23 Years

This morning, I made the heart-breaking decision that my annual cross-country trip on September 11 was not possible this year.  There have been a lot of challenges in my life this last year, and I was forced to be practical about it all.  These trips were always meant to be a way to show respect and remember those lost on September 11, 2001, but they can be expensive.  There was never a problem with affordability in the past, but in the last year, and especially in the last few weeks, life has decided to throw up roadblocks to a lot of things I want to do.  I was looking forward to the trip this year, the itinerary had me starting out in San Francisco, going on to Chicago in one of the new A321neo planes.  From Chicago, I would go on to Newark and then home to Los Angeles.     

But that's enough of feeling sorry for myself, it is time to get back to writing about September 11, and what is going on at United Airlines.  I was trying to decide what to write about this year, and I kept going back to the recent vote by United Airlines' flight attendants that authorized a strike if long-delayed contract negotiations continue to drag on.  In my last post to this blog, I discussed the contract negotiations, and how management at United is continuing down the same path of seeking concessions from their employees in order to improve profitability.  United executives will always come out saying they are always looking to make things better for their employees, but in the end, they always manage to end up taking more than they give.  The question I always ask is why United management cannot respect their employees enough to see that if they give without taking, what they get back from the employees will surprise them?

In the last post I discussed that the flight attendants were holding another "Day of Action" at key United stations around the world.  These events are meant to inform the public of what is going on, and this last one, held on August 28, 2024, coincided with the last day of voting on whether or not to authorize a strike.  I went out to LAX on that day and stood on the sidewalk in front of Terminal 7 holding my sign informing United management that the flight attendants have the customers on their side.  

I was proud to be there on that day when the United AFA leadership announced that over 90% of its members participated in the vote, and from the votes cast, over 99.99% of them were in favor of authorizing a strike.  This level of support for a strike is unprecedented and will give the AFA negotiating committee the ammunition it needs to remain resolute and get what their members want and deserve.

As it happens, this last week in the Wall Street Journal, there was an opinion editorial from Frank Lorenzo, the former head of Continental Airlines' parent company, Texas Air.  Mr. Lorenzo was complaining about how the Biden administration, and in particular Transporation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, are trying to drag the U.S. airlines back to the days before the industry was de-regulated.  Mr. Lorenzo talked about how de-regulation made travel more affordable to all Americans.    Mr. Lorenzo also brought up how he was able to bring Texas International Airlines to the forefront with its "peanut fares," and ushered in the age of the low-cost carrier. 

Good for you Mr. Lorenzo, when you turned traveling by air into a more affordable commodity, you also thought it OK to treat your employees as mere commodities.  Under Mr. Lorenzo's leadership, Texas Air acquired a struggling Continental Airlines.  Within months, Mr. Lorenzo took Continental Airlines into bankruptcy court in order to void union contracts and slash compensation for front-line employees.  The hardest hit group were the Continental flight attendants.  I was working at Frontier Airlines at the time, and I remember walking the picket line with the Continental flight attendants at Denver's Stapleton Airport, as they fought to keep their contract, their jobs, and their dignity.  Instead, most of those that picketed were fired, and they were replaced by lower wage workers who did not have the same experience and skills as their predecessors.  Continental went from being a well-regarded legacy carrier (the proud bird with the golden tail) to one of the lowest rated U.S. air carriers.  Mr. Lorenzo did the same when Texas Air acquired Eastern Airlines.  When the Eastern employee groups did not want to play along with Mr. Lorenzo's way of doing things, Mr. Lorenzo just shut the airline down.  Mr. Lorenzo became a pariah in the industry.

What happened on September 11, 2001, showed us how important and how risky the job can be for airline pilots and flight attendants.  It also showed us how everyone on the front lines of the airlines worked through their grief to get the nation, and the world, flying again.  Yet, this pervasive attitude of management that they always need to get something out of their employees continues.  Mr. Kirby always needs to demonstrate to the Board of Directors that hired him that he has control.  Mr. Kirby and United's Board of Directors have it wrong.  There are two important groups of stakeholders that come before the shareholders - the front-line employees and the customers.  Without the support from both of those groups, Mr. Kirby and his Board would not have jobs.

The events of September 11 also showed us that the first responders on that awful morning were flight attendants, pilots, and customers.  Mr. Buttigieg is not trying to re-regulate the airline industry, he is just trying to show the airlines that the customers will not be treated as basic commodities, and that customers should not have to put up with whatever the airlines want to dish out for them.  The U.S. government has an agency in place to do what it can to make sure passengers can travel safely and comfortably, and the FAA's part in all this became more important after September 11, 2001.  Mr. Buttigieg is only trying to make sure that airline management understands that the customers and front-line employees do have rights.

