7/16/15 CWA AFA UAL Flight Attendants Picket UAL For A Contract

7/16/15 CWA AFA UAL Flight Attendants Picket SFO UAL For A Contract
Solidarity with United Flight Attendants

Make plans on July 16, 2015 to stand with United Flight Attendants! Flight attendants across the nation are demanding a fair contract. United Chief Executive Jeff Smisek stated that he would complete joint contracts with all workers by the end of 2011 but has yet to follow through on that promise.

Meanwhile, United Airlines is raking in record profits and its 2015 income will be more than five times higher than in 2013....Smisek also worked out a raise for himself: his pay is up 32%!

Details on the SFO rally:

Date : Thursday, July 16, 2015

Time : 10:00AM - 11:30AM

*Meet in front of terminal-Briefing at 9:30AM

Location: Departure level, United Terminal 3, SFO International Airport

United Airlines Flight Attendants to Conduct System-Wide Day of Action July 16

Date: July 10, 2015
Type: AFA Media Release
Contact: Molly Sheerer at 202-550-5520

Flight Attendants Call for Fair Contract and Completion of Merger

Washington, DC (July 10, 2015) – The world’s largest Flight Attendant union, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA), is conducting a system-wide Day of Action on July 16th to support negotiations for a fair contract as United Airlines reports record profits.

“While passengers and crew members alike are suffering from this incomplete merger, we will march for a fair contract and call on United management to fix this mess of an incomplete merger,” said AFA International President Sara Nelson. “Flight Attendant sacrifices and hard work made this merger possible—it’s time United management complete the merger and return United to its premier status in the world. That starts with our contract. It’s time we share in the profits we help create.”

Picketing times will vary by location; they are posted at http://ourcontract.org/day-of-action/july-16-2015/. Details are updated as they are confirmed.

“We’re calling Flight Attendants across the industry to join us,” said Nelson. “Raising the standards at United will benefit Flight Attendants at American, Delta, and every other airline. Flight Attendants are united and marching together in support of their negotiating committee. It’s our turn and it’s past time.”

United has failed to reach a unified labor contract with its 24,000 flight attendants despite a boast by United Chief Executive Jeff Smisek following the airline’s October 2010 merger with Continental that he would complete joint contracts with all workers by the end of 2011. Meanwhile, United Airlines is making record profits and its 2015 income will be more than five times higher than in 2013; operating profit in 2015-2017 is expected to be $5 billion or more in each year; United has $7.0 Billion in cash on its balance sheet and its stock price has jumped 162% since negotiations began; Smisek’s pay is up 32% and other top executives and shareholders are also cashing in.

# # #

The Association of Flight Attendants is the world’s largest Flight Attendant union. Focused 100 percent on Flight Attendant issues, AFA has been the leader in advancing the Flight Attendant profession for 67 years. Serving as the voice for Flight Attendants in the workplace, in the aviation industry, in the media and on Capitol Hill, AFA has transformed the Flight Attendant profession by raising wages, benefits and working conditions. Nearly 50,000 Flight Attendants come together to form AFA, part of the 700,000-member strong Communications Workers of America (CWA), AFL-CIO. Visit us at www.afacwa.org.

Day of Action: July 16, 2015

Plan now to join our Day of Action on July 16, 2015. Every Flight Attendant can send a powerful message to United management: We are united in our resolve to reach a fair Contract, and Flight Attendants are not going to pay for this merger.
The Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) would like you to consider the following points:

United Airlines is making record profits.
In 2015 United will see income 5X higher than in 2013.
United's operating profit in 2015 - 2017 is expected to be $5 billion or more for each year.
Jeff Smisek's pay is up 32%.
Top executives and shareholders are cashing in.
United's stock price is up 162% since negotiations began.
United has $7.0 Billion in Cash on its balance sheet.
United just announced it is investing $100 million in a Brazilian airline (but it can't invest in us, the frontline workers who spend more time with passengers than anyone else).
afa pinUnited Airlines is doing well. These are not concessionary negotiations. These negotiations are about putting three work groups together to complete this merger and move United forward. It's been three years, and it's been long enough. It's Our Turn and It's Past Time.

Most Flight Attendants were here long before the merger was announced in 2010. All of us have made sacrifices, at all three airlines, to pave way for the success United enjoys today. Since 2010 new hires have joined our ranks and, just like us, they are having to manage the challenges of a merger that management cannot seem to complete. This merger is working for executives and shareholders. It needs to work for all United Flight Attendants too!

As we have previously reported in our JNC updates, progress at negotiations has ground to a halt in recent months. Unlike the company's rosy communications of recent weeks, the parties are far apart on key issues. The bottom line problem is the company's unwillingness to put the required economic resources into a Flight Attendant Contract.

That is unacceptable and the JNC needs each of you to stand with us to make it clear to the company that we expect much more, especially now as the profits soar.

The JNC is unanimous in calling on all Flight Attendants to demonstrate our solidarity. On July 16th, across the system, we will conduct a system-wide Day of Action. We will stand shoulder-to-shoulder for a joint Contract that recognizes and respects what each of us brought to this merger and the hard work all of us do for United Airlines today.

Our airline's future depends on completing this merger. Even though United has clearly benefited from the airline industry's consolidation, UAL total stock value lags other large network carriers by 50% or more due to its weak operational performance when compared to American and Delta. The media and business press have repeatedly raised concerns about United's operational problems. At the core of United's problems is the failure to finalize our Contract and realize the full potential of this merger.

Make no mistake; United can afford a Flight Attendant Contract that values our contributions to the success of this airline. The problem is not the ability to pay; it is the willingness to pay. Management at United Airlines has been hearing from the JNC for three years, they need to hear from you too.

Plan now to join our Day of Action on July 16. Every United Flight Attendant can send a powerful message to United management: We are united in our resolve to reach a fair Contract, and Flight Attendants are not going to pay for this merger.

It does not matter whether we come from pre-merger CAL, CMI or UAL. It does not matter if we are based in Newark, Chicago, Hong Kong, Guam or anywhere else; we must all be recognized for our contributions to United Airlines' success.

More information will be forthcoming about specific Day of Action activities in each base and domicile.