The union which represents tens of thousands of flight attendants at United Airlines is demanding the immediate resignation of the Chicago-based carrier’s head of inflight service after the airline introduced a controversial new sickness policy which treats flight attendants like “liars and scammers”.
In a video message to its members, Ken Diaz, the head of the United branch of the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA), said the airline was forcing sick crew members to come to work and expose their colleagues and passengers to illness.
“John Slater’s actions this past weekend were a direct and malicious attack on the character of all United flight attendants,” Diaz slammed after United Airlines told crew members that they face being terminated if they go sick on a weekend.
“This unilateral policy change is an intentional and coordinated attack on all United flight attendants,” Diaz continued. “The policy that has been set forward treats us like we are all liars and scammers. He is forcing flight attendants to come to work when they are sick, exposing other crew members and passengers.”
Diaz added: “This is shameful; shame on you, John; you are not treating flight attendants with dignity and respect.”
The flight attendant union has had an uncomfortable relationship with Slater, who took over as United’s Senior Vice President for Inflight Service around two years ago.
In the past, the union has come to blows with Slater on several occasions, including accusations that the airline had cut too many support staff during the pandemic, leaving flight attendants struggling to get help with scheduling issues.
Slater hit back, accusing the union of using long call hold times for “political opportunism” and claiming that it deliberately failed to tell its members about all the work that was happening behind the scenes to improve their work life.
Last week, however, the uneasy tension between Slater and the union came to a head when the airline told flight attendants that they must obtain an absence certificate if they go sick for a trip or reserve duty that falls on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday.
If crew members fail to provide their manager with an absence certificate within 72 hours of going sick, they will be subjected to disciplinary action, up to and including termination.
The union claims the policy change violates the flight attendant contract. The new rules have proven so controversial that the US Department of Labor has confirmed that it has gotten involved to check whether the policy is legal.
In the meantime, Diaz is now demanding that Slater resign with immediate effect.
“United’s MEC [Master Executive Council] has no confidence in John Slater,” Diaz said in his video message. “We are today asking John to do the right thing and resign immediately.”
Diaz continued, “Management has repeatedly abandoned its employees, making false promises and gaslighting all of us. We have now seen the truth, and we will not stay silent.”
The new sickness policy has been introduced ahead of United flight attendants’ voting in a strike authorization ballot set to begin in August. Bargaining between the two sides on an updated contract has been slow, and the union hopes that a vote in favor of taking strike action will compel United to improve its offer at the bargaining table.
In a statement, United Airlines said it had recently experienced a spike in sick calls at weekends and that the flight attendant contract allows it to require a physician’s note if they suspect “abuse of sick time”.
The full statement explained: “Most United flight attendants are going above and beyond for our customers this summer. However, this year we’ve seen the number of sick calls spike on weekends – and only weekends.”
“Our contract with the Association of Flight Attendants allows the company to require a physician’s note in cases of suspected abuse of sick time. The policy is narrowly tailored to the days when abuse has been occurring, and we hope to return to our usual approach of not requiring a doctor’s note soon.”
United Airlines insists that the new sick policy is compliant with federal law and the Family and Medical Leave Act.
As an employer I never demanded my employees get a certificate to prove they were sick. I know for fact one might be ill but not need to see a doctor.
It was common, almost standard, in Tennessee which I found shocking when I moved there from Colorado. They treat adults as children. I’m back in Colorado now.
First they earn the sick time. Second, they are already penalized for using the sick time they rightfully accrue. Third, sick calls should not be tied to dependability. Tardiness and no shows are dependability issues, not being human and getting sick. Have we learned nothing from the global pandemic that killed millions. Lastly, we should not encourage folks to strain an already underfunded/understaffed health care system.
Jail for everyone involved in this policy.
Well said
They’re Rich. The Rich don’t go to prison for major crimes. Witness Donald Trump, convicted FELON, and candidate for president 🙄. Zero chance of anything legal happening, and only a tiny chance that the Union will manage to get rid of him. Say a fraction of 1%.
I hope UA get worse and bankruptcy
I have the worst experiences with them last month. They are doing crazy things to customers, not reimburseing their canceled flights expenses, delay bags. Making so hard so many demanding paperworks, detailed billed items in the suitcases so that makes you give up…I am not suprises now UA do to own their employees… I will never fly again with UA and I will spread the words as much as I can to people…
So thousands of employees should be put out on the streets because you had a bad day? Sorry fir your bad experience , but that’s not a reason to hipefor the demise of thousands of workers who could lose jobs,housing, the ability to take care of their families and contribute to the economy. It’s easier to just go elsewhere and fly than wish evil on those who are trying to be responsible in life.
