A poll by US Transport News has found that more than two-thirds of US flight attendants believe that union leaders are out of touch with their members, signalling growing dissatisfaction in the industry after years of stagnant negotiations and lacklustre pay deals.
Flight attendants from all major US airlines including American, United, and Southwest, responded to the poll, with a concerning 71% reporting that they are dissatisfied with their union leaders. This unhappiness is not isolated to any one flight attendant union, with members of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA), the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA), and the Transport Workers Union (TWU), all reporting their frustration.
Do you think aviation leaders are out of touch with their members?
The poll also found that a significant majority (72%) of US flight attendants are disappointed with the way their unions have managed pay negotiations, raising concerns about the future of trade unions in the airline industry. These findings support anecdotal reports from flight attendants, however the evidence has never before been so conclusive.
The most recent presidential election shone a light on the political discord between union members and leaders, with leaders tending to support Kamala Harris while the overwhelming majority of members backed Trump.
As President-elect Trump prepares to take office on Monday, USTN’s poll finds that 69% of flight attendants believe trade unions should not be involved in politics, including making donations to political candidates. A second Trump presidency has the potential to drive a further rift between union leaders and their membership, undermining their collective bargaining power. Nearly half of flight attendants polled said they thought union membership would be less important under President Trump.
The waiting game
Part of flight attendants’ frustration with their unions can be traced back to contract negotiations, with workers at American, United, and Southwest all waiting years for post-pandemic pay deals that reflect the recent surge in inflation.
The gravity of the situation will not have been lost on union leaders, with reports that some flight attendants are taking second jobs just to make ends meet while they wait for a pay deal. In August, one Alaska Airlines flight attendant revealed to federal investigators that they had already worked two shifts as an Amazon delivery driver before joining a flight to Ontario.
In contrast, flight attendants at non-unionized Delta Air Lines have benefitted from 12 base pay increases over the past 15 years. This represents a wage increase nearly every year while many unionized flight attendants have remained on stagnant pay for half a decade. On top of this, Delta flight attendants receive boarding pay and a generous profit-sharing formula that allows them to receive a check for 10% of their eligible earnings every single year. Since the profit-sharing scheme was launched in 2007, Delta has paid out over $11 billion to its workforce.
Despite these strained times for unionised flight attendants, contract negotiations only seem to be getting longer and longer. In September, APFA, which represents cabin crew at American Airlines, reached a pay deal after four years of negotiations. Meanwhile, staff at United Airlines just entered their fifth year of discussions and their union, the AFA, has fired its negotiating committee. All the while workers at the airline continue to be paid well below the rate of their non-unionized peers.
Are you happy with the way your union has managed pay negotiations?
Deal or bad deal?
Another symptom of the disconnect between union leaders and their members has been an increase in members rejecting deals that are endorsed by their leadership. Dues-payers at US airlines increasingly feel that their leaders are not representing their priorities in negotiations, resulting in endless rounds of discussions and deals being thrown out as soon as members have gone to ballot.
In December 2023, Southwest Airlines’ flight attendants rejected a tentative agreement, forcing their union, the Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 556, back to the table. In a rare sign of exasperation, union leadership released a statement after the result saying, “this proposed contract is not going to heal the hurt”. While TWU leadership felt members were asking for too much, it’s hardly surprising that Southwest flight attendants felt a 20% wage increase was inadequate after a five-year negotiation period.
At Alaska Airlines, 64% of members refused to sign a new deal in August 2024, arguing that union leaders had completely failed to grasp their demands. AFA-CWA had spent months prior to the vote speaking at roadshows, desperately trying to convince Alaska Airlines’ flight attendants to ratify the deal. However, their efforts proved futile with the union being forced to restart the negotiations from square one. In an acknowledgement of how far the deal had been from members’ expectations, AFA-CWA was forced to release a new survey to members asking for their feedback before drafting revised proposals.
These situations not only extend negotiations unnecessarily but also make union leaders look obsolete. Their sole purpose is to represent their members so why do they find it so hard to secure a deal that their flight attendants would be happy with? USTN’s poll has consequently found that 66% of flight attendants think the benefits of being in a union are diminishing.
Do you think the benefits of being a member of a flight attendants union are declining?
Just glad it’s over
Even when deals are reached, it does not reset the relationship between members and leaders. This is especially the case when flight attendants vote for a deal out of desperation rather than conviction. The discontent lingers long after the negotiations have ended with flight attendants remembering how union leaders made promises that they could not deliver.
For instance, when American Airlines’ flight attendants ratified a deal in September, the overriding response from members was disappointment with leadership. One member wrote on social media, “I’m glad this is over but sad it landed us with this version”. Another member said truthfully, “We voted yes because we’re tired, we can’t wait anymore and we think you can’t do better, but we’re not happy”.
The disappointment is not surprising, especially when you compare the American deal to Delta. Despite Delta staff being non-unionized, flight attendants received a 5% wage increase last April, leapfrogging the 2-4% yearly wage increases that APFA endlessly haggled for in negotiations. Boarding pay was also a major sticking point for American Airlines and contributed to hourly wage increases being far lower than expected at 20.5%. By contrast, in 2022, Delta Air Lines became the first US airline to pay flight attendants for boarding without crew having to sacrifice lower hourly wages.
Should trade unions be involved in politics, including making donations to political candidates?
With unions bracing for a potentially hostile second Trump administration, the results of this poll make for grim reading. Trump is expected to take a hardline on flight attendant unions when he is back in office, replicating his first term when he weakened labor regulations and appointed pro-management officials into key government positions. Airline union leaders will need to work hard to regain the trust of their members, who increasingly seem to prefer a direct relationship with company management. The only question is whether it’s already too late.
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