January 2, 2026
Next Steps in Bargaining
As we continue our push for a Contract for United Airlines Flight Attendants, we will meet in Federal mediation in Chicago on January 6 - 9, 2026.
During this mediation session, your Negotiating Committee will continue to fight for our agenda, which includes securing a sit rig, targeted scheduling improvements, including electronic notification and redeye flying, improved Reserve Availability Periods (RAPs), tightened language on hotels, and Contract enforcement.
One thing we will not be spending time on is management’s ridiculous list of concessions. Their “list” is a non-starter and will not form the basis for discussions moving forward. We already beat back these proposals once during TA1 and have no interest in entertaining them during this second round of bargaining. We are laser-focused on winning a Contract with real improvements, not tradeoffs. We refuse to be distracted by management’s nonsensical concessionary proposals and email propaganda.
We will also be further diving into economic discussions as we push for immediate economic improvements. Flight Attendants at United Airlines lag far behind the industry, while this management group continues to brag about being the leading airline. The truth is that their profits are on the backs of Flight Attendants. The cost of living is only going up. We must have economic improvements now.
Given our targeted list of proposals based on your survey results, there is no reason that we would not be able to reach a tentative agreement well before the conclusion of these scheduled sessions. Every day that management delays is another day they hold on to our money, failing to pay us our fair share. Every day that management delays is another day that our money and our time are not in our control.
It is time for all of us to take a hard look at what we are willing to do to support these negotiations and the Negotiating Committee. We will need to work together if we are going to beat back a greedy corporation that wants to take money out of our pockets to pay for quality of life and wage improvements that we have earned - all while telling us how much they “appreciate” us.
Join us on the picket line in front of Willis Tower on January 15 at 10 am. If you can’t make it in person, please take part in virtual picketing. When we walk the line together, even for informational picketing, it sends a strong message to management, public officials, the media, and passengers that we are willing to do together, #Whatever It Takes to get our fair share for building “the best airline in the history of aviation.” If Scott can say it, he can damn well pay it.
Red pins, contract now lanyards, walking the line, and unbreakable solidarity every single day.
In Solidarity,
Your Negotiating Committee,
Ken Diaz, MEC President
Melinda Beal, Chairperson
Chris Bruton, Council 9 President
Randy Hatfield, Council 22 President