Flight attendants at United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (UAL) have given the green light to a new five-year contract that promises an average pay increase of 31 percent by August, finally breaking a nearly six-year stretch without raises for the airline's approximately 30,000 cabin crew members.
According to the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, 82 percent of those who voted approved the deal, with nearly 90 percent of eligible attendants casting their ballots. The union and United came to a tentative agreement back in March after the attendants turned down an earlier proposal last year.
The contract also includes $741 million in back pay and a total compensation increase of around 7 to 8 percent. Another key feature is the introduction of boarding pay, which compensates attendants while passengers are getting on board, something the union has pushed for a long time.
There are some other nice perks too, like limits on red-eye schedules and "sit pay" for delays lasting over two and a half hours.
With this new agreement, United stands as the last major U.S. airline to secure a labor contract for unionized flight attendants since the pandemic.
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