United Airlines Pilots Reject Pay, Training Deal

DALLAS - The pilot community of United Airlines (UA), represented by the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), voted today overwhelmingly to reject the tentative agreement presented by the US Carrier to increase the cumulative pay, enhanced overtime, and training pay by a 14.5%.

This disagreement is a significant concern for the future performance of United, which may be affected ahead of the upcoming high winter season, marked by the Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year holidays.

In a press conference, UA's Master Executive Council Chair, Capt. Mike Hamilton, stated, “By the company’s own admission, this agreement missed the mark. That’s why both parties agreed to reengage at the bargaining table for a new, improved agreement. It is vital United management recognizes that an industry-leading contract is required to hire, train, and retain the best pilots in the world for the United Next growth plan to succeed.”

The new working conditions presented by UA provoked an enormous mobilization of almost 10.000 Pilots, who joined together to sign the rejection. However, there isn't a clear sign of when the negotiations will begin between the workers and the airline.

The Pilot Community, In A Good Position

Knowing the important campaign UA will face during the winter season, with a big rise in demand due to the Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year holidays, the community of pilots stands in a clearly winning position.

If an agreement doesn't come into place soon, an imminent workers' strike would cause serious problems to the airline's network, provoking flight cancellations due to a lack of staff to operate their aircraft.

This pattern has been repeating itself among many different carriers around the world, but especially in Europe. This year, airlines, the likes of Ryanair (FR), Lufthansa (LH), and Eurowings (EW), have been facing pilot strikes that forced massive flight cancellations and structural nightmares for these airlines to deal with.

The truth is that, after the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, there are still many airlines that have not to returned back to their usual functioning and still apply their emergency contracts towards their pilots and cabin crew, extending work shifts and reducing salaries in order to stay in business.

Because of that, air staff syndicates have been placing since then heavy demands on these companies to reorganize and improve the working conditions for their staff.

Featured image: Brad Tisdel/Airways