The agreement extends the current collective bargaining agreement for a term of 28 months beyond its September 1, 2012, amendable date. Flight attendants will vote on the agreement in the coming weeks.
“We are pleased this agreement will be out for ratification almost three months ahead of the amendable date,” said Sam Risoli, senior vice president of inflight. “I want to recognize the subsidiary Continental AFA Master Executive Council and representatives of the negotiating committee for their intense and successful efforts to secure this agreement for their members in advance of entering into joint contract negotiations alongside their subsidiary United counterparts.”
Flight attendants from the company’s United subsidiary ratified a new four-year contract in February 2012.
Mike Bonds, executive vice president of human resources and labor relations of United, noted that, “While we are focused on achieving joint collective bargaining agreements covering the integrated flight attendant workgroup and other workgroups, it’s also important to be fair to our co-workers in the short term as we transition into the complex process of joint negotiations. Agreements that are fair to co-workers and fair to the company like those we’ve achieved with the AFA move us forward towards finalizing our merger and fully integrating airline operations to the benefit of our co-workers, customers and other stakeholders. This agreement demonstrates the importance and positive results of our working together culture, and we want to thank the AFA for their good faith and hard work in getting this agreement done in such a timely manner.”