When I was making my reservation to travel on Wednesday, I was saddened when United Airlines reminded me that my status with them now is only that of a "General Member."  I thought back to how I could have gone from being a Premier 1K, Customer of the Year, Pass Plus card-carrying customer, down to the lowest tier possible.  I then remembered I am not alone in this.  Since September 11, 2001, United Airlines has lost a lot of high-margin customers.  Why pay premium fares for a product that continues to decline in quality?  It is simple Mr. Kirby, when you do not respect your front line, the quality of product they put out reflects that lack of respect.  In order to control costs, some c-suite executive advises you that the front line should be paid less, and not given the proper training and flexibility they need in order to properly accommodate the most important customers.  They advise that is the path to profitability.  Mr. Kirby, you need to put your arrogant c-suite executives, such as John Slater, on the front line and let's see how long they last. 

              

The events of September 11, 2001, need to be remembered not only as a reminder of what evil can look like, that day also showed us that individuals who are on the front lines, whether it be the fire department, police department, paramedics, military personnel, flight attendants, pilots, or any employee on the front line for any business, these are the real people running things.  What those on the front line need most is respect from their leaders, respect that affords them the flexibility to do what is right and to do their job well, along with respect that makes them proud of what they do.  I started making my trips my annual 9/11 trips to show my friends on the front lines at United that they do have the respect of the customers.  It breaks my heart that I cannot do that this year.      

Mr. Kirby, I cannot close this year's post without reiterating my plea to you to properly honor those United employees who lost their lives in the attacks on September 11, 2001.  I am not talking about just one day a year, where employees are left to come up with their own makeshift memorials at stations around the world.  You need to step up and get real about it.  You also need to do something to improve the declining morale as your front-line continues to put up with low wages, poor training, and a record number of operational challenges.  One way to do so is that for every one of those employees that were lost on 9/11, for every new plane that rolls off the assembly line, have one of names painted on it by door number one, and along-side that name should be the United Airlines tulip. These are good people who lost their lives trying to protect United Airlines passengers, and on their uniforms, they proudly wore the United Airlines tulip.  Their names may already be on the memorial in New York, but they deserve to be a part of the "Friendly Skies" every day.  They deserve that kind of legacy.  It would mean so much to your employees, current and retired, as well as your loyal customers.

EPILOGUE

As to one of the reasons why I am not able to travel this year, some of you know the story of my sister in Colorado who has custody of her granddaughters.  When she took that on, I made a commitment to help her financially when she needed it.  If you do not know the story, you can check out the Go Fund Me page I put up for her recently.   Here you can get an idea of the events that have transpired -https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-janet-provide-stability-for-lily-and-charlii?qid=23f59f3ebc4b7a0dbcddb38e75ecbf86.  The response to this page has been overwhelming, and we were able to raise the goal amount set.  Please, this is not a solicitation for donations.  The focus now is with the older granddaughter, Lily, who has some serious behavioral problems that require treatment.  The time and attention that this requires are making it difficult for my sister to get her own financial house in order.  I need to be prepared to step up and help, and I cannot do that and still make the trip this year.  I made a vow to myself that when this is all straightened out, I will get back to the Friendly Skies more often.  I keep hoping for some return to the United Airlines I once knew, and I do miss the employees.      

 - Thank You all for keeping the Skies Friendly -

James Anderson, Mileage Plus HVC21479.

- STRIKE! -

The word strike is one of those useful, flexible words that carries a few definitions, as well as be used as a noun or a verb.  Here are a couple of those definitions:  

verb -  to hit forcibly and deliberately with one's hand, or with a weapon or other implement; 

            

verb -  to take swift action against an enemy or other threat in order to neutralize that threat at the optimal time; (to strike "while the iron is hot").

                   

             OR

noun  -  a refusal to work organized by a body of employees as a form of protest, typically in an attempt to gain a concession or concessions from their employer.

This post is about the last definition above, the noun, although it can be used as a verb within the same context.

Right now, the flight attendants at United Airlines are heavy into negotiations for their contract that became amendable in 2021.  Three years is a long time to wait, but the flight attendants have, until now, waited patiently for management to come to the bargaining table.  More importantly they have waited for management to come to the table without having brought their own exaggerated self-worth and bravado, and without the idea that it is once again time for the flight attendants to give up something so that the airline can remain competitive and profitable.

In saying that the contract for the flight attendants became amendable, here is some clarification.  Under the provisions of the Railway Labor Act, enacted more than a century ago, collective bargaining agreements between transportation workers and their employers do not expire.  The U.S. Government sought this protection because they knew that the shutdown of the railways would shut down the economy.  It was best to keep folks working while at the same time, hammer out new terms to an extension of the existing contract.  The U.S. Government would protect employees by making sure employers bargained in good faith.  As a vital part of our country's infrastructure, the provisions of the Railway Labor Act have carried over to the airlines.  

