United and the Professional Airline Flight Control Association (PAFCA) reached a tentative agreement today on a contract extension for the company’s more than 420 dispatchers.
The tentative agreement extends the current contract through the end of 2021 and delivers important improvements for United’s dispatchers, as well as the company.
“This is an important milestone for United and for our dispatchers,” said Oscar Munoz, United president and chief executive officer. “Our dispatchers do a superb job of keeping our passengers and crews safe and keeping our operations reliable, and I’m glad we were able to reach this tentative agreement within a short period of negotiations. I want to thank all of the company and union negotiators for working side-by-side to reach this positive outcome.”
The agreement is subject to ratification by United’s dispatchers.
United has joint collective bargaining agreements covering the majority of its represented work groups, including pilots, ramp and passenger-service agents, storekeepers, load planners, maintenance and fleet technical instructors, and dispatchers. Recently, United’s pilots voted to ratify a contract extension more than a year ahead of their contract’s amendable date, following an expedited negotiations process with ALPA. The company recently opened contract negotiations early for the work groups represented by the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers, including ramp and passenger-service agents, storekeepers, load planners, and maintenance and fleet technical instructors. The airline is also engaged in mediated negotiations with the Association of Flight Attendants and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.