When you board a flight, you interact with ticket agents, flight attendants, and pilots — the public faces of the airline. I’m part of a group of workers you don’t see. But without us, your plane isn’t leaving the gate.
I am one of over 10,000 United Airlines Aircraft Maintenance Technicians (AMTs) represented by the Teamsters Union. We work around the clock to inspect, repair, and maintain the airplanes that millions of passengers rely on. We don’t just keep the airline running — we keep you safe.
Despite our expertise, United continues to put profits ahead of us by refusing to offer technicians a fair labor agreement. At a time when aviation is under a national microscope, you’d think United would want to quickly reach a deal with the workers responsible for keeping their planes flying safely. Instead, management is doubling down on its corporate greed and dragging its feet at the bargaining table.
In a recent proposal, United even threatened to continue its dangerous practice of outsourcing critical maintenance work to China and South America.
United, like the entire airline industry, is facing a severe shortage of qualified AMTs. Airlines need to retain technicians and appeal to a younger talent pool if they want to be competitive in the long term. While United should be doing everything possible to attract skilled technicians at home and keep them on the job for longer, they’re instead trying to cut corners by hiring cheap labor overseas.
What United is proposing isn’t just bad for workers and the stability of the American airline industry. United’s actions are a serious safety risk for passengers. How would you feel if you knew the airplane you were inside of was “fixed” in China or South America?
We must fight to keep our good union jobs in America. We have to ensure United pays industry-leading wages. United’s mechanics and technicians need to reach the top rate quicker, so we can retain more of our young, talented workers.
The safety of the flying public is simply too important to leave in the hands of foreign repair stations. United is too wealthy to justify a growing trend of outsourcing work at the cost of protecting quality union jobs in America.
While Teamsters fight to secure American jobs, United executives are cashing in. In 2024, the airline raked in over $4 billion in profits. It saw a 180 percent surge in stock value fueled by more than $100 million of corporate stock buybacks last October. The company is positioning itself to be the biggest airline in the world, and it has the money to back it up. But they can’t and won’t be the best if they nickel-and-dime the workers who make their profits possible. You can’t put a price on safety.
United Airlines Teamsters are in the fight of our lives for a labor agreement that reflects our skill, sacrifices, and the billions in profits we help generate. Every day that executives delay giving us a game-changing contract, United continues to disrespect its workforce, further gambling with the lives of its passengers and the future of the airline. The time for excuses is over. The time for a fair contract at United is now.