This does not mean that airline employees can be kept working under the same contract terms for years on end.  There can be a strike, but it takes quite a bit of time to get to that point.  When a contract becomes amendable, if one or both parties to the agreement want to negotiate new terms, then both parties are required to sit down and negotiate.  The flight attendants' union - the United Airlines AFA-CWA, under the leadership of current president Ken Diaz, has in place a negotiating committee charged with communicating the terms and conditions that their membership wants for this new contract period.  The significant provisions that are being re-negotiated include pay and benefits, scheduling, training, uniforms and appearance standards, as well as per diem compensation and hotels used for layovers.  There are thousands of details that need to be hammered out as management fights to not give anything up, and the AFA fights not to give in to management, as they have so many times before. 

United's management representative at the table is a man named John Slater, Senior Vice President in charge of In-flight Services.  On his LinkedIn profile, he describes himself as "an innovative travel industry executive with extensive experience in sales, customer service, operations, business strategy, distribution, and electronic commerce."  What is important to note here is that the man in charge of In-flight Service at United Airlines has no in-flight service experience.  If you have traveled on United recently and felt that the in-flight offerings were a little lacking, this is the first man to blame.  Mr. Slater's boss is Scott Kirby, CEO at United Airlines.  Mr. Kirby is a numbers guy, and when customer yields are down, he lowers his ax on expenses, no matter who might be under the blade.  To keep his job, Mr. Slater needs to come away from the negotiations with concessions from the employees.

With this round of negotiations, one change that the flight attendants want to see is to be paid for all hours they are on duty.  You know how airlines will allot 30-45 minutes, or even an hour to board a flight?  Did you know that during that time, the flight attendants are not getting paid?  In fact, they have already been in the airport and on the plane for an hour or more for check-in, briefings and completing safety checks.  When it comes time to board, flight attendants are expected to be on point, at their assigned positions, with smiles, and ready to assist with the boarding process.  Flight attendants assigned to premium cabins pull extra duty with pre-departure beverage service and taking meal orders.  Flight attendants assigned to the galleys have to make sure food and beverage carts are stocked and ready to go.  When a flight lands, when you hear that "ding" as the plane comes to a full stop at the gate, that is when the time clock stops.  The 30 or more minutes it takes for passengers to disembark is unpaid.  

All this extra, unpaid, duty time can get extended by irregular operations such as a mechanical problem at the gate, or waiting for baggage to be loaded for connecting passengers.  Then there is the extra unpaid time just built into a flight attendant's schedule.  I have seen flight attendants post pairings on Facebook that will have six hours of paid time, yet their duty day is fifteen hours, with the time spent sitting in airports waiting for their next trip.  Under the current terms of the contract, the company can ask flight attendants to put in duty days lasting 18 hours.  For international flying, say a trip from Washington-Dulles to Athens, flight attendants get paid for 20 hours, but they are away from the base for 48 hours or more.  

The flight attendants at United are asking that they get paid for every hour they are at work, both in the air and on the ground.  This is something that Delta Air Lines' flight attendants recently succeeded in negotiating with their management.  Flight attendants at American and Southwest are also asking for the same.  This is what you would call an "industry-leading" change which has been long overdue.  This is also an expensive change for the airlines, and if they cannot pay for it with higher fares, they are going to want concessions from employees. 

From what I have been able to pick up from posts by the AFA, the main concession United management wants from flight attendants is to go to a "Preferential Based System (PBS)" for scheduling.  Under the current system, every month the flight attendants will "bid" for the schedule they want for the next month.   Based on when they want to work, how many hours they want to pick up, where they want to go, and the type of aircraft being used for each segment, they will bid for lines made up of specific "pairings" or trips.   For example, a pairing may be a two-day domestic trip starting in Los Angeles, then to Denver, and on to Orlando for an overnight layover.  The return the next day will take them from Orlando to Houston, then home to Los Angeles.   This is a pairing, and a line may have three or more of these pairings in one month.  The lines are then awarded based on seniority.  The most senior flight attendants will usually get their first choice(s) and hold their line(s) for the month, and as you go down in seniority, lines will be awarded based on second or third choices.  For junior flight attendants, they are awarded the remaining available lines, with reserve times built in.  These are the most undesirable trips.  Flight attendants can trade or drop trips during the month, but if you are senior enough to hold a line, then you know when you are working.

