It’s the shot heard ’round the world as travel-industry professionals who sacrificed pay and benefits for the company’s survival now confront senior executives who are benefiting from record profits, satisfied shareholders and soaring executive compensation.
Enough is enough, say United Airlines’ flight attendants, who will stage rallies on July 16 at airports worldwide as part of contract negotiations. The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA), the largest flight attendant union, represents United’s 24,000 cabin crew members. Many will staff informational picketing locations at United hubs across the continental United States and at airports in Germany, England, Hong Kong, Japan and Guam.
The coordinated action comes five years after United CEO Jeff Smisek promised to negotiate a contract by the end of 2011, following the carrier’s merger with Continental Airlines in October 2010.
“We’re marching around the world for flight attendants at United and for every flight attendant who serves as aviation’s first responders,” said Sara Nelson, president of AFA International. “We march in support of our negotiating committee, we march for a fair contract and we march in support of our passengers during the most profitable period in the history of commercial aviation.”
Data released by the Association of Flight Attendants in 2014 showed that Smisek’s compensation increased about 39 percent to roughly $11.3 million. That total included an approximate $975,000 base salary, $7.7 million in stock-related compensation, $2.3 million in incentive pay and about $300,000 in other compensation. The AFA noted that United held nearly $7 billion in cash on its balance sheet and that the company’s share price had risen about 162 percent since the merger.
“Flight attendants made significant sacrifices that helped make this merger possible, and now it’s past time for United management to complete the integration and restore the airline to a premier position,” Nelson said. “That begins with a fair contract. A contract that reflects the industry’s success and recognizes the frontline workers who deliver it will lift standards for flight attendants at American, Delta and other carriers as well. It’s our turn, and it’s overdue.”