Flight attendants at United Airlines were warned not to engage in “self-help” at this point in contract negotiations, which includes failing to charge passengers for food and drinks sold onboard.
United Airlines Flight Attendant Union: Don’t Comp Alcohol Or Food Behind The Curtain
In a November 21, 2023 memo to United flight attendants sent by the AFA-CWA, the union representing them, flight attendants are warned to avoid common stunts like coordinated “sick-outs” that run afoul of the Railway Labor Act, which governs contract negotiations.
Dear Flying Partners,
As negotiations intensify, we must be careful on social media about how we talk about negotiations and how to pressure the Company.
Under the Railway Labor Act, we cannot engage in “self-help” until we have been in federally supervised mediation for a period of time and only after the National Mediation Board releases us following a thirty-day cooling-off period. The National Mediation Board has discretion over whether to grant a release to strike.
What this means is we are not able to engage in any self-help at this point in time. Examples of self-help include calls to not pick up open time, calls for “work to rule,” refusing to perform duties, any disruption of the Company’s operation over the holiday period, refusing to charge customers for buy-on-board products, coordinating calling in sick, etc. It is illegal to advocate for such actions before the end of the thirty-day cooling-off period. Individuals could face discipline, and the Union could face injunctions and fines.
This also means that we cannot threaten or discuss that we will engage in any type of self-help or disruptions to United Airlines operations over the upcoming holiday period. That does not help our efforts to reach an agreement and is also illegal.
We have a path to reach an agreement that involves sending a clear message to the Company that 26,000 Flight Attendants are fired up and ready for a contract. Please do not jeopardize yourself or our collective efforts by advocating any such unauthorized and/or illegal activities.
In Solidarity,
Ken Diaz, President
United Master Executive Council
The memo, first flagged by JonNYC, is publicly available and serves as a window into the next phase of contract negotiations at United. While management and the AFA have meeting regularly for over a year, the two sides are still far apart. United CEO Scott Kirby promised an “industry-leading” contract for pilots, which has now been signed and ratified, but has stopped short of promising the same to flight attendants.
https://twitter.com/xJonNYC/status/1727113581706256603?s=20
I find the admonition that flight attendants should refrain from “refusing to charge customers for buy-on-board products” an interesting one. Since I have Premier 1K status, I receive a complimentary alcoholic drink and food item every flight, but quite frankly I have not seen a flight attendant comp drinks to my seatmates in years.
Not only is that bad for United’s bottom line, but it is bad for flight attendants’ bottom line too: if United posts a lower profit, their ability to negotiate a more lucrative contract is hindered.
Even so, it appears that some may be willing to comp snacks or alcoholic drinks “in order to stick it to the man” or perhaps in an attempt to gain sympathy from United’s passengers for more generous contacts.
The message from the union is that such self-help should be avoided.
CONCLUSION
The union representing flight attendants at United Airlines has warned its workers not to comp drinks or food, which could undermine contract negotiations. As a very frequent United flyer, it was not clear to me this was ever a problem in the first place. The warning gives the AFA-CWA plausible deniability if flight attendants should take matters into their own hands.
Have you been comped food or drink from a United flight attendant? If so, does it make you more sympathetic toward flight attendants during this seasons of contract negotiations?
image: United Airlines
My seat mate on Saturday was comped some wine. I was a bit surprised, however the Wifi was inoperable on the flight which precluded easy access to QR code on United app to use a linked credit card.
I found the tone of the letter surprisingly optimistic, almost as if negotiations are actually progressing?
From what I hear, they are not – but I hope you are right!
The OCD in me is bothered by the fact that a picture of the gate agent is used (she is wearing a GA scraf and uniform, no wing), even though the article is about flight attendants.
OCD or not, your point is well taken! I’ve updated the image.
Why anyone would drink alcohol served on any US airline is beyond me. At least the wine offering is horrible.
I am close to giving up alcohol altogether, but United has decent wine and spirits are spirits, right?
Yes, I guess spirits are spirits but I am talking more about wines. They are not good in any US airline. I drink wine with meals so that will always continue as I enjoy it. But only when I can pick the wine. I never drink on planes.
The unwritten (because it wouldn’t be legal), but maybe implied? last paragraph:
If, however, negotiations fail, and we are granted a release by the National Mediation Board, all of these actions will be on the table. You can expect us to use such actions judiciously to make our message to the Company that our members need a fair and equitable contract that recognizes the vital role each of you plays in the Company’s success.
I quite agree. I didn’t want to make that allegation in my story and have all the FAs moan about how anti-union I am, but you’re quite right.
I know we are dealing with unions here who don’t understand or believe in right or wrong. BUT isn’t not charging for an item that clearly should be, theft? If a store clerk does it, they can be fired and in some cases charged.
Employee theft is theft and this qualifies if there are clear rules on who pays. Might be bad for negotiations but the company can make a statement by starting whatever disciplinary actions are in their contract for theft. Granted the union probably negotiated a stern written warning for the first 50 incidents per member.
While I haven’t seen non 1K and GS travelers getting drinks/food comped, UA does often comp additional drinks/food for 1K and GS members. They never charge me in the rare instance when I request another drink. Happens to other 1K and GS members that I know. Maybe this is what they are referring to above.
To everyone stating that you haven’t ‘seen’ not premier customers getting food and drinks comped, consider the method by which items are purchased today…You have to have a credit card stored in the app in order to make a purchase, there is no handing over of credit cards or cash…so all FA’s have to do is just not hit the payment button in their app. It happens a lot more often than you think, either on purpose or because FA’s simply get distracted and forget…or because they accidentally charge the wrong seat.
I didnt get charged for my cocktail on United basic economy this summer. That was a nice surprise.
I highly doubt a few comped drinks/snack boxes is going to to make any real impact on UA’s bottom line …the mark up on inflight adult beverages is kinda shocking…as are ticket prices that increase while you’re in the middle of booking a FLT…Industry leading contracts for Pilots is Industry wide i.e. Dellta American United…Flight Attendants are another story.
And Dave “Unions here who don’t understand or believe in right or wrong “…I say Wow Bro..Such an
ignorant statement/belief…Happy Holidays
I get lots of free drinks on airlines. It is hard for me to keep it all straight in my mind– was I in first/business class, did I have status with the carrier, was it international, was it delta comfort plus, etc?
I do know for sure though, that at least half of the time when I order a drink that I fully expect to pay for, I don’t end up getting changed. The FA just seems to forget, and next thing you know we’re landing and deplaning. I always assumed it was just a gesture of kindness. Definitely not just on United, certainly happened on Southwest in the past 2 months.
I had to look up work to rule. Wikipedia says it is a British term and it’s American equivalence is a work slowdown. The reason I had to look it up is because not following work rules in the industry I was in (electric power) ended up with people injured or dead.
This is a clear representation as a country and as an airline representing what our country stands for that As Americans we don’t care about people we just care about the bottom, line the buck. For this reason I as an American and embarrassed and do not ever support US carriers when flying abroad. The lack of human decency in having any compassion towards a fellow individual and respectable human is disgraceful. Exactly what airlines in the United States have become because of their executive leadership raping the consumer.