United Airlines Starts Contract Negotiations With Union Covering Maintenance Workers

United Airlines has entered negotiations with labor union regarding a new contract covering thousands of maintenance workers around the country. The airline has posted profit in recent months, and workers want that to be reflected in their salaries and other benefits as well.

Negotiations begin

The United Airlines Teamsters National Negotiating Committee has started negotiating new contract terms with the carrier covering 10,000 maintenance workers and other employees in related departments.

The labor union kick-started the process four months before the contract becomes amendable to gain as much lead as possible. Among the things it is demanding include industry-leading wages, a faster timeline for reaching the top pay rate, improved health care benefits, and higher safety standards. Chris Griswold, Teamsters Airline Division Director and International Vice President At-Large, commented,

“We’ve added more rank-and-filers to the bargaining committee than ever before. We’ve received input from thousands of members about what they want in this agreement. We’ve never been more ready to secure the best contract in aviation maintenance. We will hold this company’s feet to the fire.”

Photo: Jarek Kilian | Shutterstock

Joe Prisco, a Teamsters Local 856 technician and member of the union’s bargaining committee, pointed out how this bottom-up contract campaign is unlike anything that’s ever been seen before at

United Airlines

and that “we’re going to do whatever it takes to get what we’ve earned.”

Recent financial report

In July, United announced its second-quarter results with a three-fold increase in profit. This came after a busy summer travel period, allowing the carrier to

make more than $14 billion in revenue

, resulting in a profit of over $1 billion.

These numbers surpassed analysts’ estimates and came on the back of a substantial rise in travel demand, particularly to international destinations. United’s total operating revenue in the last quarter ending in June was $14.2 billion, up 17.1% compared to the second quarter of 2022. It posted a profit of $1.1 billion, compared with $329 million in the corresponding period a year ago.

Photo: Croatorum | Shutterstock

With the airline making money after the tricky pandemic years, its employees across various divisions are also looking for their contracts to be amended to reflect its new financial position.

New sick leave policy under scrutiny

United Airlines also implemented a new sick leave policy for flight attendants that has received some pushback. It mandates that flight attendants who call in sick on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays provide a doctor’s note when they report the leave.

The carrier’s flight attendants argued that it did not provide 24 hours notice for the changes, which were implemented in July. The medical certificate must be submitted within 72 hours of calling in sick, and employees will face disciplinary action if they fail to do so.

Photo: Bradley Caslin | Shutterstock

This is in violation of the flight attendants’ contracts, which allow the airline to ask for medical certification during holidays but not necessarily on weekends. Also, the contract does not include a 72-hour window period, with cabin crew members allowed to submit the note at check-in time for the flight after they recover.

Related

United Airlines Flight Attendants Picket In Response To Top Executives Sizable Pay Increase

The employees are demanding better pay structures and work-life balance.

United said that these changes were brought in after increasing cases of flight attendants reporting sick “on weekends – and only weekends.” It added that “the policy is narrowly tailored to the days when abuse has been occurring, and we hope to return to our usual approach of not requiring a doctor’s note soon.”