United’s Interesting Labor Dispute With Airport Kitchen Staff

One of the best things we did in Namibia was visit these weavers in Swakopmund, and buy one of their rugs:

http://www.karakulia.com.na/

It's on the floor in our son's room. Ties the room together.

Que the Russian trolls in the MUGA hats...

@Lucky — Did you ask United to comment before you posted the characterizations of one side in a labor dispute? Perhaps there is more to the story than just the union’s take? If you contacted United reps and they declined to comment, why isn’t that referenced in the article?

If you’re going to post on a political issue, as opposed to a flight review, you should observe some kind of journalistic standards and at least offer a United spokesperson an opportunity to present their side of the story (and make clear if they declined the opportunity to comment). As it is, this gives the appearance that you’re allowing yourself (and your readers) to be manipulated by one side in a dispute.

Incidentally, the cost of living in Houston is about 45% lower than the cost of living in, say, SFO, another United hub, so after adjusting for the cost of living, earning $11 an hour in Houston is equivalent to about $20 per hour in San Francisco. Also, even the starting wage of $9.99 is well above the poverty level, and earning just over $11 per hour is considered a “living wage” in Houston in a “living wage” calculator put out by MIT. I’m not saying that these people shouldn’t be paid more, but suggesting that United is “clearly paying poverty wages” does not appear to be supported by the facts.

@ John -- United has repeatedly provided media quotes on this issue, and they're about as insightful as you'd expect them to be. They call the allegations baseless, saying they believe in competitive pay, etc. As far as the calculator you reference goes, that assumes they're single adults working a full 2080 hours per year, and spending no more than $468/per month on housing including all utilities. If they work any less than that, then the starting rate wouldn't meet the required annual income to constitute a "living wage," and again, that assumes they're single and don't have a family.

C'mon, that's not fair/realistic...

I don't see anything in this post that comes close to describing "intimidation by management."

@Gary Leff:

I think perhaps "intimidation" was poor word choice and what Ben's closing statement(s) refer to are the scare tactics United is purportedly using to attempt to spread anti-union sentiment. And that's certainly what it appears they're doing.

@Lucky, why would you point out that UA rampers make more? So do Pilots, and FA's, and Customer Service agents...its a totally different job. Working in an airline catering facility is essentially the same as working at a fast food restaurant except these employees likely get health and flight benefits. And the only issue I would take with someone making $11/hr after 30 years with a company is that they've chosen to continue doing the same job for 30 years. Thats on the employee, not the company. Some jobs are only worth what the market will bear, not how long you've been in the role.

RepubliCollusionists are sure triggered by any mention of unionization. You really are a special kind of snowflake if you're triggered by people who work their ass off asking executives and Wall Street for a couple bucks more an hour which probably amounts to 1% less shareholder profit.

@ Lucky — anti-union videos are not uncommon, unfortunately. Way back in the day, Sam’s Club employees thought of unionizing so the company would show a mind boggling anti-union video to new hires that was so bad, it made North Korean news seem like NPR.

Lucky, in the event that you receive any more hilarious email pitches like the one about basket weaving in Namibia, could you please share them on here? I as well as the other readers (I'm sure) would love to use the humor from these to brighten our days.

So why don't the employees simply leave and go elsewhere, where they would get paid more? Last I checked no one forced them to work there.

I really hesitate to comment, because I know this is a topic which inflames passions. I am not going to sit here and argue that $10 or $11/hour affords a great standard of living. It doesn't. However, @John has a very good point: Houston has a low cost of living. Your housing calculations are a bit off -- it seems to be ~25% of income, but I'd counter that most affordability programs would consider 50% of after-tax income affordable housing; at these wages, taxes are negative if you have children (EITC). "Living Wage" is a very messy figure, because it is completely subjective. What I define as a necessary expense, someone else may not.

