United Flight Attendants Blamed For CHAOS At O'Hare
Source: NBC News
Protests Staged At 21 Airports Across Globe
CHICAGO -- Travelers at O'Hare were greeted Thursday by United Airlines workers walking a picket line.
Union members picketed and handed out leaflets at O'Hare International Airport, as well as at 20 other airports across the globe.
The flight attendants' union said United should stop talking about terminating pension benefits and, instead, talk about how to save them.
But United said that if it paid the benefits, it would cripple the airline while it is trying to exit bankruptcy by this fall.
"We're telling the public that we're fighting for our pensions -- not only for United flight attendants, but so that United Airlines cannot set a dangerous precedent for their retirement," said Sara Nelson Dela Cruz, a spokeswoman for the flight attendant's union.
The Association of Flight Attendants said two-thirds of its United members will lose half of their already modest pension benefits now that the airline turned its $1.5 billion pension benefit plan over to the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corp.
The airline is trying to extricate itself from 32 months in bankruptcy.
United said it has come to agreements with all of the other unions and that flight attendants need to understand that their pensions are not affordable for the company, which on Thursday posted a second-quarter loss of $1.43 billion.
"We're disappointed to see this happening. Fortunately, we're not seeing any disruption to our service," said Pete McDonald, United chief executive officer. "Really, what the AFA should be doing is coming back to the table to negotiate a replacement pension plan for the employees that they represent."
Many passengers at O'Hare were leaving the AFL-CIO convention in Chicago, who expressed support for the flight attendants. However, other union support isn't as important as U.S. Senate backing, NBC5's Natalie Martinez reported.
The AFA called on Sen. Dick Durbin to champion its efforts. He has already said that both sides need to reach a fair agreement.
Most passengers who spoke with NBC5 said they were sympathetic but not worried about the random strike that flight attendants are threatening.
The AFA has said in the past it would strike randomly in different areas of the globe, without notice, in order to cripple the airline. United said that behavior could result in employees' termination.
