that has an access code that is unique to me AND you ask if I am for or against something, guess what… that is a vote. Don’t let anyone tell you different.
— Flight Attendant X ✈️ (@flghtattendantx) February 4, 2021
I am not saying it is unreasonable to disagree. Furthermore, I give the AFA credit for doing what it believes is best in order to achieve the greatest good for the greatest number of flight attendants. It is not inherently unreasonable to refuse to compromise in certain areas or create a condition for a “second class” within the flight attendant ranks, as British Airways has done (and struggled greatly with).
This is a travel blog and my biases shine through. As I noted yesterday, I recognize that the seniority system is in place and that there may not be a better system in a large organization in which workers perform similar tasks. Nevertheless, coronavirus has upended the status quo and it may be time to re-think some long-held assumptions. The divisions between junior and senior are quite clear to me based upon the 300+ comments in this story.
Let me say this: I did not appreciate the threats yesterday directed from self-identified flight attendants warning me not to eat on my future flights. This issue should not be about me, but Live and Let’s Fly has over 4,000 articles over the last decade about United Airlines, most of them positive. As my primary carrier, I do write about United a lot. And I love to recognize the beauty and grace of the vast majority of flight attendants.
Over and over though the years I have expressed thanksgiving for the amazing, warm, caring service I have received on United flight attendants young and old, big and small, senior and junior.
Finally, I realize this is a horrible time for everyone. I understand that there are no easy solutions and someone is bound to be disappointed when difficult decisions are made. I also understand that flight attendants have a new burden of mask enforcement which has made an often-thankless job even more difficult.
Well, thank you flights attendants for your service. Thank you for taking care of me for over 1.5 million miles on United over the last 15 years.
My heart aches for the so-called “junior” flight attendants who have particularly faced such uncertainty during the pandemic. I will continue to hold the AFA accountable. Let us share in our hope that this virus will soon pass and there are clearer skies ahead…
The AFA is trying semantics to escape what they did. I find the results of the vote to be disturbing as the premise of a union is for labor to stand together and this vote did the complete opposite. Frankly, I’d expected better, but what do I know since I’m not in their shoes.
It is unfortunate with the current situation of all of our co-workers at each airline.. We all have lost something during this Pandemic, pay and working hours.
With organized labor, seniority is the cornerstone of every union on the globe. Now of course there are many who feel it Shouldn’t be, BUT IT IS.
It is LABOR, and seniority is sanctioned by the labor laws of the United States and the SCOTUS has ruled in favor of seniority countless times.
Unless there is a ground swell of going to federal court to change the labor laws of seniority and good luck with that., SENIORITY WILL ALWAYS BE KING.
@Matthew – People actually threatened you over this? They’re real tough behind their keyboard threatening to mess with your food. Pathetic cowards who, if they actually are FAs, should take a long hard look in the mirror and ask themselves what have they become to sink so low.
There’s a reason there’s a distinction between bloggers and journalists is because journalists – unlike bloggers – don’t publish stories without following journalistic practices that include actual research and speaking to the parties
Involved. It’s quite clear you skipped the two minute process of calling or emailing the union. It’s going to be hard to place reliance on what you say in the future based on this failure. You will need to restore reader confidence after this. Shame shame.
Max,
We’d like to think that journalists follow proper practice before publishing articles but its pretty apparent that an awful lot of them don’t So called proper journalists and their publications are also exceedingly reluctant to publish follow on pieces that potentially call their original work into question not to mention that when they do admit error it gets buried as deep as they can make it in their publication.
By contrast here we are a day later and Matthew has given the AFA’s statement as much attention as he gave his original article while expanding on his own thinking. There have been times in the past Matthew got something wrong and he’s always been willing to admit that.
Finally by nature blogs are more editorial than hard news. The position he took that in essence a secret vote was held is not at all unreasonable even if the AFA doesn’t like it.
My own $0.02: were the results of this survey binding, Matthew? In other words, would actions have directly resulted from the responses to this survey? That, in my mind, is the key distinction as to whether this was a survey or a vote.
It was purely a survey. It was not binding at all.
The results from the Brexit vote weren’t binding, but parliament felt implored to respect the decision of the people. Same as the Australian plebiscite on marriage.
You can call it whatever you want, but when people are surveyed and the majority opinion is chosen, a vote has been held.
Stick to your blog drivel and stay out of union affairs. You are obviously jaded in your “reporting”.
Matthew –
My first reaction to your blog yesterday was – what does any of this have to do with you? Do you have a proverbial “dog in this fight”? Seriously – does this affect you in any way, shape or form? The answer is a resounding no. You are not a Flight Attendant at United or any other airline. You are not even an employee. You are not directly affected by the downturn in air travel or by a reduction-in-force at United. You have a fascination with aviation and flying in general. Many people do, but, apparently you have made a career out of this. Congratulations.
So I have to wonder what is your motivation or stake in this topic? You mentioned that you were “approached by colleagues.” I assume you mean you were approached by Flight Attendants. They are not your colleagues, but they are mine. You went on to say that “junior Flight Attendants rightly feel that they are being kicked to the curb.” So much for impartiality.
