Source: Elines

As of January 1, 2019, the company made the decision to implement a reduction in staffing to meet the levels at American and Delta. As a result, this decision affected the mid-galley position on certain wide-body aircraft. As we all know, the decision to reduce staffing was not received well by Flight Attendants who expressed concern about their ability to deliver to customers the service they have come to expect on United. We expressed our dissatisfaction during our December 13, 2018 Day of Action. 

Since the implementation, Flight Attendants continue to be encouraged to submit marginal service reports to AFA, utilizing the submission form on our website.Feedback to AFA and the company has been robust and, as a result of our continuing discussions with management, a decision has been made to adjust the Polaris service flow on all our 777-200 (excluding the 77G/77M) and 787-9 aircraft. This service flow adjustment will result in a modification to work position #3 on these aircraft. This position will become a galley/aisle position paid the galley override pay where the majority of the responsibilities will be focused on the work in the aisle.

We see this as an improvement because it reduces the congestion in the forward galley and it provides for a more even distribution of Flight Attendants throughout the cabin to ensure our safety and security concerns are addressed. While clearly not the ideal solution, we encourage Flight Attendants to continue submitting marginal staffing reports concerning any service flow issues related the overall staffing reduction.

Additional information concerning the addition of this position and the details of the new service flow can be found in IFSW, April 3, 2019 edition.