United Agrees Deal With Flight Attendant Union

June 24, 2016

United Airlines has reached a deal for a contract that covers all flight attendants at the company, their union and the airline said.

The deal with union negotiators requires the approval of leaders of United's unit of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA before it formally becomes a "tentative agreement." They are scheduled to meet next week.

The contract, whose terms were not disclosed, will then go to about 25,000 in-flight crew members for a final vote.

Ratification would mark a victory for new chief executive Oscar Munoz, who has sought new contracts and harmony with workers.

A contract also would be an important step toward integrating United and Continental and reducing flight cancellations.

Since the airlines merged in 2010, their crews have continued to staff separate flights. That means when a flight is at risk of being cancelled because it is short-staffed, United cannot bring in reserve employees from pre-merger Continental if it is on a pre-merger United aircraft.

A ratified contract would remove "artificial barriers holding back United" from functioning well during incidents like winter storms that ground planes, said Henry Harteveldt, founder of travel consultancy Atmosphere Research Group.

United's previous management struggled to propose terms that the two flight attendant groups, which have different work rules and cultures, found palatable.

Lay-offs by the airline after the merger drew workers' ire. That began to end in 2014, when United offered voluntary buyouts that more than 2,500 employees accepted.

The union entered US federal mediation with United in November, but has regularly staged protests at company meetings, underscoring the strained relations the airline has with a group that represents its face to passengers.

Munoz's appointment in September created an opening, however. In his early weeks on the job, he met workers and said people were his priority. That changed tone has won over many at the company, to the point where Munoz has described a "new spirit" at United.

The company recently secured deals for pilots, gate agents and baggage handlers. Mechanics, however, still lack a single contract for the combined airline.

(Reuters)