Global focus:
Flight attendants did not become part of United's Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). United became the largest majority employee-owned company in the world on July 12, 1994. In the spirit of the new United, Chief Executive Officer Gerald Greenwald committed to treat flight attendants as though they were owners.
Irrespective of ownership, the contractual agreements of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) and the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) continue to govern working conditions, rates of earnings and rules. As a condition of ESOP participation, representatives from ALPA and IAM joined United's Board of Directors in l995, and the salaried and management employees selected an outside director to sit on the board.
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Providers of comprehensive services:
Shuttle by United, the successful, low-fare service that offered high frequency departures, debuted in select markets to meet customer demands for more short-haul flying. Flight attendants attended special shuttle training to provide short-haul market competitive services.
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At the same time the flight attendants were called on to provide a vast array of distinct services, including those culturally tailored to suit customers on United's Pacific, North and South American and European routes. United's Inflight Handbook for flight attendants includes a variety of presentations and procedures to suit United's 2,475 daily departures.
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Decade of negotiations:
United and union officials attempted a new contract negotiating method when the parties met in January 1996. They decided to work in expedited talks with two mediators to avoid traditional, lengthy negotiating processes. Both AFA and United agreed to meet for one week, each side bringing a limited number of issues to the table. One week stretched into 18 days of intensive bargaining, and negotiators achieved a four-year tentative agreement. However, it was narrowly rejected by the members. United and the AFA resumed negotiations under usual procedures with unrestricted issues and time frames.
By July 1997, a new tentative agreement was reached and this time the flight attendants narrowly ratified it. The agreement extends from 1996 through 2006 with a wage arbitration review provision scheduled for 2001 and every year thereafter.
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Acquiring the future:
The flight attendants participated in negotiations throughout most of the decade, first for the proposed ESOP, then in three traditionally styled negotiations. During the 1990s the flight attendant population swelled to more than 25,000. Around 18,000 were new-hires. The additional training, domicile placement, new services and dispatching greatly increased administrative tasks. New approaches were ongoing. Together, the AFA and United prepared and published Contract Bulletins so newly hired flight attendants and veterans could review work rules and applications.
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Globalization of the industry at the close of the 20th century expanded the role of flight attendants. Always the public face of the airline, by 1999 the flight attendant had become no less than a corporate ambassador.
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About the authors:
Georgia Panter Nielsen
Georgia Panter Nielsen is a San Francisco-based flight attendant. She is the international historian for the Association of Flight Attendants, a board member of the United Airlines Historical Foundation, founder and publisher of a newspaper for the airport community and author of a book on the flight attendant profession. Nielsen joined United in 1960 as a flight attendant. During her career she has led flight attendants in elected positions for their union and served as a member of the executive board of theSan Mateo Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO.
Sara Dornacker
Sara Dornacker is a senior staff representative-Onboard Service at the airline's world headquarters where she currently handles customer correspondence for senior officers. She also travels extensively, lecturing international audiences on the benefits of the flight attendant profession. Dornacker joined United in 1967 as a flight attendant. She has held staff and operations positions, including manager-Cleveland Flight Attendant Domicile, manager-Inflight Safety and manager-Media Relations at world headquarters.
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