United Airlines reaches ‘industry-leading’ labor deal with flight attendants, union says

Flight attendants from United Airlines demonstrated outside Terminal B at Logan Airport on Thursday morning in search of a new contract. The union representing the 28,000 flight attendants announced on Friday that a tentative labor agreement had been reached, described as “industry-leading.” The deal includes significant economic improvements in the first year, as well as retroactive pay, a signing bonus, and enhancements to quality of life such as improved scheduling and on-call time. Specific details of the agreement were not disclosed by the union. United flight attendants have not received a pay raise since 2020 and last year authorized the union to strike if no agreement was reached, also requesting federal mediation during negotiations. The union members will need to vote on the deal, and United stated that the contract language will be finalized in the upcoming days. Flight attendants in the U.S. have been advocating for wage increases for a long time, especially after pilots and other employee groups secured new labor agreements following the pandemic. United Airlines is the final major U.S. carrier to settle a contract with its flight attendants.