United Flight Attendants Storm Polaris Media Event, Demand New Contract

Today, United Airlines unveiled its new Polaris business class, including the new Polaris Studio, which will be installed on newly delivered Boeing 787-9s. The airline held a flashy media event in Brooklyn to formally unveil these improvements, and apparently it was memorable on a variety of levels.

United employees accused of trespassing Polaris event

An OMAAT reader attending United’s new Polaris launch event today (who asked to remain anonymous) shared an interesting video with me of what happened before United executives got on stage to give their speeches. While he asked me not to post it, below is another (shorter) version of what I saw.

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Shortly before United executives got on stage to speak, roughly a dozen United flight attendants in uniform walked right in front of the stage with large signs, loudly screaming phrases like:

• “If we don’t get it, shut it down”
• “What do we want? A contract. When do we want it? Now!”

This lasted for maybe a minute (I saw a longer version than the above), but security then stepped in and ushered them out to leave, with one person even being heard accusing them of trespassing. It’s not clear how exactly they managed to enter Brooklyn Navy Yard, the facility where the event was being held.

While it’s normal for employees to picket outside of an event, actually entering an event and doing it in this way is something that’s a bit more unusual. United flight attendants have been without a new contract for nearly four years, as their current contract became amendable around the middle of 2021.

Separately, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, which represents United’s 28,000 flight attendants, put out a statement about United’s new cabins. AFA International President Sara Nelson and United AFA President Ken Diaz issued the following statement:

“Service doesn’t happen without us. United has the money to invest in an industry-leading Flight Attendant contract with ‘premium’ compensation, work rules, and cabin interiors.”

“CEO Scott Kirby can roll out all the new product announcements he wants — it means nothing without respect for the people who deliver it. New cabin interiors – if done with our involvement – can be helpful for doing our jobs and we want happy passengers. But a new aircraft cabin doesn’t pay rent, allow us to come to work without stress over paying our bills, attract new applicants, or give us the schedule control we need to have a life. Scott Kirby can’t promise a product without the people who deliver it.”

“No other Flight Attendant contract across the industry in this round of bargaining included concessions. Not one. Today’s announcement adds insult to injury. Scott Kirby has no business demanding concessions while stuffing his own pockets with gold and beating his chest about United being the best. Right now, he’s just beating competitors by failing to pay us – the people who make United fly.”

“If Kirby wants to reach true #1 status, it starts with delivering the #1 contract for 28,000 Flight Attendants today.”

United flight attendants deserve and need a new contract

I know the topic of unions can be polarizing, but I’d hope that we can all agree that United flight attendants deserve significant pay raises. The cost of living has increased massively in the years since the start of the pandemic, yet their pay has stayed the same.

For example, United flight attendants pay starts at $28.88 per hour. That might not sound bad, but that’s because flight attendants don’t get paid for 40 hours per week of work. Instead, flight attendants are only paid when they fly, and typically fly somewhere around 1,000 hours per year, maybe a little more.

That’s all while being based in some of the world’s most expensive cities. Starting United flight attendants are paid less than Emirates flight attendants, not even accounting for Emirates flight attendants having their housing and transportation paid for.

We’ve seen many other airlines ratify new contracts, with huge raises, boarding pay, and other improvements in provisions. For example, below is American’s new flight attendant pay scale, not even accounting for them now getting boarding pay.

Yet for years, United management and the union haven’t been able to come to an agreement. We’ve heard over and over how the two sides are too far apart, but does anyone actually know what’s going on here?

I know both sides like to play hardball, though in the end, they’ll likely end up with comparable pay to American flight attendants, who were the latest to ratify a contract. After all, that’s how pattern bargaining works, and that’s basically what we saw with the last round of pilot contract negotiations at the “big three.”

What I don’t understand is which side has truly been stalling these negotiations. Like, which side isn’t willing to agree to something comparable to what American flight attendants ratified?

We of course know that United has been on the rise in the past couple of years, and the carrier’s stock has performed incredibly well. United is increasingly in Delta’s financial league, rather than American’s. However, there’s no denying that the lack of flight attendants getting a contract ratified is boosting profits by at least a billion dollars per year, or so, and that’s at least part of the story of United’s financial improvement.

So is management dragging its feet to keep that going for as long as possible so that executives can keep cashing in, or what’s the real story here?

Bottom line

United had more visitors than expected at its Polaris launch event today, as roughly a dozen flight attendants in uniform showed up with signs, and crashed the area in front of the stage, chanting and yelling for a new contract. They ended up being escorted out, and were even accused of trespassing.

I have huge respect for what Kirby has done at United to improve the carrier. But c’mon, now is the time to finally give the flight attendants the contract that they deserve.