United / CWA-AFA Mediation · 2025 Full-Year Review

Key Takeaways

United Flight Attendants began 2025 still in NMB mediation after seeking federal mediation in 2023, with no contract raises since 2020 and pay still trailing major peers.
A tentative agreement reached in May 2025 offered major first-year economic gains, including higher base pay and boarding pay.
On July 29, 2025, members rejected the TA by a wide margin and with high turnout, sending the dispute back into mediation.
The post-vote strategy shifted toward a narrower “TA2” path focused on scheduling, reserve rules, hotels, benefits, and enforceability rather than reopening the entire deal.
By year-end, the union had presented targeted revisions and additional bargaining or mediation dates were set into early 2026.
The case ended 2025 inside the Railway Labor Act process, with no release from mediation and no strike deadline in effect.

Background & Context

United Flight Attendants, represented by CWA-AFA, entered federal mediation in 2023 after years of bargaining over pay, scheduling, hotels, and other quality-of-life issues. Under the Railway Labor Act, mediation does not impose a settlement; any deal must still be reached by the parties and ratified by the membership.

By late 2024, the dispute had been docketed at the NMB and assigned to a mediator. Through 2024 and into early 2025, the parties relied on a mix of mediated sessions and direct bargaining while the union also ran system-wide mobilization to increase pressure for a deal.

Toward a Tentative Agreement (Jan–May 2025)

In early 2025, bargaining accelerated around a familiar set of issues:

Higher base pay aimed at restoring industry-competitive rates.
Compensation for more duty time, especially boarding and ground time.
Better scheduling rules, less excessive sit time, and stronger protections for redeyes, rest, and reserve life.
Clearer hotel standards, better benefits, and stronger long-term retirement security.

On May 23, 2025, United and CWA-AFA announced a tentative agreement covering roughly 28,000 Flight Attendants. Public messaging from both sides emphasized higher pay and new boarding pay, while outside aviation and business coverage framed the deal as a major catch-up effort versus large-network peers.

Ratification Campaign and Emerging Opposition (May–July 2025)

After the TA was announced, the union launched a broad ratification campaign that included roadshows, virtual meetings, FAQs, and summary materials. The case for ratification centered on higher pay, boarding pay, and changes to scheduling, hotels, retirement, and benefits.

Member feedback, however, showed persistent concern in several areas:

Long sit times and other unpaid ground-time issues.
Redeye scheduling, stacking, rest, and fatigue concerns.
Reserve life, including RAPs, predictability, and trip pickup on days off.
Benefit thresholds, including eligibility for company-subsidized health care.
Whether the economics fully accounted for inflation and the long amendable period.

As voting progressed, the core question became whether the economic gains were strong enough to outweigh dissatisfaction with work rules and quality-of-life provisions.

TA Rejected; Mediation Resets (Late July–August 2025)

On July 29, 2025, United Flight Attendants rejected the tentative agreement by a wide margin and with very high turnout. The vote showed that many members viewed the economic gains as meaningful, but still not enough relative to unresolved concerns over scheduling, reserve life, redeyes, and benefits.

The union framed the result as a clear mandate to return to the table. Rather than seek an immediate release from mediation, the MEC and negotiating committee chose to stay inside the RLA process and pursue a revised agreement with mediator involvement.

Reset with the Mediator (September–October 2025)

In September, the parties met with the federal mediator to map next steps after the rejection. New bargaining and mediation dates were then set and adjusted through the fall, keeping the case active under NMB supervision.

The strategic issue shifted from selling the first TA to defining which targeted changes would be needed for a second agreement to pass.

Targeted TA2 Proposals (October–November 2025)

In late October 2025, the union and management began structured work on a revised tentative agreement, often described as “TA2.” The approach was narrower than the first round: preserve core economic gains where possible and fix the provisions that drove the no vote.

The union’s post-rejection package focused on:

Scheduling: sit-time limits, redeye protections, and stronger notice and duty-day rules.
Reserve: RAP refinement, limits on company use, and added flexibility for reserves.
Hotels and lodging: clearer standards and stronger compliance language.
Benefits and retirement: changes aimed at reducing friction around thresholds and improving long-term value.
Additional economics: room to raise further economic items if talks progressed.

By year-end, additional bargaining and mediation dates were set into early 2026, giving the dispute a clear procedural runway under NMB oversight.

Status at Year-End 2025

By the close of 2025, the United / CWA-AFA dispute remained firmly inside the Railway Labor Act mediation process:

The first TA had been rejected, but its pay framework still appeared to be the most likely starting point for any TA2.
No release from mediation had been requested or granted, and no strike deadline was in effect.
Post-rejection bargaining had begun, with additional sessions already scheduled.
The union’s focus had narrowed to scheduling, reserve life, hotels, benefits, and contract language or enforcement while protecting prior economic gains where possible.
Management resistance to materially higher total cost remained the main constraint on a second deal.