This coming Thursday, October 26, 2023, United Airlines Flight Attendants will be gathering for another "Day of Action" at all United hubs and other large stations throughout their system. These events are peaceful gatherings outside of busy airport terminals, and are just one way for the flight attendants to inform passengers and the public about the current state of contract negotiations with United's leadership team. These events are also a way to bring together United's Flight Attendants for one common goal - to make management understand that they are serious about the changes that are needed to their contract. Not only in terms of positive changes in compensation, benefits and working conditions, but changes are needed that bring back some respect for a very difficult job.
The contract with United's Flight Attendants became amendable in 2021, and because United management got pressed to the wall in their negotiations with the Pilots' union, work on the contract with the Flight Attendants was, for the most part, pushed aside. Two years is long enough to wait. The pilots just recently ratified their own contract, securing big increases in pay and benefits for themselves, increases that are well-deserved. Now, as United's management team focuses on the contract with the Flight Attendants, it appears that there may be a mandate coming down to reign in that generous spirit. Management needs to find a way to pay for the more expensive pilots.
United's senior management, led by Scott Kirby, is very "by the numbers," with their focus squarely on how well shares of United Airlines Holdings are trading on the stock market. Investments in the customers and the front-line employees has to show an immediate return. No one can argue that Mr. Kirby and his team are not doing a good job, they are definitely filling seats. United Airlines is carrying more passengers across the Atlantic and Pacific than any other airline. It is still mostly leisure travel that fill seats now and leisure travel is less profitable than business travel. This means United has to fill more seats, with more frequency, and at the same time cut costs where they can in order to show growth in their earnings numbers. That cost cutting first focuses on behind the scenes operations support functions, and then the service offerings for the customers are cut back. After that, management then looks at the front-line to identify opportunities to save money.
I am sounding my age when I say that, for the most part and across all industries, the management style at big corporations has regressed into what is "good enough" for the customer. This is the type of manager who thinks that customers will "settle" and accept the product put before them. In all my years as a loyal United Airlines customer and shareholder, I have been witness to several changes in upper management, and with each change there have come cuts in the quality of in-flight service, especially in the premium cabins. Years ago I used to look for excuses to get on a United flight, now I only travel when needed. It is hard to accept "good enough," when you have had much better. And "good enough" is not a way to win back premium business travelers.
There is also an attitude by some managers that employees are also supposed to accept "good enough," in terms of pay, benefits and working conditions. Bad managers intimidate employees into thinking that they should consider themselves lucky to have a job. Good leaders know that they have to work harder and continually motivate, continually train, continually support, and always reward. Then there are those in the middle, those that work toward "good enough," - I call them mediocre managers.
Mediocre leaders want to get by with "good enough." Their compensation is based upon meeting specific, numerical profit goals. These are the managers that only look at those numbers, and will only commit to the optimum investment that yields the highest return, in the shortest time period. Mediocre managers also like to standardize everything because it is simpler. Employees need to fall in line with what is standard and do as they are told, no matter the circumstance, and with no regard for the level of experience the employee brings to the job. Any variance from the standard gets an employee fired. Sadly, a lot of good people are no longer with United because they did not adapt quickly enough to the "dumbed down" standards being pushed on them. As managers, I think Mr. Kirby and his team do fall into this category. I hope I am proven wrong, but I cannot help but feel that this round of contract negotiations will be like all the others, with management having a mandate to offer only what is "good enough."
So this "Day of Action" for United's Flight Attendants is about sending a message to Mr. Kirby and his team, a message that says that they want more than "good enough" this time. With each round of contract negotiations, management has always expected that the labor side needs to make more concessions. If Flight Attendants are to receive a pay raise, they are going to have to produce more by putting in longer duty days. If Flight Attendants want better benefits, then they are going to have to accept that on a flight normally staffed with ten flight attendants, they are going to have to work harder and get by with eight. If Flight Attendants want profit-sharing, then they will need to accept that crew scheduling and hotel desks will have fewer staff to take their calls. This "Day of Action" is about saying that this "give and take," that once was the norm, has to change.
Looking at more than compensation, for those reading this that are outside of the airline industry, did you know that at United Airlines, the support center that Flight Attendants call for assistance with scheduling is outsourced to an offshore call center in the Phillipines? Did you also know that when operations go irregular, say by weather, that staffing for the call center providing assistance with hotel scheduling is not increased? When severe weather caused a serious meltdown in operations for United this last winter, too many flight attendants were left stranded having been unable to get help from either crew scheduling or the hotel desk. With this "Day of Action" and the current negotiations, United's Flight Attendants are also saying that this cannot happen again, and want to force management to do better for the flight attendants, as well as every United Airlines employee, in every way possible. They are also saying that if management will not own up to their mistakes, they need to be held accountable and shown the door. Mr. Kirby, if you are going to hire a private jet to get to Aspen when things get bad, you need to make sure your employees that freezing on the tarmacs, or sleeping in terminals, do not find out.
The title of this post is "It's Time for a Higher Standard." Here is where that came from. I was saddened by a recent post I saw in one of the group pages for United Flight Attendants on Facebook. The post was originated with a message from one flight attendant wanting to get the word out that success in these negotiations is going to require being unified in their resolve to stand firm. More importantly, success was also going to come by showing management how invaluable the flight attendants are as the face of the airline. This would mean making customers a priority while on duty. It would mean being gracious and attentive, and that down time should not be spent in the galley with ear buds on, playing Sudoko, or joking around all the while ignoring the customers. Sadly, one of the first responses to that post was from another flight attendant who said that their ear buds will only come out after management gives them a decent contract.
Success will not come from this kind of attitude. United led the U.S. airline industry by having the first flight attendants. United led the U.S. airline industry by keeping the Purser position after acquiring Pan Am's Pacific routes. United's Flight Attendants have a chance to lead again, but only by working together. Your value only comes through by showing that you are invaluable. Be attentive to the passengers, be on time, adhere to uniform and appearance standards, have your Links charged, open and ready to up-sell, read announcements with grace and enthusiasm, offer assistance to new hires thrown on the line too soon. Show management you are worth more than you get paid. This does not mean you have to go overboard with the above and beyond, and you certainly do not need to do management any favors. For example, you do not need to waive any rights and go illegal with your duty day. This also does not mean that if a passenger asks about the red pins or red lanyards, that you cannot tell them about what is going on.
Your strength comes from each other, and from the support you can garner from the customers. You do not want to appear cliched or over-entitled to the customers, that is counter-productive. Most customers are now given a chance to respond to surveys with feedback about their recent trip on United. The part of the trip customers will remember first and foremost is how well they were treated by the flight attendants - especially the valued premium cabin customers. These survey results become a part of the "numbers" that mediocre managers value so much. United's Flight Attendants have the power to make sure those numbers are on their side.
United management has already come out saying that they are working on what promises to be an "Industry Leading" contract for their Flight Attendants. "Industry Leading" is just public relations spin and is another way of saying "good enough." I urge United's Flight Attendants to stand together and remain firm in their resolve to get beyond what is "Industry Leading." Not only for themselves, but for the other front-line employees, and for behind the scenes support functions, and for the customer. This airline is nothing without its employees and it is nothing without its customers. It is time that United's leadership recognize that the reputation for this company cannot stand to suffer any more setbacks. Keeping customers loyal, and keeping valuable employees can only come if you set a higher standard.
