Why Do Contract Negotiations Take So Long?

IT'S TIME!

You asked

If unions work, why do negotiations take so long?

It comes up a lot. If unionizing is so effective, why do contract talks at other airlines sometimes run for years? And how could that possibly help us at SkyWest?

Short answerManagement doesn't want to give up control. The slow part is the part that works.

What management is actually afraid of

Three things a real union gives us.

Here at SkyWest, management points to long negotiations at other airlines to paint a false picture of union representation. They want us to believe unionizing means endless delays and empty promises. What they fear is simpler than that.

A legal seat at the tableManagement has to bargain with us, by law.

Binding agreementsWritten down, signed, enforceable.

The power to stand upFor ourselves, with protection behind us.

The delay tactic

Stalling is a tool of control.

Management across the industry stalls negotiations, and it isn't because unions are ineffective. It's because they're effective. Once workers are organized, delay is management's only remaining move, and the hope behind it is that resolve weakens while the clock runs.

At unionized carriers that strategy is wearing thin. Flight Attendants have answered with overwhelming strike votes, unprecedented unity, and demands for retroactive pay so that nobody is penalized for the time management burned.

At SkyWest, management doesn't even have to delay. Without a union, they already have full control. That's why they want us to fear the very process that holds them accountable.

Union democracy

A process that works, because it's ours.

Unlike the management-controlled SIA, a union isn't handpicked. It's made up of us. Every Flight Attendant has a say, and the process looks like this:

1. We elect our leaders.Flight Attendants vote for the Flight Attendants who speak for them.
2. We set the priorities.The agenda comes from the line.
3. We bargain as equals.Our elected committee sits across from management with legal standing.
4. We vote on the contract.Nothing takes effect until the people who live under it approve it.

That process isn't always fast, but it's fair, and it's powerful. SkyWest management calls it "slow" because they prefer decisions made behind closed doors, with no input from those of us on the line. Union democracy means we decide what we're willing to accept. When we stand together and demand more, that's progress doing exactly what it's supposed to do.

Policy vs. power

Tap to compare what we have with what we'd hold.

Management loves to show off SIA policies that glitter on the surface. Switch between the two and look at what's underneath.

SIA policy AFA contract

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Can be revoked, rewritten, or ignored without noticeA policy is whatever management says it is this month.

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No legal obligation to keep itSIA isn't a union and doesn't negotiate binding contracts.

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Written for the company, applied at its discretionThere is no enforcement component. None.

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Looks good on a slideBoarding pay arrived on a temporary basis, with none of the protections a contract carries, like a commuter policy.

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Enforceable rightsA contract is a legal agreement management is bound to follow.

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Stays in force after it becomes amendableEvery provision remains active until a new agreement is reached. That's real security.

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Built on our prioritiesNegotiated by Flight Attendants we elected, approved by our vote.

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A grievance process with teethWhen management breaks it, we have a way to speak up and make it stick.

Showing: what SIA policy actually guarantees

Worth the time

Every contract builds on the last.

When we negotiate as equals, it doesn't always go quickly, because management doesn't want to give up what it has controlled completely. Our coworkers at other AFA-represented carriers have proven the fight pays off. Tap any one of these to see where it came from.

Duty rigs Rest rules Pay scales Work rules Scheduling protections

Duty rigs. Minimum pay guarantees for the hours a trip takes out of your life, door open or closed. Bargained, line by line, by unionized Flight Attendants.

Rest rules. Contractual rest that management can't shave when the operation gets tight. The federal floor exists because unionized Flight Attendants pushed for it; contracts go further.

Pay scales. Longevity steps and raises written into an agreement, with a date on them, instead of announced when the company feels generous.

Work rules. How reassignments and extensions get handled, decided at the table.

Scheduling protections. Limits on how far management can reach into your days off and your line.

Everything we benefit from in this career today exists because unionized Flight Attendants fought for it at the bargaining table. That's how this profession has progressed: through bargaining, solidarity, and persistence. SkyWest management wants to distract us from that reality. They want us to believe fighting back isn't worth the effort. The reason negotiations take time is that they work.

Credit where it's due: unionized Flight Attendants at other carriers fight to raise the bar for all of us. We benefit when SkyWest copies their wins to try to convince us we don't need a voice here. Imagine how much more we will be able to negotiate, based on our own priorities, when we have our own union in place.

We see through the spin

What you'll hear. What's actually true.

What you'll hear"Look how long negotiations are taking at other airlines."

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What's actually true

Those negotiations are happening because Flight Attendants there have a legal right to bargain. At SkyWest there is nothing to delay, because there is nothing management is required to negotiate.

What you'll hear"SIA gets things done faster."

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What's actually true

Decisions made behind closed doors are fast. They are also reversible, and made without us. Speed isn't the same thing as a say.

What you'll hear"Our policies already give you what a contract would."

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What's actually true

Policy is changed at company discretion, and it is followed selectively. Management can adhere to it or ignore it whenever that suits them, and there is no mechanism to hold the company accountable when they do. A contract stays in force until a new one is reached, and a Flight Attendant can enforce it with the union behind them.

Unity pays off

Real power in the hands of Flight Attendants.

We know management fears what a legally recognized union would mean, and that's why they're working so hard to convince us not to want it. We're smarter than that. The only way to get the respect, protections, and pay we've earned is by standing together, voting yes for AFA, and demanding more.

We don't have to settle for policies. We can negotiate a contract. And it starts with signing a card.

It's time

Ready to have a real voice at work?

This campaign was started by SkyWest Flight Attendants and is run by SkyWest Flight Attendants. It starts with your card.

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