Teamsters Work to Close Remaining Items as United Stalls on Scope and Economics

United Airlines continues to stall negotiations, refusing to present an updated proposal on scope and economics. Despite having weeks to prepare for bargaining, United is now claiming it is unprepared to discuss critical issues until the next bargaining session in Denver later this month. 

While United refuses to meaningfully engage, the Teamsters are applying maximum pressure on important items. During Wednesday’s session, the committee pushed forward on remaining non-economic items that have yet to be tentatively agreed upon, including Article 12: Field Trips and Article 17: Overtime. The committee is demanding that the company honor Teamsters’ ability to trade/apply for field trips and protect bids for overtime. 

“We came to Orlando prepared to work with the company on improving their disrespectful scope and economic proposals, but instead, they’ve chosen to waste more time,” said Clacy Griswold, Chairman of the United Airlines Teamsters National Negotiating Committee. “The company had over a month to fix these insulting proposals. United Airlines Teamsters are fed up and fired up, and they will never back down.” 

In addition to subcommittee meetings, the committee received a presentation from the Teamsters Airline Division regarding the status of United’s 2025 Apprenticeship Program. The committee is fighting for a more robust training process for those in the program so they can get ahead of the upcoming retirements of senior United Airlines Teamsters. 

“United is about to lose hundreds of experienced technicians to retirement. It’s a priority for this committee to ensure that the next generation of Teamsters have the tools they need to be successful, and it should be a priority for United, too,” said Ryan Pachasa, a lead technician from Local 986 at Portland International Airport serving on the national negotiating committee. “United needs to stop stalling, take our concerns seriously, and come to the table with common-sense proposals that respect our hard work, skills, and dedication.” 

Negotiations in Orlando will continue through Thursday, April 3.