That sounds like the perfect solution to your problem. Let one of the Worlds largest Airlines go out of business because you had s bad experience. United has close to 100,000 employees around the globe and all should lose their jobs because you weren’t satisfied? You sound like a spoiled selfish customer to me. If you can get down off your High Horse long enough, take a competitor. United carries millions of satisfied customers every year.
I would like to preface to any readers one thing: UA is not requiring your typical doctor’s note that you can get at your doctor, urgent care, CVS minute-clinic, etc… It’s a pretty invasive form that explicitly demands personal medical info. I have had the misfortune of getting covid the last 2 christmases (I typically work Christmas as my family lives 2 continents away) – christmas is one of the contractually agreed upon periods where the company can require these ‘absence certificates.’ Anywho, the last 2 christmases, got covid, had to get an absence certificate because I wasn’t going to make my trip, obviously. In both instances, the (two separate) doctors were completely uncomfortable filling out the form and both felt that it violated HIPAA and that they were risking their own livelihood by opening themselves up to being sued for filling out a form like this for an employer. I am not the only flight attendant who has had a similar experience with their doctor in these instances, regarding the absence certificate. Really hoping that the DOL takes a strong look into this. It is dehumanizing to work for this company anymore, but i’m far too along to just “quit if you don’t like it” – many of us have worked our way to the top of the pay scale, have our 401k, medical, etc. and cannot simply just go elsewhere after establishing ourselves here for 25, 30+ years – all we want is to be treated with respect and as humans who are sometimes susceptible to falling ill while traveling around in a metal tube in close contact with other people, running on minimum 7 hours of sleep from the prior night’s layover that was eaten away due to a delay, 45 minute wait for the hotel van, and showing up to the airport an hour and a half before the plane departs.
Well said. F/A’s deserve the respect & dignity from their company as they are the frontline employees. And they should also get paid from the moment they step foot on the aircraft instead of when door closes or wheels up. O-: A multi million dollar company that should have already settled their F/A contract with a big raise! (-;
Well said! Thx you for sharing 1st hand reality
This was always my problem with being a union member: 99.9% of union members are total professionals; follow the rules, exceed standards, go above and beyond to do their job well. However, 0.1% are always looking for loopholes in the contract which will allow them to skirt standards and avoid working altogether. And the Union spends all it’s time, energy and money (Union dues) defending the 0.1%. Now all flight attendants (assuming also this author) have to wage war with the company against an overly broad rule designed to stop the 0.1%. Everybody loses for the benefit of people they wouldn’t normally pi$$ on if they were on fire. Flight attendants, police yourselves–isolate and shame these slackers!
This is not at all the problem with being a union member or having a union. If there was no union, the company would do much worse than this to maximize its profits over its people. The union is the employees’ only defense against bad policies such as this.
John Slater is a former People’s Express Flight Attendant who worked his way up the Frank Lorenzo charm school academy to be EVP of inflight, typical CO move.
He “demands” it, does he?
My response would be, “Work your contract, Ken, and stay in your lane.”
We all know the work ethic of your cohort has collapsed and calling in sick whenever they feel like it, especially when there’s a wedding to go to and they don’t have enough seniority to get a weekend day in the summer off, is a time honored tactic.
Ken knows it. John Slater knows it. And anybody with an understanding of the airline industry knows it.
Hard to work a contract when you have a company violating it
And what happens if the flight attendants just get fed up and say enough. Shut it down. I would strongly recommend supporting this work group. Without them your flight doesn’t depart.
You know if they weren’t unionized then I’d care. But flight attendant unions are exactly what creates the dissatisfaction between frequent flyerers and the airline that exists today.
Unions have created this problem and the airlines being willing to tolerate it this long are perpetuating it. Destroy the unions, go back to a right to work environment will solve so many issues.
Yeah, it’s pretty clear you’re the not the type of person to care, union or no union.
This…
🙁 amid recent, wide-spread pertussis/whooping cough outbreaks, (highly contagious & long recovery), plus new covid variants, along w/ flus, head colds, etc, etc & as mentioned above, continual, face to face contact w/ hundreds of humans daily, in a (no longer freq disinfected) contained enviro.
Couple that w/ increased flying on weekends & increased number of reserve Flight Attendants repeatedly, exhaustively assigned on weekends…
seems maybe it’s less a ‘weekend’ issue & more a reality of the occupation that has ALways been conducive to frequent illness.
I did not see it stated in above article… but the new, punitive ‘sick-call’ policy is directed only at the Flight Attendant worker group.
In a any case, not only is such a seemingly retaliatory mandate a blanket punishment of thousands of diligent employees, but also unconscionable and irresponsible on the heels of a deadly, heartbreaking pandemic wherein many of our loved ones were taken abruptly from us.
Lives left unfinished.
Shame is most certainly, appropriately used here.
John Slater is a deplorable human. He doesn’t care about anyone but himself. He is a pathological liar, narcissist and cheat. I feel very sorry for the flight attendants who have to work under him.