AUSTIN, Texas — Ahead of the holiday travel rush, United Airlines flight attendants are picketing.
On Thursday morning, flight attendants picketed outside of Austin's airport as part of a nationwide day of action amid contract negotiations.
A representative with the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA) said all flight attendants across the country only begin receiving pay once the door to an aircraft is closed. Flight attendants are not paid for the time when they're helping passengers board and putting away bags.
"We want to be paid for all of our time on the job – time that we're in the air and time on the ground, you know, when passengers are boarding aircraft. Flight attendants are not being paid during that time," Elizabeth Hibbard said. "Now, flight attendants are demanding that we get ground pay."
KVUE asked United whether it plans to change that policy. The airline didn't answer that question, but sent a statement saying, "We continue to make progress with the AFA. We look forward to scheduling additional negotiations with the AFA and the federal mediator to reach an industry-leading agreement for our flight attendants."
United isn't the only airline facing issues with contract negotiations. Last week, flight attendants at Southwest Airlines voted down a contract offer reached by negotiators for the airline and their union.