As I understand it, with PBS scheduling, flight attendants will not be able to choose lines with specific pairings.  Instead, they will bid, or build their lines, based on the kinds of pairings they want, with choices of the number of hours they want to pick up, the days off that they want, and if they want those pairings to be international or domestic, or a combination of both.   For senior flight attendants, the optimal outcome is that the scheduling system assigns the pairings to the preferences that they have bid, but these pairings are not always going to be to cities they want to go to.  For example, they could say they want two-day international trips, with weekends off.  PBS scheduling will then build their line based on those preferences, but that line may not have the specific pairings they want to work. The pairings they are assigned may not be the cities they want to go to.  The pairings they are assigned could be different throughout the month.  The paid hours for each pairing could also be different. PBS scheduling is liked by management because it makes setting the schedules easier, and it gives them the flexibility to assign different pairings in a line to optimize staffing out of a base.  Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be effective and really cheap to use with PBS scheduling.      

The only real, tangible, incentive for flight attendants is to attain seniority.  It is a tough job, and over decades of service they pay their dues, and then they become senior enough to the point where they can set the schedule they want.  Over the years you learn which trips operate with the best aircraft, or which cities have the best hotels for layovers, and the easiest commutes from the airports.  No one wants to fly for 10 to 16 hours to arrive at the destination and face a 90-minute commute from the airport to the hotel.  They certainly do not want to go through all that to fly on planes that have been in service for 30+ years, with poorly designed cabins (really Continental, you were too cheap to put in fresh-air vents for the passengers in your 777's?).  They certainly do not want to stay at a hotel with no air conditioning, or no decent restaurants or shops nearby.  Under the current bidding system, these senior flight attendants who have put in their time, get to choose which type of aircraft they fly on, and the cities they most enjoy visiting.  With a "Preferential Based System," those choices may not be available.    

- STRIKE AUTHORIZATION -

Well, all that I just went through is taking the long way to get to the main point for this post - the strike authorization vote that is now underway.  This is the chance for United's flight attendants to tell their negotiating committee that they are ready to strike to get what they want.  This does not mean there will be a strike, there are still a few hurdles to clear before it gets to that point, but a "Strike Authorization" does tell the negotiating committee that AFA members are ready to fight for what they have earned.  Going back over the last 30 years or more, every time United's flight attendants came to the negotiating table, management was there asking them to give up something.  Each concession request came with the promise that as profitability improved, United's employees would reap the benefits.  Sustained profitability for United Airlines has been realized, but the only real beneficiaries have been senior management earning millions of dollars in salary and equity awards.  

With the last round of negotiations, United's flight attendants did gain raises in hourly pay, and there has even been some profit sharing; however, in return, they now have to put in longer duty days, which management has had no problem in exploiting.  Domestic trips for the flight attendants have become marathons, covering multiple cities over several days, and with minimal rest periods.  Fatigue is common to the point where safety is a concern.  The flight attendants have also had to put up with long waits on the phone because staffing for crew scheduling or the hotel desk has been reduced.  Finally, United's flight attendants have had to put up with a decline in service standards for the customers, which makes their job even more difficult.  Mr. Slater, you call yourself an expert in customer service; however, customer service is about what you can do for the customer, it is not about what you cannot do.  United has gone from being a premium legacy carrier to a "so-so" carrier, and those that are bearing the brunt of complaints are the flight attendants.  If I were a United flight attendant, top on my wish list would be for service standards to be raised to the level they once were.  Pay and benefits are important, work conditions are also important, but if I am embarrassed to say the name of the company I work for, then going to work is that much harder.  

The deadline to vote for Strike Authorization is noon eastern time on Wednesday, August 28, 2024.  From the posts I have seen, almost 85% of the membership has voted, I hope that kind of showing indicates that United's flight attendants are ready to stand in solidarity to make sure real improvements are made.  For any active United Flight Attendant that has not voted, please do so now, and please vote to authorize the strike.  Unity and solidarity, that is what is needed from the membership, now more than ever.  For junior flight attendants who have felt that there is no reason to get involved, you need to get involved.  From what I hear, so many of you have become disenchanted by the job.  It is no wonder with the low pay and ungodly hours you are putting in.  For you it seems like a thankless job that will not get any better; however, that can change if you are ready to stand up for yourself and for your flying partners.

As a show of their resolve, at bases around the world, United's flight attendants are holding another "Day of Action" on August 28, to coincide with the deadline for the Strike Authorization vote.  If I can get away tomorrow morning, I will be heading out to the airport, sign in hand, to get out the message that this customer stands with the Flight Attendants, and with all front-line employees at United.  If things are not made better for the employees, what chance is there for us customers?  AFA leadership says they are fighting for an "Industry Leading" contract, I say "Industry Leading" is not good enough, it is time to push the envelope to set a higher standard that puts United Airlines ahead of all the other carriers.