United Airlines flight attendants reach tentative five-year labor deal
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FILE PHOTO: United Airlines planes land and prepare to take off at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, , U.S., January 27, 2025. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch/File Photo
By Rajesh Kumar Singh
CHICAGO, March 26 (Reuters) - United Airlines flight attendants have reached a five-year tentative labor agreement with the carrier, their union said on Thursday, after cabin crews last year voted down an earlier proposed deal.
The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA said the agreement includes higher base pay, restrictions on overnight flights and larger retroactive payments.
It also pays flight attendants for long waits between flights and tightens rules on hotels and schedule-change notifications.
United's cabin crews, who entered federal mediation in 2023, had been seeking a double-digit increase in base pay, better compensation for all time at work, including time on the ground, retroactive pay, more schedule flexibility and improved work rules. They have not received a pay raise since 2020.
Flight attendants rejected the previous tentative agreement, saying it did not go far enough to meet those demands.
The union said the new deal reflects priorities identified by members in the latest round of targeted talks.
PAY FOR BOARDING TIME AND BONUSES
United said the agreement would give its 30,000 flight attendants immediate raises upon ratification, with top pay reaching $100 an hour by the end of the contract, which it said would make them the best paid in the industry.
The deal also includes pay for the time passengers are boarding the plane and a signing bonus for every flight attendant. United said the signing bonuses would total $740 million.
The previous tentative agreement had been estimated to deliver a 40% financial gain in the first year of a new contract. Its rejection sent both sides back to the bargaining table.
The new agreement is subject to union approval. The AFA said its leadership will meet on April 1 to decide whether to send the deal to members for a ratification vote. If it does, full details will be released on April 3.
The ratification vote would open on April 23 and close on May 12.
(Reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh; Editing by Rod Nickel)
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