United Airlines’ pilots union leadership has voted to authorize a strike vote. However, don’t worry, as it’s a near guarantee that a strike won’t actually happen.
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United pilots union authorizes a strike vote
The union leadership representing United pilots has just decided to authorize a strike vote. Specifically, the Master Executive Council (MEC) of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) has just wrapped up a two day special meeting, during which board members unanimously voted to authorize a strike vote.
That means United’s roughly 14,000 pilots will shortly be voting on whether or not to authorize a strike. It’s a near guarantee that the turnout will be close to 100%, and that nearly 100% of pilots will vote to authorize a strike.
So while we’ll hear a lot in the media in the coming days about United pilots and a strike vote, the reality is that there almost certainly won’t be a strike, and it most definitely won’t be in the next couple of months. Just because pilots vote in favor of a strike authorization doesn’t mean they’ll actually go on strike.
Rather, United management and the union representing pilots have to follow the procedures of the Railway Labor Act, which includes going to the National Mediation Board, in hopes of coming to a resolution. A strike would only (eventually) be permitted if that process fails. Even then it wouldn’t be imminent, as there would first be a 30-day cooling off period before a strike could occur.
The reality is that strikes don’t happen often at airlines in the United States, and we haven’t seen one in over a decade. Of course that’s not to say it couldn’t happen in the future. Just for context:
- Alaska pilots voted in favor of a strike in May 2022, and then voted in favor a new contract in October 2022
- Delta pilots voted in favor of a strike in October 2022, and then voted in favor of a new industry-leading contract in March 2023
- American pilots voted in favor of a strike in April 2023, and now have an agreement in principle that union members are voting on
What does a strike vote really mean?
This strike vote is a bargaining tool, plain and simple, and nothing more. United pilots have been negotiating for a new contract for years. It’s a great time for pilots to be negotiating new contracts, given the huge demand for travel, combined with the pilot shortage. Of course pilots want to negotiate these contracts at the optimal time, since they’re valid for several years.
Among the “big three” US carriers, Delta pilots negotiated an industry leading contract, worth over $7 billion over the course of four years. As you’d expect, pilots at American and United want a similar contract as well. American pilots successfully negotiated that, and now United pilots are going through that process.
United’s pilots union leadership has stated that United pilots want better pay than Delta pilots, with similar quality of life improvements. Admittedly that’s probably just a negotiation technique, and I imagine that United pilots will end up with a similar contract to what Delta pilots have.
Ultimately these strike authorization votes aren’t about actually striking, as much as they’re about strategically putting pressure on management to get a deal done. That very much seems like the motive here as well, and it’s exactly what we’ve also seen at Alaska, Delta, and American. Expect members to vote in favor of a strike, and then expect a contract to be ratified in the coming months.
Bottom line
United Airlines’ pilots union leadership has voted to authorize a strike vote. Now pilots will vote on whether or not they want to go on strike, and you can expect that there will be close to 100% turnout, with close to 100% of pilots voting in favor of a strike.
However, this doesn’t actually mean much for passengers. The odds of United pilots going on strike is close to zero. Rather this just seems to be one of the steps to ratifying a contract nowadays.
What do you make of the upcoming strike authorization vote?
I have great respect for pilots and feel like the current setup of a captain and first officer is essential and do not trust any AI pilots. That being said the pilot's union is taking full advantage of the current pilot shortage and pressing on the pedal too hard. Pilots have seen crises from 9/11 and Covid which wreak havoc on the airlines. While they absolutely deserve to be well compensated for their work, trying...
I have great respect for pilots and feel like the current setup of a captain and first officer is essential and do not trust any AI pilots. That being said the pilot's union is taking full advantage of the current pilot shortage and pressing on the pedal too hard. Pilots have seen crises from 9/11 and Covid which wreak havoc on the airlines. While they absolutely deserve to be well compensated for their work, trying to increase their salaries from the 200-400k range to 300-600k range in a few years might be too much. Afterall the passengers bear much of the inflation from these salaries going up too much. I think we need a lot more high speed rail so pilots can focus on longer mileage flights rather than waste them on Los Angeles to Vegas....DC to NY...and Houston to Dallas flights.
Pilots are beginning to price themselves out of a job. AI in cars has become more and more a part of everyday life, and it has only just begun. The features have been there. Auto braking when a car suddenly stops in front of you or when a pedestrian suddenly steps off a curb in front of the car, self parking, self driving. The safety that comes from the AI taking over when a human...
Pilots are beginning to price themselves out of a job. AI in cars has become more and more a part of everyday life, and it has only just begun. The features have been there. Auto braking when a car suddenly stops in front of you or when a pedestrian suddenly steps off a curb in front of the car, self parking, self driving. The safety that comes from the AI taking over when a human makes a mistake will become accepted, then expected. It is at that point when the airlines will lobby for an "AI co-pilot". The "captain" will be the only person in the cockpit, at first as the primary, then over time, as a back up. The airlines just eliminated the cost of the second highest paid person on the plane. Computers do not go on strike, want vacation time, need health insurance, call in sick, or file lawsuits against their employer.
I am not saying they are over or underpaid. Just saying they may be providing incentive for their own demise.
