Machinists Union Stands in Solidarity with Flight Attendants in Nationwide Day of Action

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Machinists Union Stands in Solidarity with Flight Attendants in Nationwide Day of Action

February 14 2024

Pictured: Assistant General Chairs Erik Stenberg (left) and Mike Cyscon.

In a display of solidarity, members of the Machinists Union joined flight attendants in nationwide rallies held at over 30 major airports across the United States on Tuesday. The collective action, organized as part of the Worldwide Flight Attendant Day of Action, aimed to bring attention to the ongoing labor negotiations affecting over two-thirds of flight attendants at several major airlines.

Flight attendants from United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Air Wisconsin, American Airlines, Omni, and Frontier, represented by three different labor unions, took to the picket lines in cities including New York City, Orlando, Miami, San Francisco, Charlotte, Washington DC, Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago, Boston, Cleveland, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and more.

The protests underscored the pressing issues at hand as flight attendants push for fair and just contracts amidst negotiations with their respective airlines. In total, the unions participating in the day of action represent more than 100,000 flight attendants at all major airlines in the United States.

“Our time is now!” declared AFA Alaska President Jeffrey Peterson. “Alaska Flight Attendants today backed up our fight for an industry-leading contract with a 99.48% strike vote. And we’re out on the picket line demonstrating that we’re ready to do whatever it takes to get the contract we deserve. There’s no excuse: Alaska management has the money to buy another airline, they certainly have the money to invest in Flight Attendants. We have a simple message for management: Pay us, or CHAOS!”

Flight attendants at Alaska Airlines, represented by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA), voted overwhelmingly in favor of a strike authorization should management fail to agree to significant improvements. The last time Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants went on strike was in 1993, when Flight Attendants took over the schedule using AFA’s trademarked strike strategy, Creating Havoc Around Our System™ or CHAOS™.

“Alaska Flight Attendants are fired up and ready to go,” emphasized AFA International President Sara Nelson. “You can’t fly without Flight Attendants. If Alaska management doesn’t remember what happens when you disrespect Flight Attendants, we are ready to show them. It’s past time for a fair deal.”

“We are not a line item on a balance sheet,” stated Melinda Beal, president of the AFA Cleveland chapter, as reported by Axios. She highlighted the challenges faced by flight attendants, including longer hours with little rest between shifts, eroding wages due to inflation, and airlines reaping billions in profits. Beal emphasized the demand for raises and the challenge to the pay structure.

The demonstrations are not strikes, though that’s the next step. The industry norm is that attendants don’t get paid until the plane doors close. Union members are calling for full pay for their work during boarding or deplaning and for time on the ground between back-to-back flights. In 2022, Delta Air Lines became the first U.S. airline to pay flight attendants during boarding, but at only half their standard rate.

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Bureau of Labor Statistics: Union Pay Gap Expands in 2023

Stay up to date with all the latest news and information from the District 141 of the Machinists Union

Bureau of Labor Statistics: Union Pay Gap Expands in 2023

6 February 2024

WASHINGTON DC – According to the February report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, union membership in 2023 held steady and did not decline despite employers spending over $400 million to oppose unification efforts in their workplaces. According to the report, 16.2 million American workers were represented by a union, a gain of 200,000 over 2022.

Union wages continued to lead the average, typical weekly earnings of non-union Americans in 2023. Among full-time wage and salary workers, union members had a median usual weekly earnings of $1,263 in 2023, while non-union workers continued to fall behind, with a median usual weekly earnings of only $1,090.

This represents wages that are 14 percent higher than their non-union counterparts each week, translating to an additional $173 per week, $692 per month, and $8,996 per year.

While earnings remain a central focus for most workers, the issue of work-life balance is a hot topic within the American workforce. Interestingly, union members, particularly in commercial aviation, enjoy an enviable degree of control over their schedules. They can trade away or pick up work shifts from coworkers and seasonal bids to work the hours, work areas, and days off in order of years on the job that are unheard of outside of unions. This level of schedule flexibility is nearly unheard of outside union workplaces.

Retirement benefits are another area where union membership pays off. In private industry, 93 percent of union workers had access to a retirement plan, compared to only 67 percent of non-union workers. Union workers were five times more likely to have access to defined benefit retirement plans, which guarantee a predictable income during retirement.

Healthcare benefits are nearly universal among union workers, with 96 percent having access compared to 69 percent of non-union workers. Employers were responsible for 80 percent of the premiums for medical care and family coverage for union workers, compared to 65 percent for non-union workers.

To combat these advances, companies have spent more than $400 million to prevent their employees from forming unions. According to data compiled by the Economic Policy Institute, attacks on union organizing have cost companies more than $400 million a year.

The study, released in March 2023, estimates that employers spend $433 million per year on “union-avoidance” consultants. According to the study, these consultants are paid $350 an hour and up, or $2,500 daily rates, to prevent their workers from banding together as a union. The actual figures are likely much higher since employers are only required to disclose a fraction of their union avoidance costs.

A portion of this spending is recouped through tax laws; businesses can deduct union avoidance costs from their tax liabilities.

These efforts have kept union membership as low as possible for these companies despite historically high support for unions. Around 67% or two-thirds of Americans support unions, as per a Gallup poll released in September. Yet, due to the overwhelming spending companies are using to prevent the formation of unions, only about 11.2% of Americans report union membership.

About 16.2 million American workers are represented by labor unions, a figure that includes 14.4 union members and 1.8 million workers who refuse to support a union but whose jobs are covered by a union agreement.

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