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Could United’s Flight Attendants Be Forced to Stay in Budget Hotels… Here’s What’s Really Going On

Could United’s Flight Attendants Be Forced to Stay in Budget Hotels… Here’s What’s Really Going On

a bed with a white bed and a white bed with a white bed and a white bed with a blue and white airplane in the background

Flight attendants at United Airlines fear they could soon be forced to stay in low-end, budget hotels after a seemingly minor change in a new tentative labor agreement was spotted by eagle-eyed crew members.

The wording of the agreement could spell disaster for the flight attendant union, which is fighting to convince its members to accept the deal after years of protracted negotiations, although a spokesperson has moved to reassure members they have nothing to worry about.

a sign on a building
No more ‘Business Class’ hotels for United Airlines flight attendants?

A small change has been made to a tentative labor agreement between United Airlines and its massive workforce of more than 25,000 flight attendants.

The current flight attendant contract guarantees that the airline will book crew members into a ‘business class hotel’ during layovers, but that provision has been deleted and replaced with:

“Hotel Standards: Regular maintenance and cleaning performed to keep it in a tenetable condition.”

Flight attendants now fear United Airlines will make them stay in budget, low-end hotels with the ‘tenantable condition’ clause being deliberately vague and open to interpretation.

a man and woman holding signs
Flight attendants protested at a high-profile media event for United – just days later, the union reached a tentative agreement with the airline.

The Association of Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA) has been fighting to secure a new contract for its members at United for the last five years. Until they lock down an agreement, flight attendants won’t get a pay raise.

Hotels and layover conditions were already a big sticking point in the bargaining process, so anything that looks like the union has made a concession for the airline will not be received well by flight attendants.

Although the existing ‘Business Class’ clause was wide open to abuse, the optics of removing this requirement is significant and could be a major stumbling block in getting the agreement over the finish line.

A week and a half ago, United Airlines reached a tentative labor agreement with the flight attendant union after more than five years of negotiations. The full text of the agreement (457 pages in total) is now being combed through by flight attendants to see what concessions the union has made.

Along with the ‘Business Class’ hotel change, flight attendants are also unhappy about a new requirement to be contactable during layover.

These are just two examples of perceived concessions that could derail a yes vote in favor of the tentative agreement.

The Association of Flight Attendants has, however, described the hotel provisions in the tentative agreement as a major win, explaining that hotels selected by United for flight attendants to stay in during layovers must meet minimum requirements that weren’t always covered by ‘Business Class’ lodgings.

As a result, the union deliberately got rid of the Business Class provision to ensure hotels always met the AFA’s exacting standards.

In addition, the union says it managed to get rid of a ‘downtown-like’ provision in the tentative agreement, meaning that flight attendants must stay in the metropolitan area served by the airport.

“This contract is the largest step forward in the history of our careers,” a spokesperson for the union noted. “It’s richer than any other contract at United or any other airline, and there’s a lot of misinformation or misunderstanding out there.”

The union is on a nationwide tour, holding roadshows at major airports around the United States to educate flight attendants about the contract.

A ballot will open on July 7 and run through July 29. If approved, the contract will come into effect on July 30.

If, however, it is rejected, the union will have to go back to United and the National Mediation Board in an effort to reopen negotiations – a process that could take many months.

View Comments (2)
  • Sounds a lot like United has gone to war against their flight attendants, an odd stance for a company that claims to be the best airline in history since most of that claim would be based on the quality of their flight attendants. If you have the world’s best flight attendants then why treat them so miserably?

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