United on brink of labor peace six years after merger

United won approval for a new contract with flight attendants and reached an “agreement in principle” with mechanics, setting the stage for labour peace for the first time since the 2010 merger that created the airline. The Association of Flight Attendants voted 53% in favour of a five-year pact that raises top pay rates as much as 31%, according to a joint statement with the carrier Friday. United also reached a proposed deal with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters covering 9,000 technicians and related employees, which will be voted on once the language is finished. The results bolster CEO Oscar Munoz’s strategy of winning over a disgruntled workforce, even if it means accepting higher costs. United reached new agreements or extensions of existing ones with pilots, ground workers and dispatchers during the past year. “Upon ratification, this will be the first time in almost a decade that all United work groups will have labor contracts in place,” Munoz said in a joint statement with the Teamsters. “When I took this job last year, I promised to turn the page and write a new chapter in our approach to labor and management relations at United,” he said. Maximum pay for flight attendants with at least 13 years of experience will be set at $62 an hour, according to the contract ratified by the 25,000-member union. <br/>