The poverty level for one adult + one child living in Houston, TX is ~$7/hr at full time ( http://livingwage.mit.edu/metros/26420). Minimum wage is $7.25. $11 is objective NOT poverty level, and substantially above minimum wage. I'm not sure if you've ever worked in food service before, but it is pretty much a minimum-wage industry, since the education and experience requirements are minimal. Furthermore, United provides health insurance benefits to these workers, which is not common in food service. This likely adds at least $3-$4 to worker compensation.

I guess my point is that nothing here suggests that these are "unacceptably low wages" for this kind of work in Houston. It sucks that NMB is blocking the election, but UA is highly unionized, so I very much doubt they are doing anything that would rise to the level of worker intimidation. I think if they want to unionize, they should have that right. However, based on wages at comparable union shops like LSG, it's not readily apparent that they have much to gain.

National living wage in the UK is £7.85 = $10.43 where cost of living is higher than USA. Are they offered options for career enhancement or is this the only wage available? What extra training or skills development has there been over time?

@ Alan

UK minimum wage (which government sets) is £7.83 or ~$10.40.

The UK “minimum living wage” (an amount described by various NGOs as the amount necessary for a decent life) is £8.75 an hour (or £10.20 in Greater London).

Some things are much more expensive in the UK than the US (much housing, for example), while other living expenses (such as healthcare) are vastly cheaper.

Sources:

https://www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-rates

https://www.livingwage.org.uk/calculation

Probably just lazy - here's some help with a new job. 30 years, c'mon.

136885 Accelerate to Leadership Program 2018 - Custodial Associate Manager Houston TX US Facilities Salary
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Honestly, all I'm interested in is the millennial basketweaving trend.

IMO United's current first class meal offerings (domestic) are better than Delta's or American's. United does actually do some things well. Possibly having their own flight kitchens is part of the reason for that. I suspect once the food workers unionize, United will consider closing the flight kitchens and outsource like everyone else. That will be a sad day for those workers.

Blame an employee because his/her company would rather pay its executives so that they can buy a newer Ferrari or another vacation home than someone who is going to bed thinking will I have enough to pay rent, gas, electricity, and food? What will happen if my car breaks down? How will I pay for it or more importantly how will I get to my job without a car?

You have no right to comment if you have never lived a life like that. If you have and have progressed out of it,, good for you. But just because you did it does not mean others can do. Else every thief will own Microsoft and every d@#$head will own Facebook. People need to get out of the bubble of their their corporate jobs that pays them to travel in business/first class.

You just won me over Lucky. It is rare for anyone to try to weigh both sides of an issue......and even rarer for a travel blogger to cover the economic problems of travel industry employees. I appreciate you.

It is a nice change because Gary Leff just the other day criticized SeaTac's airport minimum wage and cited business-produced studies to do so.

Team Lucky!

Gunnar, different jobs have different pay. Maybe you could donate to an employee welfare fund?

@OleGunnar
Yes I have, couldn't pay rent, that's why I worked two jobs and went to school at night, now I have master's degree and working nice job and doing some investment, everyone has a choice, if you are waiting for someone to give you a money, that's not going to happen. After work, instead of watching TV, why not read books, finance, computer, IT, investment, etc and educate yourself? Now you could learn everything from Youtube. People need to stop blaming for others, other than yourself. I see people driving old car about to fall apart, but yet drink Starbucks, going to movies, and going out for dinner, while I make my own coffee and dinner. Why am I suppose to feel sorry for their poor choices? I lived place without power for a week, have you done that? If you live the place without power, you bet you will do whatever you can to improve yourself instead of blaming on others.

@Lucky, good job balancing both sides on this. As someone trying to lead in a unionized environment, I see the negative effects unions can have. But as someone who is extremely liberal in general, I understand the value that unions have brought to this country. Unfortunately, many of the wrong organizations are unionized and those that should be aren't. If management is abusive, the employees should unionize. If management is NOT abusive, employees are far better off without a union. On another note, it's a myth that companies have a fiduciary duty to maximize shareholder value. They don't. They can choose to maximize employee wages and make little profit if they want. If the investors don't like it they can sell. As a consequence, most public companies do tend to try to maximize shareholder value. But often the executives are more interested in maximizing their own compensation. I could go on but I won't.