United Airlines agrees to give union pilots big pay raises | AP News
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
United Airlines and the union representing its pilots said Saturday they reached agreement on a contract that will raise pilot pay by up to 40% over four years.
The union valued the agreement at about $10 billion. It followed more than four years of tumultuous bargaining that included picketing and talk of a strike vote.
The deal reflects the leverage enjoyed by labor groups, especially pilots, as airline revenue soars on the strong recovery in travel.
The Air Line Pilots Association said the agreement, which is subject to a ratification vote, would put United pilots on par with counterparts at Delta Air Lines, who approved a pay-raising deal earlier this year.
The union said the agreement includes substantial increases in pay, retirement benefits and job security.
At least on pay, the deal appears far better than one that United pilots rejected last November.
Once the deal is approved, pilots will get immediate wage-rate increases of 13.8% to 18.7%, depending on the type of plane they fly, followed by four smaller annual raises, according to a summary on the union's website.
Over the course of the contract, pilot pay would rise 34.5% to 40.2%.
Garth Thompson, chair of the United pilots' union, called it an "historic agreement" that was made possible by the resolve of the 16,000 pilots.
In a statement on the LinkedIn social media site, CEO Scott Kirby said, "We promised our world-class pilots the industry-leading contract they deserve, and we're pleased to have reached an agreement with ALPA on it."
Pilots at American Airlines are scheduled to begin voting July 24 on an offer that includes average cumulative raises of 41.5% over four years. Southwest Airlines pilots are still negotiating. American and Southwest have independent unions, while pilots at Delta and United are represented by ALPA.
The unions believe they are in strong bargaining position with airlines, which took $54 billion in federal aid to help get through the pandemic, booming because of a resurgence in travel. The number of people flying in the U.S. is roughly back to pre-pandemic levels.
This week, Delta reported a record quarterly profit of more than $1.8 billion and record revenue during the April-through-June period that includes the first part of summer travel season. United is scheduled to report results Wednesday, and analysts expect the airline to post a profit of more than $1.3 billion, according to a FactSet survey.
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And the cost of those salaries will be entirely passed on to consumers. "God forbid" that stockholders be required to absorb any of this.
The stock returns of airlines over long periods aren’t very good. American!has returned a negative 9.9% annualized over 15 years, a $10,000 investment is now worth $2,100 United was also a loser. Southwest has performed the best with a return of 5.8% over the same time. Since Carter deregulated them, there have been many bankruptcy filings.
Adjusted for inflation, average air fares have fallen by 85% since 1978.
Do you own any airline stocks?
Where do the record profits go?
Airlines are a low profit industry susceptible to volatility caused by everything from volcanic eruptions to 9-11 to bad weather.
The aviation industry suffered net losses of $183 billion between 2020 and 2022.
Apparently, there is an economic advantage in being an investor versus a consumer.
"God forbid" that stockholders be required to absorb any of this."
By what mechanism would the stockholders be required to pay for this when they are not even in the equation? In the real-world increased costs always get passed on to the end consumer.
The airlines have recovered and are profiting. It's good to see that they are increasing their compensation to their pilots. Although they are not in the same union, it would be nice to see flight attendants, ticket agents, and ramp workers get increased pay and benefits as well.
There is a pilot shortage right now and great opportunities are opening up for new hires. Some airlines might offer ab initio training, it's worth checking into
Ab Initio Path to Become a Pilot - ALPA (clearedtodream.org)
By what economic law are investors required to achieve ever increasing profits? They need to pay pilots more? Then profits should be lower this year until the competitive situation sorts itself out.
I know what I'm saying is wishful thinking, but our system is out of whack. Every business decision should not be made for the purpose of raising the profit margin.
But corporations already stopped being greedy, isn’t that why the rate of inflation is slowing, per left wing economics?
Airlines suffered significant losses of $137.7 and $42 billion in 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. 2023 will be the first positive earning since 2020.
Who's saying the airlines are making "ever increasing profits"....they've been through some lean years lately and can now afford to offer better contracts. Better profits usually mean better stock prices. Airline stocks can be a part of the portfolio of various retirement funds for ordinary working people.
You really shouldn't offer comment on things you don't understand.
"Labor is, in the first place, a process in which both man and Nature participate, and in which man of his own accord starts, regulates and controls the material reactions between himself and Nature...by thus acting on the external world and changing it, he at the same time changes his own nature. He develops his slumbering powers and compels them to act in obedience to his sway.e." ~ Karl Marx
It would also be nice if the government could fill the shortage of Air Traffic Controllers:
Air traffic control in the United States is understaffed by about 3,000 positions, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told CNN on Friday, as hiring to fill some of that gap opened.
He better get busy with widening the aircraft lavatory doors first.
High stress job with long and shitty hours.
All of a sudden