It's very interesting that the public as a whole doesn't seem to be very pro labor until its their profession asking for pay increases. Until that exact moment it's just others being greedy. Most people wouldn't bat at eye at a pharma sales rep or VP at (insert corporation here) making big dollars and I guarantee that individual believes they're worth more. But the second a union, especially a pilots union asks for increases on...
It's very interesting that the public as a whole doesn't seem to be very pro labor until its their profession asking for pay increases. Until that exact moment it's just others being greedy. Most people wouldn't bat at eye at a pharma sales rep or VP at (insert corporation here) making big dollars and I guarantee that individual believes they're worth more. But the second a union, especially a pilots union asks for increases on the backs of billions of dollars of generated revenue, the narrative quickly shifts to greed. All these articles like to regale the reader with tails about pilots making 600K a year which is almost entirely nonsense with very few exceptions. The vast majority of pilots make a third of that annually at best. Furthermore, it's quite interesting how the narrative further evolves to how pilots should be lucky AI hasn't replaced their jobs, almost like a veiled and oddly celebrated threat. Frankly, if anyone doesn't see the omnipresent threat that AI poses to large swathes of human existence then they should probably invest in a new pair of glasses.
Here we go again.
Every post about union action always starts with regular people commenting on how greedy and unreasonable the union is, then the union and its member catch wind and come in to tell us all how they're being totally fair, professionals need to be well compensated and something about "everyone should try to unionize instead of dragging us down" (and upvoting each other's posts).
With a rapid advance in AI, technology and robots will replace humans in blue and white collar professions. However, there is a remote chance that the politicians will allow AI take over white male dominated fields, such as truck drivers, pilots and actors/ actresses. White privileges are alive and prevalent in the States. In spite of the Asian dominated tech workforce, except the management. Ever wonder why tech industry has no union.
Ben - maybe I'm just not seeing it but I don't see anywhere in this article what the strike is actually about?
I'm kinda with commenter Joanie on this one. UA Pilots just got one of the biggest pay increases and are making big $$$. Granted, that doesn't mean they can't complain about anything ever, but still... a strike right after securing a massive new contract? I don't think the public will be on their side on this one.
Except United didn’t secure a new contract. Delta has a new contract, AA has an agreement in principle that has yet to be voted on by the pilot group, but will likely be voted in. UA however is still at the negotiation table.
@Super
Except UA pilots didn’t “just got one of the biggest pay increases”. They didn’t “secure a massive new contract” as you state…..If you are gonna comment at least get the basics right
This is dumb. You guys are getting paid better than ever. My husband flew for the company for twenty one years so I know. You keep it up and the First's position will be eliminated. In fact, if they could convince the flying public to fly without any humans in the cockpit your dream job would be toast.
“Better than ever” based on hourly rate, maybe. However, when accounting for inflation, wages still have not caught up to what they were prior to concessions given during post 9/11 bankruptcies.
Inflation impacts everything we do and everyone’s wages. Medical costs have gone up, a loaf of bread costs more, and the high school kid at the fast food joint now makes $15/hr to take orders. However, the salary of your airline pilot should...
“Better than ever” based on hourly rate, maybe. However, when accounting for inflation, wages still have not caught up to what they were prior to concessions given during post 9/11 bankruptcies.
Inflation impacts everything we do and everyone’s wages. Medical costs have gone up, a loaf of bread costs more, and the high school kid at the fast food joint now makes $15/hr to take orders. However, the salary of your airline pilot should stay the same as they essentially take a pay cut each year as their buying power goes down?
Sure, lots of people’s salaries have stayed the same, but if given the opportunity to renegotiate, do you not think any of them (including you) would do the same? The pilots have an opportunity to maintain buying power and bring historical pay back. Why should they not take advantage of it?
Secondly, a pilot contract goes far beyond the pay scale, although that’s what the public focuses on when it hears new like this. The pay table is literally a single page in a contract hundreds, if not a thousand, pages long. Work rules, regional scope protection, merger protection, furlough mitigation/protection, vacation, sick time, emergency leaves of absence, disability, retirement, the list goes on and on. I could literally list items for hours. There is a lot to be fixed followed the dismantling of the contracts the past 20 years. Pilots are just trying to get back to be some form of what the contracts used to be.
How long ago did your husband retire? There is one of three scenarios: 1) He either retired very long ago and is completely out of touch with the state of the career. 2) He got screwed over multiple times and is now completely bitter and doesn’t want to see any pilot have a good career if he couldn’t have one himself. 3) He was a scab.
If your husband flew professionally for 21 years I’m surprised you have no interest in his safety of the tens of thousands of people flying every single day. There are tons of data that show how two pilots mitigate the myriad risks and save lives.
Also you should learn about inflation and how dollar adjusting works. If you did, you’d know that we in fact are not getting paid “more than ever.”
Lastly,...
If your husband flew professionally for 21 years I’m surprised you have no interest in his safety of the tens of thousands of people flying every single day. There are tons of data that show how two pilots mitigate the myriad risks and save lives.
Also you should learn about inflation and how dollar adjusting works. If you did, you’d know that we in fact are not getting paid “more than ever.”
Lastly, can you please tell me why we should make less than our friends at delta? Thanks!