Can December Talks Break the Deadlock? United Cabin Crew Pay Dispute Drags On
- icarussmith20
- Nov 18, 2025
- 4 min read
Amidst the government shutdown, between October 29 and 31, the Negotiating Committee for the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA) met with United Airlines management to commence bargaining for a revised Tentative Agreement (TA).
Although the union described the conversations as “productive,” the statement indicates only that several issues were identified for further discussion at the next round of talks that are scheduled for December 9 to 12. The union also acknowledged that there will be “some tough bargaining in the coming months,” signalling that the already drawn-out union led process will continue to drag on without a resolution for its members. These sessions are scheduled to continue into Spring 2026.
The Story So Far
Negotiations had previously reached a standstill after crew members rejected a tentative deal back in July of this year. Although the AFA-CWA reached tentative agreement with United that promised an immediate average pay raise of 26.9%, 71% of crew members voted against the contract. According to a USTN poll taken back in July about the tentative agreement, 84% of United Flight attendants did not believe the deal was “industry leading”.
The pay rise was not deemed sufficient by crew members who for years have had their pay neglected. Flight attendants have suffered a 24% loss in real-term earnings due to inflation during the five years since the last agreement lapsed. More than 26,000 United flight attendants have been working without a new contract since April 2021, when the last agreement became amendable. Their last pay raise came in 2020. Since then, global shock factors have pushed inflation sharply up as these attendants purchasing power has been whittled away.
In the same period, other airlines such as non-unionized Delta, have raised wages, and have a higher employee satisfaction. The AFA-CWA admits that United Flight Attendants earn about 35% less than their counterparts at Delta and American when factoring in pay and boarding pay.
United conducted a poll following the July vote, which revealed that one of the key reasons flight attendants rejected the initial tentative agreement was because they believed they were supposed to. This has become a standard negotiating tactic in recent years: reject the first agreement and return to the bargaining table for more. Flight attendants at American Airlines, Alaska, and Southwest Airlines have all rejected initial proposed contracts in recent years, seeking better terms. Back in May, AFA-CWA sent an internal memo pleading with members to accept the tentative United contract at face value. In the leaked document, they argued against a key principle of negotiation strategy – never ever accept the first offer – and said this was simply “not very good advice.”
In terms of sticking points, there still remains lots of areas of contention moving forward as discussed in the October round of talks.
What’s on the Docket?
The November 3rd update on unitedfacontract.org lays out eight focus areas for United’s flight attendant union in new contract negotiations.
Pay for waiting on the ground between flights: a key concern flight attendants had was the issue of excessive sit time. The first TA had boarding pay but did not cover pay for ground time between segments on a duty day.
2. Less tiring red-eye flying: particularly the issue of multiple legs combined with the redeye.
3. No more layover notifications: eliminating the language regarding notification on layovers, as well as checking Crew Communication System after flight segments.
More rest on longer flights: targeted crew rest concerns on flights between 7 and 8 hours, rescheduling out of co-terminals, and clarifying rules on language and purser trades with open time
5. Contract compliance guarantees: securing language regarding compensation for violations of the agreement, particularly in scheduling and reserve misapplications
6. Improvements for reserve flight attendants: reducing the length of the Reserve Availability Periods and refining the language on how RAPS can be scheduled. There was more time spent on this in the first TA, than any other section.
Better layover hotels: targeted improvements in the hotel language, including on business class, further clarification on downtown hotels, and utilizing the same hotel list as the pilots.
Improvements to health care and retirement benefits: establishing a Retiree Health Care Reimbursement Account, funded by accrued sick leave, used to fund medical premiums prior to and post 65.
No Room at the Inn
Hotel conditions have become a particular hot topic ahead of December’s negotiations. As outlined in point 7, crew members have long fought for better quality accommodation closer to the city centers. Historically, full-service airlines made sure their crew stayed in Four or Five-Star hotels in desirable locations, this has historically been a perk of the job.
Through the use of a clause in the existing agreement, United has provided accommodation for its attendants in "downtown" or "downtown-like" accommodations which has displaced crews to less desirable areas. There have even been recent incidents of hotels rejecting flight attendants during layovers. Travel economics have shifted since the pandemic and now with hotels managing pre-Covid levels of bookings, many properties prefer regular travellers who book directly, stay longer and generate higher overall revenue compared to short-stay airline crews. The AFA in response have simply said "many hotels simply don't want crew business anymore."
Bottom Line
Identifying issues for discussion is one thing, reaching an agreement is another. With negotiations extending into Spring 2026 and "tough bargaining" ahead, United flight attendants remain significantly underpaid compared to peers at Delta and American, where wages continue to rise.
USTN will continue its coverage of the negotiations as they develop. Stay tuned.