Nearly 100 percent of the attendants who participated in the vote backed the move by a margin one union representative said shows they’re “ready to do whatever it takes to reach the contract we deserve.”
“We are the face of United Airlines and planes don’t take off without us. As Labor Day travel begins, United management is reminded what’s at stake if we don’t get this done,” Ken Diaz, head of the United chapter of Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA), said in a statement.
“The United management team gives themselves massive compensation increases while Flight Attendants struggle to pay basic bills,” Diaz continued. “The 99.99% yes vote is a clear reminder that we are unified in the fight against corporate greed and ready to fight for our fair share of the profits we create.”
Among the changes attendants seek include pay increases, more schedule flexibility, retirement, “pay for time at work on the ground, retroactive pay to the amendable date,” among others, the union said.
The union said the vote marks the first time attendants at the airline have voted on strike authorization in nearly two decades.
The vote comes as approval ratings for organized labor have reached near record highs recently, after slight declines last summer during a number of high-profile strikes and work stoppages.
Labor union approval rose to 70 percent in August from 67 percent in August 2023, according to the annual union survey conducted by polling agency Gallup published Wednesday.
The Hill’s Tobias Burns has more on that shift here.
