Here Are the Big Union Contract Fights Looming in 2024
This past year saw a number of historic contract battles, from UPS to the Big Three automakers to Hollywood film and TV studios. Several big contract fights may be on the horizon in 2024 — here are some of the big contract expirations to watch.
American Airlines flight attendants picket outside Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport on Wednesday, August 30, 2023. (Shelby Tauber / Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Major contract fights in 2023 at the United Parcel Service (UPS), the Big Three automakers, and Hollywood studios set the tone for next year’s contract campaigns. Impressive gains and increased transparency got members of other unions asking, “Why can’t my union be like that?”
The bar will be high. Many of the contracts expiring next year date from before the pandemic, and before inflation started taking a bite out of paychecks. Some unions took concessions, like creating lower wage and benefit tiers, that members are ready to fight to undo this time around.
AT&T
Two contracts covering twenty-five thousand AT&T wireline workers expire in 2024. One, covering nine thousand Communications Workers (CWA) members in California and Nevada, is up April 6; the other, covering sixteen thousand workers in nine Southeastern states from Florida to Kentucky, expires August 3. The union hopes to improve conditions for the second-tier workforce of installation technicians who earn lower wages and have worse work rules, such as mandatory weekend overtime.
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