United Airlines has just updated its policy for all flight attendants, and the union is claiming that this is a blatant violation of the current contract (thanks to @xJonNYC for flagging this).
In this post:
United updates weekend sick policy for flight attendants
This weekend, United informed flight attendants of an updated policy for all paid and unpaid sick calls. Effective immediately and until further notice, all flight attendants who call in sick for reserve or trips departing on Fridays, Saturdays, or Sundays, are required to submit an absence certificate.
The airline claims that this decision is due to a significant increase (of up to 23%) in sick calls over weekends this summer. The airline is suggesting that people are misusing sick leave, because they want to have fun on weekends in summer, rather than working.
The airline is now requiring flight attendants to “provide verification of an incapacitating illness from an accredited physician when making a sick call.” The airline states that it “never wants you to come to work when you’re ill, but misuse of sick time means other flight attendants have to cover those trips, and our customers are at greater risk of travel disruption.”
It seems that this has nothing to do with the current operational mess that United is dealing with, due to IT issues on Friday. After all, if that were the case, this wouldn’t be implemented just for weekends.
Clearly some United flight attendants are misusing sick leave here to have their “hot girl summer,” or whatever. So I get why United is trying to stop that. At the same time, requiring a doctor’s note also seems like a waste of collective resources. For example, there are plenty of situations where you have a fever and know you have a cold, but there’s no need to actually see a doctor, as you just need time to get better.
Union accuses United of violating contract
The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, which represents United’s roughly 28,000 flight attendants, has accused the airline of blatantly trying to violate its contract, and plans to fight this. The union makes it clear that the contract that flight attendants have only allows the airline to require an absence certificate around July 4th and around the Christmas holiday period. It says nothing of Fridays, Saturdays, or Sundays.
The union has filed a grievance with the company to get this policy reversed. While this will take time, the union is telling members to keep records and receipts of any resulting costs, such as co-pays, which would have otherwise not been incurred.
The union has quite some harsh words for management regarding this:
Management couldn’t be bothered to wait until this unprecedented crisis was resolved to blatantly violate our Contract; they had to do it right now, in the midst of the chaos. This is a clear indication of just how tone-deaf management is. Upon informing the Union just this afternoon about the new requirement and the forthcoming announcement, MEC President Ken Diaz told them in no uncertain terms it is a violation of our Contract that would be grieved, yet they moved ahead anyway. This is also a reflection of the ongoing state of deteriorating labor relations within the company.
All those meaningless phrases like, “Good Leads the Way” and “Core4”, continue to be just that, meaningless. Management’s actions are reprehensible. While extremely frustrating, management has made up and then implemented these new rules in violation of our Contract, but we must comply with them in order to avoid management taking “disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment.”
Assuming the union’s interpretation of the contract is accurate, and there’s no clause about management being able to require an absence certificate over other periods, then it does indeed seem like this is a blatant contract violation.
Of course it’s worth emphasizing that relations between management and the union are especially bad right now, as a new contract is being negotiated. United flight attendants will shortly cast their ballots for a strike authorization vote, which virtually everyone will vote in favor of.
Bottom line
United Airlines has updated its sick policy for flight attendants, and is now requiring an absence certificate for any sick calls on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. The airline claims this is due to a major uptick in sick calls on weekends this summer.
While that might be true, the union is arguing that this is a contract violation, and that the company can’t require an absence certificate, except around July 4th and the Christmas holiday. I’m curious to see how this situation evolves…
What do you make of United’s updated sick policy for flight attendants?
What's the problem with this? I FULLY support this and hopefully other airline companies will do the same! Either go to work or find another job it's that simple!
Someone's paying this fellow, surely.
It’s about treating employees with respect and dignity. Empowering them to make the right decisions in the overall good of a United organization!
It is no surprise that United chose to escalate this issue since it, like Delta, is in the third day of its operational meltdown.
Unlike Delta which threw its IT under the bus, UA threw its employees under the bus. And that tells you volumes about the difference between DL and UA and why UA FAs need a union and why DL FAs laugh when they see what union organizers say they can do and...
It is no surprise that United chose to escalate this issue since it, like Delta, is in the third day of its operational meltdown.
Unlike Delta which threw its IT under the bus, UA threw its employees under the bus. And that tells you volumes about the difference between DL and UA and why UA FAs need a union and why DL FAs laugh when they see what union organizers say they can do and what they are actually able to deliver.
The AFA will throw its fist in the air, the company will throw the grievance in a file, and then slide the file across the negotiating table for a new contract with a price tag of $X million to rehire the FAs that UA is on the verge of firing.
And UA FAs will end up with less than industry leading because that is the way unionized labor-mgmt negotiations work.
