United Airlines Flight Attendants Picket SFO For Higher Wages
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) - More than 200 uniformed United Airlines flight attendants protested in front of Terminal 3 Friday, accusing the company of delaying a new contract.
Concessions and pay and pensions were granted twice in the past year with the understanding that wages and benefits would be restored by 2010, said a spokeswoman for the Association of Flight Attendants.
The pickets here and in Hong Kong, London, Frankfurt, Chicago, Las Vegas and other major cities around the world marked one year since the company was to have amended its contract, said Chris Black, local council president of the AFA in San Francisco.
"We're out here picketing because we're fed up. The executives at this company are making millions in bonuses and compensation. And we are the front line workers and we deserve to get the compensation that we are asking for," she said.
KCBS' Anna Duckworth Reports:
Instead, the carrier now merged with Continental is demanding even more concessions from its 15,000 flight attendants, Black said, and the union would not rule out the possibility of an eventual strike.
In an email, United's spokesperson said the company won't negotiate publicly but is committed to working constructively with all of its unions.
United pilots, who have also been working without an amended contract for the last year, joined flight attendants on the SFO picket line.
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