Flight Attendants Picketed Airports Around The World
United Airlines Flight Attendants,
represented by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO
(AFA-CWA), conducted a worldwide protest Thursday over stalled
contract negotiations with UAL management. Over the past seven
years, flight attendants have shouldered over three billion dollars
in concessions affecting pay, working conditions and healthcare in
addition to the termination of their pensions, the union says.
Those cuts should have ended Thursday as the contract becomes
amendable.
"Negotiations began last April, but United has shown no interest
in discussing improvements or reaching a new contract unless we
agree to concessionary demands," said Greg Davidowitch, president
of AFA-CWA at United Airlines. "Flight attendants are angry because
management seems only interested in delaying a new contract,
refusing to discuss any improvements."
"Every day past our amendable date, a new Collective Bargaining
Agreement becomes more expensive," stated Karen Mazuer, chairperson
of the union negotiating committee. "Management needs to abandon
their delay tactics and get down to the business of negotiating a
new flight attendant contract."
Negotiations began early on April 6, 2009 as part of an
agreement between the union and the company with the intention of
having a new flight attendant contract in place by January 7, 2010
-- but union negotiators say to date management has not even
presented a full contract proposal. A federal mediator, assigned by
the National Mediation Board, joined the negotiations shortly after
the union and company filed for mediation in August under the same
contractual provision to negotiate early and have a new agreement
in place by today. Outside of the mediation sessions, flight
attendants have offered to meet with the company any time -- 7 days
week, 24 hours a day. Management has refused to negotiate even a
single hour outside of the mediated sessions.
Flight attendants are working at
1994 wage levels in the year 2010 and they are working 48% more
compared with 2002 schedules and staffing. AFA-CWA members are
angry that management has not discussed the improvements
envisioned, seeming only interested in delaying a new contract for
flight attendants. Just last month the union concluded its strike
preparedness seminars, conducted around the world to provide
members the information needed for personal preparations for a
strike should it become necessary.
"For too long this management has expected flight attendants to
work harder for less. No more!" stated Davidowitch. "We will not
reach agreements that have us paying for needed contractual
improvement in some areas through the wholesale destruction of
other provisions. This is just the first of our public protests.
Flight attendants vow to do Whatever It Takes to get the contract
we have earned."