We've seen this time and time again and so too have DL FAs which is why they want nothing to do with a union and have more opportunities to vote against the union than just about every other American worker.
Tim, do you honestly believe Delta pays their flight attendants more out of benevolence? I'm inclined to think Delta's flight attendants reap significant benefits because other airlines have unions. Delta seems to consistently raise pay whenever there's a hint of unionization.
I don't think Delta flight attendants care WHY they get paid more.
They simply happily take the extra money to the bank.
If AA and UA have to put up with caustic labor relations with their FAs and "pay for the privilege" I would count myself very lucky that I get paid more, don't have to pay for someone to create an adversarial relationship, and I don't have to wait FIVE YEARS after the amendable...
I don't think Delta flight attendants care WHY they get paid more.
They simply happily take the extra money to the bank.
If AA and UA have to put up with caustic labor relations with their FAs and "pay for the privilege" I would count myself very lucky that I get paid more, don't have to pay for someone to create an adversarial relationship, and I don't have to wait FIVE YEARS after the amendable date - and counting - to get a contract.
and DL doesn't blame its employees when things go wrong. But then neither did WN.
That sounds right, Flug.
I mean, this does seem to be a pretty blatant contract violation
I have no doubt that some people are abusing sick pay, but having to provide a certificate at the same time as you say you’re sick is ridiculous. If you wake at 3am to work a 6am flight and you’re sick how are you going to get it seconded that you’re sick in the middle of the night and before your shift begins?
If only there were a thing such as online medical visits 24 hours per day….perhaps the could call it something like Teladoc
The easy answer to to provide a week-end differential for working days your Boss thinks are a problem. Works in many other work places. Incentivize the days most want off. You would be surprised how little people will trade time off for more pay……
Easy. You go to medical school on days off and become licensed doctor!!!
If United gives you a difficult time with this and you a have FMLA contact the Department of Labor immediately as it’s illegal.
A sick note, like it's the 1950s at UA HQ? Their management could not be more dumb if it was intentional. Best you can do is go to urgent care or an equivalent and a lot of the time for other things you need an appointment which takes 2-3 days, so now you have people either out for several days or you have people coming to work sick. Awesome. Does this policy apply to management or nah?
I always laugh when I have employees start to feel sick on Thursdays. All but guaranteed I get a text the next morning they aren’t feeling well and need to take a sick day. Kudos to United
Thank goodness you’re not a manager in real life.
Good thing you aren't my manager. I'll be damned to be associated with shills such as the likes of you
One has to wonder how this will work in states like Cailifornia? Didn’t California flight attendants get paid out before because of contract violations and this was very recently? My assumption is many lawyers will be contacted.
My other assumption is that flight attendants will call out Thursday and so it rolls into weekends and the amount of FMLA will surge.Also that United will get sued very soon but that is super obvious.United has been...
One has to wonder how this will work in states like Cailifornia? Didn’t California flight attendants get paid out before because of contract violations and this was very recently? My assumption is many lawyers will be contacted.
My other assumption is that flight attendants will call out Thursday and so it rolls into weekends and the amount of FMLA will surge.Also that United will get sued very soon but that is super obvious.United has been making good decisions lately but this one could having them paying out millions to their flight attendants potentially. Not a smart move
My take: this is has nothing to do with current operational issues, or with current union negotiations, and everything to do with junior employees who believe they're entitled to time away whenever they feel like it. Not something exclusive to flight attendants, either - literally every industry across every field is struggling with Gen Z's complete lack of professional maturity when it comes to things like this.
In the case of flight attendants, despite...
My take: this is has nothing to do with current operational issues, or with current union negotiations, and everything to do with junior employees who believe they're entitled to time away whenever they feel like it. Not something exclusive to flight attendants, either - literally every industry across every field is struggling with Gen Z's complete lack of professional maturity when it comes to things like this.
In the case of flight attendants, despite being told it's a job that requires work on weekends, evenings, holidays, etc., there's probably an increasingly large swathe of Delta's FA workforce that still believes they should be able to 'call out' whenever they feel like it, and this policy is likely in response to that.
Edit: I wrote "Delta" in the second paragraph when I meant "United" - my bad. But same thing at pretty much every airline.
@Ben “Clearly some United flight attendants are misusing sick leave here to have their “hot girl summer”.
Quite a misogynistic statement…
Keyboard social justice warrior alert!
Isn’t “hot girl summer” just a generic term? Plenty of gay men use it to describe their summer plans. Could be wrong.
Very. They could be giving Kenergy or living their best Fire Island summer share.
Notably, a similar condition was not applied to ALPA and the pilots.
If United paid their flight attendants better, maybe they could afford to take care of their health proactively?
