Sara Nelson’s Blame Game Isn’t Fooling Anyone

A Leader Running Out of Road

There is something almost theatrical about watching the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA) President Sara Nelson lecture airline CEOs about how labor deals should be done given that United flight attendants have been working without a new contract since August 2021. Under her leadership, they have endured four years of stalled negotiations, stagnant wages, and false promises. The only output from AFA-CWA to date has been a tentative agreement that proved so disappointing, it was rejected outright. 

In recent weeks, Nelson has turned her attention to publicly shaming United CEO Scott Kirby, arguing that United is hiding "at least $1 billion in annual costs" by failing to finalize a contract with its cabin crew. "If you want to be industry leading, you have to be the highest paid," she said. "He keeps the money in his pocket”. 

Most airline executives want to keep money in their pocket. It’s hardly a crime against humanity. Therefore, the most interesting aspect of Nelson’s comments is why has she failed to extract any of that money from Kirby’s pocket into United flight attendants’ hands? 

The Tentative Agreement Debacle

Let's not forget what happened in July 2025. Nelson and AFA-CWA brought their members a tentative contract agreement, describing it publicly as the “best in its history”. However, AFA-CWA’s confidence in the deal was shaky from the get-go with their comms team attempting to censor any outlets that scrutinised the terms of the agreement. At USTN, we received a letter asking us to dilute our reporting after our pre-vote poll successfully predicted that over 70% of United flight attendants were planning on rejecting the deal. 

As US Transport News reported at the time, members didn't reject the deal because of any external pressure campaign — they rejected it because their union had failed them. The proposed 27% raises, which Nelson's team had championed, barely beat inflation when the full picture was examined. The resounding "no" vote was a direct verdict on AFA-CWA's negotiating competence but Nelson wants to pretend it was a critique of Scott Kirby.

The Isom Pivot Is Transparently Cynical

Nelson's latest tactic is even more revealing. Having failed to secure a deal at United, she has taken to lavishing praise on American Airlines CEO Robert Isom describing him as “personally instrumental” in finalizing a new contract with PSA Airlines, a regional subsidiary represented by AFA-CWA. Nelson contrasts Isom’s willingness to do deals with Kirby's alleged stonewalling, stating, "One knows how to do labor deals and one has yet to finish them." 

Nelson’s words are unlikely to have much impact, not least because Kirby is a former American Airlines executive who has worked alongside Isom for years. The likelihood that Nelson can wedge them apart with a few flattering quotes directed at one and cutting remarks aimed at the other, is slim. 

The Model Nelson Won't Mention

Nelson enjoys discussing American versus United because it allows her, in a roundabout way, to praise her own team since AFA-CWA represented PSA Airlines in the deal. However, if she wanted to demonstrate the unfairness inflicted on United flight attendants, she should have spoken about Delta Air Lines. 

Delta's flight attendants have received a 25% pay bump since 2022. Each year, they receive around a 10% bonus which is equivalent to five weeks' pay through the airline's profit-sharing program. Delta was also the first carrier in the industry to introduce boarding pay, the very provision that Nelson is now holding up as a landmark win in the PSA deal, years after Delta made it standard practice years ago. 

The reason Nelson would rather not dwell on Delta is obvious. Delta's cabin crew are non-unionized. The airline updates pay structures and delivers bonuses without the procedural gridlock, the media wars, the ratification defeats, or the years-long negotiating theatrics that have come to define Nelson's tenure. 

That is an uncomfortable data point for a union president whose primary value proposition is that she is the indispensable intermediary between workers and management. If Delta can deliver industry-leading compensation seamlessly and without the apparatus of AFA-CWA, what exactly is Nelson's argument for her own relevance?

Accountability Starts at Home

The mediated talks with United are continuing, with a fresh round running ending this week. However, nobody should hold their breath since Nelson has been in this position before where she talks a big game in the media but fails to deliver in the room. 

Overall, United flight attendants deserve better than a union president who blames the CEO, attacks the press, and hands out flattery to rival executives as a negotiating tactic. They have been waiting for a fair contract for nearly four years. Time is running out for AFA-CWA to prove themselves.