A unified labor contract with flight attendants would address one of the most glaring failures since the 2010 merger of United’s parent company with Continental Airlines.
United Continental Holdings reached a tentative deal to bring its 25,000 flight attendants under a single labor contract for the first time since the merger that created the airline almost six years ago.
A unified labor contract with flight attendants would address one of the most glaring failures since the 2010 merger of United’s parent company with Continental Airlines. Attendants from the two airlines had separate contracts and couldn’t even work on the same aircraft, which created problems in scheduling flight crews.
The proposed deal, announced Friday, marks another step forward for CEO Oscar Munoz and his efforts to smooth relations with United’s workforce. The agreement with the negotiating committee of the Association of Flight Attendants is subject to approval by its leadership, the union said in a statement. The pact also would go to a vote of the union’s full membership. Terms weren’t disclosed.
“It’s been a long journey and I’m grateful to our outstanding flight attendants,” Munoz said in a release.
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Since the merger, United’s attendants have remained in a United camp, a Continental camp and a third unit for Continental Micronesia workers. Management has clashed frequently with them and other employee groups since the merger, and Munoz traveled around United’s network since taking office in September to win back their loyalty.
United’s pilots signed a two-year contract extension in January, and the carrier’s dispatchers approved a labor deal in March. The airline has yet to come to terms with its roughly 8,900 mechanics.