United Staff In Airport Protest On Pension Cut
Source: The Standard
Author: Caroline Li
About 35 Hong Kong-based United Airlines flight attendants dressed in green staged a protest at Hong Kong International Airport.
The "informational rally" Thursday was intended to warn travelers they may face delays should airline staff decide to strike, according to Association of Flight Attendants vice-president Jack Kande, whose union represents 15,000 United flight attendants worldwide.
"What we want [United Airlines] to do is have its upper management discuss the pension plan or replace it," said Kande, referring to United's move to hand its plans over to the US federal government's pension insurer after it defaulted. "We do not want to go on strike, but we will if we have to."
Because of the switch, flight attendants can expect cuts ranging from 30 percent to 70 percent in their pensions, said Kande.
"We are warning the airline we can go on strike at any time, anywhere and for any duration, and that it can cause a delay or the cancellation of any flight," he warned.
The real action, however, will have to take place in Chicago, where the airline's corporate headquarters are located, he said.
A federal judge in May gave United clearance to walk away from US$6.6 billion (HK$51.48 billion) of retirement obligations to 119,000 current and former union employees.
Handing the program over to the government was a move the company argued was essential to getting out of bankruptcy. The airline said in a statement that it wants to reach agreement with the union, but Kande said, "United Airlines is not willing to negotiate with us. We hope this will give some pressure to the management."
Marching about the airport and handing out leaflets to travelers, the protesters held placards that read, "Chaos is coming to Hong Kong" and "Save our pension."
Kande said airline employees at Tokyo, London, Frankfurt, Germany and 14 US locations have held similar demonstrations.
An airport official said the protest was peaceful and that services were not affected.
