CLEVELAND — Peak travel season is nearing as we enter into the summer months, but thousands of United Airlines pilots want people to know they are overworked and underpaid.
The United Airlines pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) picketed outside of airports in 10 cities across the nation, including dozens at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.
Joe Morowitz is a United 737 Pilot and the Cleveland ALPA spokesperson. He said for the last four years, negotiations with airline management have been ongoing.
“Our pilots are here on their day off because they’re frustrated. They’re disappointed in the lack of progress in our negotiations,” he said.
They want an industry-leading contract, which means higher salaries and better work-life balance.
Morowitz said they are seeking “compensation that’s at or above our peers in the industry...workloads that give you a good schedule of balance of time, home and time-away. I’m actually away on trips now more than I am at home.”
Morowitz added the association believes that the airline has failed to recognize the value pilots bring to the success of the company. He said it means they’re not attracting as much new talent and is disappointed in United’s training program for new pilots.
“At United, we want to attract the best and most qualified candidates and give them the best training. Now, since we don’t have an industry-leading contract, they are going to other airlines, such as Delta, to start their career.”
Delta Airlines' contract is considered one of the best. Delta pilots have received a 34% salary increase over the last four years.
Morowitz said the pandemic has only worsened the issues.
“I knew I would not be home for many Christmases in this job because we are taking people to and from their families, and I appreciate that aspect of it, but since the pandemic, our scheduling has been built to the maximum hours that they can be,” he said.
A United spokesperson, Joshua Freed, told ABC, “We're continuing to work with the Air Line Pilots Association on the industry-leading deal we have put on the table for our world-class pilots.”
Passengers News 5 spoke to said they stand behind the pilots.
“They’ve been worked a lot, and they pushed through the pandemic, and our country kept moving because of our airlines. They deserve what they’re fighting for,” said one passenger at Cleveland Hopkins.
Morowitz said they’ll continue to picket if negotiations remain stagnant and added that a strike is the last possible resort for the association.
Watch live and local news any time:
Download the News 5 Cleveland app now for more stories from us, plus alerts on major news, the latest weather forecast, traffic information and much more. Download now on your Apple device here, and your Android device here.
You can also catch News 5 Cleveland on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, YouTube TV, DIRECTV NOW, Hulu Live and more. We're also on Amazon Alexa devices. Learn more about our streaming options here.