Yes, it is always about pay. It is never enough for unions.
Most jobs require you provide a sick note of sorts if you're using your sick leave.
Maybe not a good time to defend a defacto strike AFA hmmmm...
How convenient that United is implementing this policy in the middle of what is their own operational meltdown. And while Delta might be suffering because of the design of the Atlanta hub or because of Delta’s in ability to get technology back on track, they aren’t blaming their people.
@ Tim Dunn -- It's hard to blame this policy on the current meltdown, in which case the airline would have this apply every day of the week. It has been implemented as of a Sunday, and won't apply again for the next four days, at which point United's operational will almost certainly be back to normal.
But I know, let's still make this about Delta. ;-)
Anyone that doesn’t think that United chose to implement this policy in the middle of their own own operational meltdown is beyond naïve. Of course, United is seeing flight attendants call in sick because they cannot get the operation fully Restarted. Double digit percentages of cancellations would be considered an operational meltdown at any airline when it happens on a day after day basis. United is just back handedly blaming its flight attendants for part...
Anyone that doesn’t think that United chose to implement this policy in the middle of their own own operational meltdown is beyond naïve. Of course, United is seeing flight attendants call in sick because they cannot get the operation fully Restarted. Double digit percentages of cancellations would be considered an operational meltdown at any airline when it happens on a day after day basis. United is just back handedly blaming its flight attendants for part of the problem, even as it is in labor negotiations.
This should give you great perspective on how well the AFA will do in getting a contract for United flight attendants that will not only raise their pay to levels that Delta flight attendants have enjoyed for years, get them the retro lthat Delta flight attendants never needed to be paid because they were paid at industry leading rates for years before Unions got around to it, and paid them for the value of money that all of these unionized flight attendant groups did not and will not be able to compensate for while management and unions have dragged out the negotiation process.
the only thing that is correct is that this won’t go away when United operation is Through melting down.
"Of course, United is seeing flight attendants call in sick because they cannot get the operation fully Restarted."
Why invest in employees that resort to doing things like this? They obviously don't care about the company or their customers. What a way to show you are willing to step up in times of need and earn that extra pay. If unionized employees earned the same as non-unionized employees, why would we need unions?
No way this was made up during/in response to the meltdown. If it's effective today, and the union has issued a response, it has been in discussion through the organization for a week, at least.
Nope Delta is just stranding their workers and telling them they can’t non rev(standby). Then not offering double time for flight attendants to come in right now but pleading with them via text desperately that they need them.Delta flights attendants aren’t falling for it and are highly upset
Feel free to post that memo. You won’t because it doesn’t exist. In fact just the opposite
Everything is always about Delta in TD’s world…. Jesus, stop shilling for Delta. You sound like an ass.
He can't help himself.
@A220
Many jobs don’t have a union and binding work rules/contract. The union already sent out a statement saying it’s a contract violation(United twisted the wording of the contract) and I’ve also heard several flight attendants will be contacting attorneys. Stay tuned, love
and the AFA's statement accomplished precisely what?
It hasn't stopped United one iota.
The union files a grievance, the company sticks the grievance in a nice little file, and then throws them back across the table to save the jobs of X00s of FAs that the company was ready to terminate - and then gives up pay raises they could have otherwise gotten for other workers.
We all know how it works.
And then the...
and the AFA's statement accomplished precisely what?
It hasn't stopped United one iota.
The union files a grievance, the company sticks the grievance in a nice little file, and then throws them back across the table to save the jobs of X00s of FAs that the company was ready to terminate - and then gives up pay raises they could have otherwise gotten for other workers.
We all know how it works.
And then the answer that some give is that Delta told its FAs they couldn't fly standby to commute and people can't back that up with facts - and a memo?
@Tim Dunn
You are so tiresome. Your good comments get drowned out by your nonsense comments. Taken together, it makes you an unreliable source.
And for your own sake, get a life.
This isn’t just a little doctors note. UA FAs are in fact able to bring a doctors note before this policy for a reduction in the attendance points issued. It wasn’t required but during Christmas and 4th of July an absence certificate was required for roughly a week long period each. An absence certificate goes a lot more in depth into the employee’s medical condition, treatment, etc. It’s absolutely an overstep for year round sick...
This isn’t just a little doctors note. UA FAs are in fact able to bring a doctors note before this policy for a reduction in the attendance points issued. It wasn’t required but during Christmas and 4th of July an absence certificate was required for roughly a week long period each. An absence certificate goes a lot more in depth into the employee’s medical condition, treatment, etc. It’s absolutely an overstep for year round sick calls. I don’t think most employers threaten termination if you don’t get detailed documentation stating that you have a cold…