United flight attendants approve 31% pay raise

United Airlines flight attendants approved a new labor contract that delivers average base-pay raises of 31%, according to the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA and the union’s United chapter. The ratification, announced May 12, covers nearly 30,000 flight attendants and ends one of the last major post-pandemic contract fights among large U.S. airlines. The deal also includes boarding pay, sit pay and $741 million in retroactive pay, the union said. An earlier tentative agreement had been rejected in July 2025, sending negotiators back to the table. ### When did the vote actually happen? May 12, 2026, was the date the union announced ratification of the contract, not May 21. AFA-CWA said United flight attendants voted by 82% to approve the agreement, with 88.85% of eligible members participating. CNBC and other outlets reported the same day that the vote closed and the contract was approved. April 23 to May 12 was the voting window for the tentative agreement, according to AFA-CWA’s earlier contract update. The union had said before the vote that, if members ratified the deal, improved pay scales and boarding pay would go into effect on May 31 with the June bid period. ### What exactly is in the pay package? The contract provides an average 31% wage increase in base pay, AFA-CWA said in its ratification announcement. (afacwa.org) The union also said the agreement adds boarding pay worth an additional 7% to 8% in compensation on average, plus sit pay and a $741 million retroactive-pay package. Ken Diaz, president of the United chapter of AFA-CWA, said in the union statement that the contract would “immediately change the lives” of flight attendants, especially newer hires. (afacwa.org) The union described the agreement as a five-year contract with quality-of-life improvements in scheduling and other work rules in addition to wage gains. ### How many workers does this cover? (afacwa.org) AFA-CWA said the agreement applies to nearly 30,000 United flight attendants. United, in its first-quarter earnings materials, had said a ratified deal would provide industry-leading wages, better scheduling and other quality-of-life improvements for about 30,000 flight attendants. United flight attendants were the last among the major U.S. carriers with unionized cabin crews to reach a new post-Covid contract, CNBC reported. (afacwa.org) That made the ratification a closely watched labor milestone for the airline industry’s largest unionized work groups. ### Why was this contract fight still going? July 29, 2025, was when United flight attendants rejected an earlier tentative agreement, according to AFA-CWA. (afacwa.org) Ken Diaz said at the time that the proposal “didn’t go far enough” after years without pay increases and called the result “democracy in action.” May 2025 was when the union had first described a different tentative agreement as offering the highest compensation and largest overall economic improvement in the history of the work group. (cnbc.com) That earlier deal did not survive ratification, and negotiators returned to bargaining before reaching the 2026 agreement that members ultimately approved. ### When do the new rates and retro pay start showing up? (afacwa.org) May 31 was the implementation date the union cited for improved pay scales and boarding pay, if the agreement was ratified. AFA-CWA’s pre-vote notice said those changes would begin with the June bid period. The $741 million in retroactive pay was part of the ratified package, according to both AFA-CWA and United AFA. (afacwa.org) The union’s contract pages and ratification posts are the main public sources for the detailed pay schedules and rollout terms as implementation moves ahead. (afacwa.org 1) (afacwa.org 2)