(LOS ANGELES) – United Airlines Teamsters aviation maintenance technicians rallied outside Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) as the airline continues to stall national contract negotiations. Despite an overwhelming 99.5 percent rejection of United’s last insulting proposal, the company has refused to come back to the table with a serious offer — one that protects U.S. jobs from being outsourced to underregulated foreign repair stations in China.
“With months of delays to critical contract negotiations, this corporation is very plainly telling aircraft technicians and the flying public that United Airlines does not care about you,” said Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien. “United CEO Scott Kirby is paid tens of millions and goes to work every day eager to turn his back on the company’s workforce. He has no interest in the job security of 10,000 workers or the safety of millions of passengers. United is failing to negotiate with the Teamsters while shipping heavy maintenance work overseas because this airline cares more about the bottom line than it does Americans.”
The Teamsters represent more than 10,000 highly skilled United aviation technicians across the United States. Workers are fighting for top-tier wages, a faster wage progression for new hires, and ironclad protections against the outsourcing of critical maintenance work.
“United’s talk about ‘flexibility’ is corporate code for sending more jobs abroad,” said Chris Griswold, Director of the Teamsters Airline Division and Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 986. “They’re trying to cut corners on safety and slash wages, all so executives can cash bigger bonuses. These workers are the backbone of this airline — and the Teamsters will not let them be sold out.”
The LAX rally follows United’s latest earnings report, which revealed Kirby received over $97 million in compensation last year, even as the company pushes to move more U.S. maintenance work overseas.
“United has brought nothing but excuses to the table since we overwhelmingly rejected their last proposal,” said Dion Cornelius, a United technician at LAX and Local 986 shop steward. “The top brass line their pockets, but we’re the ones doing the work. This has to end. We’re fighting back, and we’re not going away until we get the contract we deserve.”
Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents over 1.3 million hardworking people in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. Visit Teamster.org for more information. Follow us on X @Teamsters and on Facebook at Facebook.com/teamsters
