United Flight Attendants See 43% Pay Boost in Tentative Deal

The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA) has announced details on its new tentative agreement with United flight attendants.

The tentative agreement reached on May 23 includes wage increases and other improvements for 28,000 flight attendants. On Monday, AFA-CWA’s Master Executive Council (MEC) published a highlight summary of the pending contract.

The deal includes a 26.9% average pay scale increase effective on July 30, 2025 – the date of signing. The pay scale will then increase 43.6% to 45.6% over the next five years.

Boarding pay will also be added based on the type of flying and number of boardings by flight attendants.

A one-time retroactive payment valued at $595 million will be made to workers for several bid periods and years including:

• 4% of eligible earnings for bid periods between Sept. 1, 2021 through Dec. 31, 2021.
• 4% of eligible earnings for bid year 2022.
• 4% of eligible earnings for bid year 2023.
• 14% of eligible earnings for bid year 2024.
• 25% of eligible earnings for the January 2025 through July 2025 bid periods.

The tentative agreement also includes pay increases and reimbursements for out of base parking, drafting pay, drug and alcohol testing pay, reassignment pay, short crew pay and more.

In terms of benefits, United will match flight attendants’ 401(k) contributions by 9%. No preferential bidding system (PBS) is also included in the tentative agreement.

Preparation for a Full Vote

Now with approval from the MEC, the tentative agreement will be shared with union members for feedback. This will occur during a roadshow organized by the AFA-CWA’s negotiating committee at several airports across the country from June 10 to July 10.

Afterwards, union members will vote on the tentative agreement over a three-week period. A social media post from the union on Friday endorsed the tentative labor deal

“Together, we secured the highest retro payment of all crew Contracts, boarding pay, the best economic and quality of life provisions for Flight Attendants on reserve, scheduling improvements for all Flight Attendants without any mention of [preferential bidding system], significant improvements for our hotels, preserved healthcare, improved retirement, and many other improvements,” the union wrote in its post.

“After careful review, your elected leaders of Flight Attendants at every United AFA-CWA Local Council approve and endorse the 2025 Tentative Agreement for review and ratification by the members,” the union’s post continued.

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