All across the USA, United Airlines pilots are picketing, demanding higher pay and higher working conditions. The airline’s pilots have a contract that has not raised their wages in 4 years, and the union says their quality-of-life rules haven’t been updated in over a decade.
4 years negotiating
As carriers prepare for certainly one of the busiest summers on record, they have to work hard to avoid any chaos, whether from personnel shortages, ATC personnel shortages, or pilot strikes. United Airlines pilots are fed up with contract negotiations and are holding informational pickets throughout the USA in hopes of reaching an agreement soon. American Airlines and Southwest Airlines pilots recently voted overwhelmingly to authorize strikes, and United pilots could quickly follow suit.
A recent renegotiation from Delta Air Lines and its pilots, which is able to increase pay by 34% over the following 4 years, has left other airlines behind in pilot compensation. United has proposed matching Delta’s rates, but United pilots want greater than pay increases. Pay negotiations have stalled while work schedules have develop into a better priority, including the union’s desire to hinder the airline from making pilots work on their days off.
Improving work-life balance
In response to the United Airlines page on the Air Line Pilots Association website, the present contract has quality-of-life rules which have not been updated in over a decade, taking a toll on their personal and family lives. An announcement from the pilots to passengers reiterates safety as their primary commitment. It goes further to say that always, they work irregular hours and on their days off to get passengers where they have to be.
Photo: United Airlines
A United Airlines pilot shared with Easy Flying,
“On a recent flight I had an inflight issue where we needed to return to the departure airport. Crew scheduling used that chance to reassign us into twice the number legs than originally scheduled for and moreover into our time without work. The antiquated work rules allowed this, and we essentially lost a time without work for taking the safest plan of action. These quality of life improvements in a brand new contract are needed to stop crews from becoming fatigued or burned out. “
One other pilot said,
“I had plans to spend my nieces first birthday with my family and was prolonged into my time without work (which I only had 3 of in a row.) I wasn’t capable of attend because of it being out of state.”
Negotiations have proven difficult up to now, as all the time, with airlines not wanting to provide in to all worker demands. But United pilots feel as if they usually are not requesting much, wanting to “honor our commitments to our family members and maintain a healthy work-life balance.” The pilots say it’s time for United to prioritize their well-being,
United Pilots prioritize safety and take care of our customers, now it’s time for United management to prioritize United Pilots.
Easy Flying contacted United Airlines for a press release regarding the negotiations and pickets, and the airline replied,
“We’re continuing to work with the Air Line Pilots Association on the industry-leading deal we now have placed on the table for our world-class pilots. All United flights will operate as planned while our pilots exercise their right to distribute information and picket while off-duty.”
Today’s pickets come one month after probably the most recent ones, on April 19, right outside United Airlines headquarters in Chicago, during its first quarter financial results call. Over 100 pilots gathered outside the constructing to point out that while the airline experienced a large revenue increase over the primary quarter of 2022, contract negotiations had not yielded any results. Pickets are happening in ten cities today, and it’s estimated that greater than 2,000 pilots are participating.