United Catering Employees Await Union Vote Decision

After filing a petition to vote on unionizing in January, catering employees working for United Airlines are still waiting for the National Mediation Board to set a unionization voting date. Labor union Unite Here claims the airline is trying block the vote, while the carrier says they respect the results of a union vote.

United Airline’s only large group of employees without a union are still fighting for representation, but claim their company is trying to stall the efforts. The Houston Chronicle reports the Chicago-based airline is pushing back against efforts by their catering staff to organize under the Unite Here labor union.

United currently employees 2,700 catering workers in five regional kitchens in Cleveland, Denver, Honolulu, Houston and Newark. In January 2018, over 2,000 of them filed for a union election to organize under Unite Here. But the National Mediation Board has yet to set a date for the vote.

Employees and union leaders accuse United of purposefully stalling the vote to stop the unionization effort. According to the Chronicle, the airline began airing anti-union videos in break areas, while informing employees that travel privileges would not be guaranteed if a union represents them.

In addition, United has filed a complaint against Unite Here, accusing the labor union of misrepresenting themselves to the catering employees. In an article on Forbes, one of those concerns revolves around the two groups having very similar names, leading to alleged confusion on what employees were signing. The investigation into those claims is ongoing.

Both sides deny the accusations levied against them. A spokesperson for Unite Here denied the claims of misrepresentation to the Chronicle, while United said in a statement: “We believe the union’s allegations against United Airlines and its management are baseless and we look forward to hearing the results of the National Mediation Board’s investigation.”

The airline and the labor union are digging in for what could be a long fight towards a vote. Unite Here is getting help from Capitol Hill, after five senators wrote an open letter to United chief executive Oscar Munoz over the allegations of “union busting.” At the airline, a statement to the newspaper read: “United Airlines respects our employees’ rights to decide whether they want to be represented by a union without pressure, coercion or other unlawful interference.”

[Photo: Shutterstock]