You assume to know the history, but let’s review. Airline employment is based on seniority. From the moment you walk on the property, you have a start date. Everyone knows that. You are also part of a Union and work under a contract. Everyone knows what their date of seniority is and where they stand relative to everyone else. I know you said in yesterday’s blog that you have a problem with that. Your exact words were “that you have a fundamental problem with the seniority system and don’t pretend otherwise.” That is your personal problem. Why are you making it ours? You are not even an employee, so you are not affected by it. So why the hostility? Do you have a problem with pilots having seniority? Pilots do not walk on the property and sit in the left seat. They work as a First Officer for many years and then maybe when and if their seniority can hold it – they become a Captain. Mechanics have seniority – so do Customer Service Agents – even the Ramp and Catering have a seniority list. Everyone at the airline has some type of seniority. It is not unique to the airline – your grocery store employees, the military and even teachers have seniority. So – you only have a problem with Flight Attendants having a seniority list. That is unfortunate.
What amazes me about your blog – from your title yesterday to your shoulder shrug today, is that you have mud on your “blog face.” Instead of wiping it off, you just smeared it around. Whether you agree or not to Flight Attendants having a seniority list or to a Flight Attendant union survey is a non-issue. It doesn’t concern you. You should blog about what know personally. That is what makes the best reading for all of us.
Now back to Flight Attendants. Flight Attendant staffing has been reduced by percentages far higher than other areas of the company. You need to realize that United has been overstaffed for years. This is nothing new. They were overstaffed prior to the parking of the 737 Max, but they kept hiring. They kept classes going through and until March of last year. When world wide travel dropped off a cliff, United was overstaffed by thousands. The Union and the company scrambled to figure something out. The company quickly offered Voluntary Separations and Voluntary Leaves of Absence and Special Company Offered Leaves of Absence – all for the purpose of saving junior Flight Attendants jobs. They made it very clear that for every retirement or leave of absence “above the line” (a certain seniority date), one more person below the date would be saved. Flight Attendants who could, answered the call. Thousands retired. Thousands more took time off or signed up to share a schedule. These are options available to us and in keeping with our contract. We came to realize that it still wasn’t enough. The company was looking at having to pay 10,000 Flight Attendants furlough pay. They did not like that prospect at all. A new program was created – something not part of the contract. It was not debated or discussed with Union membership. Time was of the essence…we needed to “save the company” mentality ensued… enter the Involuntary Furlough Mitigation Program (IVFMP). Flight Attendants had to choose to be part of this program. If they did – they would keep active medical benefits (but have to pay for them). Those in the IVFMP were not eligible for furlough pay. They were in a limbo status. They would get a No Activity Lines (NAL) and be able to pick up to 35 hours a month, if available. As it turned out, they would not be able to plan their lives, either. Certain months they would be on reserve/on call status and others on NAL. They would only know month-to-month. That is not exactly conducive to getting another job or returning to school. If a Flight Attendant did not choose to be in this program and they were “below the line” they would be furloughed. Some accepted their fate and chose to be furloughed, There was also a lot of… lack of transparency… involved… as to who qualified for which program, deadlines, etc. In addition, after the fact, it became clear that IVFMP Flight Attendants would be re-activated prior to bringing back “furloughed” Flight Attendants no matter their seniority. This caused a huge uproar among membership as the IVFMP did not abide by contractual recall rights in seniority order. The IVFMP did not affect the “senior” Flight Attendants – they were safe, but it adversely affected the most “junior”. This was not the answer to the overstaffing problem.
That is why in the ensuing months, Flight Attendants have voiced their opinions to keep the contract. It specifically addresses a reduction-in-force. Membership did not want to revisit the IVFMP. It did not work as intended or expected. The Union sent out a survey. It was easy – check A or check B and a comment box for any new ideas. Yes, it had a one-time-use code so that people could only vote once. Yes, it was addressed to the specific Flight Attendant, as it should be. The results only confirmed what was being discussed during Union meetings.
Is the overall situation horrendous? Absolutely. Is it the Union or the Flight Attendants fault? No. If you want to blame someone for the virus look to China. If you want to blame someone for the overstaffing, blame United. They have made it clear that they want to be a leaner airline. They are going to staff flights at the minimum required by the FAA. Do you think this will change as flights fill back up? No. Doubt it. The industry has changed. The world basically tilted on it’s axis, as far as airline travel is concerned.
That does not give you the right to drive a wedge between Flight Attendants, the Union or the Company. You even have random customers piping in. That is wrong on so many levels. There are thousands of Flight Attendants who have decades of service to our customers and company (in all it’s prior manifestations). Many of those who are subject to furlough this time around as the “line” drawn by United is Sept. 2, 1998, have 22 years of dedicated service! However, our retirement is not based on “years of service.” There is no medical plan to write home about. Flight Attendants hang up their wings when they are able to do so. This is such a horrible situation all around and there are no easy answers. Please do not stir up strife in the ranks. No Flight Attendant wishes this on another Flight Attendant. PS. I took the last year off (to save someone else’s job).
Thank you for penning your thoughts.