United TA Vote: Democracy in Action
Nobody approves a union contract except the Flight Attendants who work under it. United's Flight Attendants showed the whole industry what that looks like. Here is the story, start to finish, and what it means for us at SkyWest.
About this case study. The United votes described here are complete. We keep this story on the site because it is the clearest recent example of how an AFA contract is approved, and because SkyWest management keeps using the length of that process as an argument against us.
A union contract becomes real only when a majority of Flight Attendants vote yes. Management never gets a vote.
That is the part SkyWest management hopes we skip past. Ratification is the moment the people who do the job decide whether the deal is good enough. We review the agreement, ask questions, discuss and debate it in the crew room, and make our own call. When a majority says no, nothing has failed. The members have given their negotiators a clearer set of orders, and the process does exactly what it was built to do.
Two votes. One decision maker: the members.
They read it, and said no.
The first agreement offered an immediate average raise of 26.9% and retro pay averaging $21,500. United Flight Attendants studied it and turned it down.
Negotiators went back with marching orders.
AFA surveyed the membership on what fell short and returned to bargaining with those answers in hand. The company could not wait them out, because the people it needed to persuade were the ones holding the vote.
They read it again, and said yes.
Base pay up an average of 31%. A $741 million retro pay payout. Boarding pay and sit pay written into an enforceable contract.
Sometimes a first agreement is approved. Sometimes it is sent back. Either way, the outcome is right for one reason only: the Flight Attendants said so. That is union democracy working, out loud, in front of the entire industry, and the rules are the same at every carrier.
Why management wants you to see this as a failure
SkyWest management likes to point at how long union negotiations take. Years of bargaining, a rejected deal, more bargaining. They present it as proof that a union is a slow road to nowhere.
Look how long that took. With us, you don't have to wait.
Every step of that process was decided by Flight Attendants. They were offered a vote most workers never get, used it twice, and the final contract was the one they chose.
What management is protecting is a system where it decides what we get, when we get it, and how long we keep it. SkyWest added boarding pay, which is welcome, but added it on a temporary basis, outside any contract, without the protections that travel with a contract, such as a commuter policy. Policy is changed at company discretion and followed or set aside whenever it suits the company, with no mechanism to hold anyone accountable. "Trust us" is not a work rule.
Where "we can't afford it" goes to die
When the company says it cannot commit to more in writing, look at what it commits to without hesitation. Since May 2023, SkyWest's board has authorized $750 million to buy back its own stock. A buyback does not buy an aircraft, train a crew, or fix a commuter policy. It shrinks the number of shares so each remaining share is worth more, which raises the value of the stock executives already hold.
Executive sales reported on SEC Form 4, July 28 to August 3, 2026, after the board approved a further $250 million for buybacks on July 23, 2026.
On July 23, 2026, the board approved another $250 million for buybacks. Over the following two weeks, the CEO, the CFO, the chief commercial officer and the head of operations sold $12.9 million of their own shares. None of that is hidden. It is simply the plan, and it is the same plan that funds the message that we should depend on management's goodwill instead of a contract.
Flight Attendants hold the vote. Executives hold the stock. Only one of those groups is asked to be patient.
How this career has always moved forward
Every meaningful improvement in this job, better pay, stronger schedules, real retirement security, and safety standards that have saved lives, has come through collective bargaining. Contract by contract, vote by vote, AFA Flight Attendants have raised the bar, and the whole industry takes notice. SkyWest notices too. It copies the wins unionized Flight Attendants fight for at other carriers, adds a little, and presents the result as generosity.
United is a mainline carrier, and this case study is not about their pay scale. It is about the process, and the same process applies to us. SkyWest Flight Attendants are the largest group of regional Flight Attendants in the country, flying for four different mainline partners and doing the same job on each. With our own union and an enforceable contract built on our priorities, we are positioned to raise the bar for regional Flight Attendants everywhere. Standing strong together is what makes that possible.
Democracy is not always easy. There are hard choices and moments when patience wears thin. The alternative is letting SkyWest management decide what we get and when, without a vote, without legal standing, and without protections. We deserve more than that, and that is exactly what we are organizing to win.
What would you negotiate for in a first contract?
Tap everything that matters to you. This stays on your screen; it is a way to picture your own ballot.
Your ballot starts with your card. United Flight Attendants made their own call, twice, on their own terms. Every vote along the way was theirs. Ours is coming.
Sign Your Card →United vote results: July 2025 rejection and May 2026 ratification. SkyWest buybacks: May 2025 authorization and July 2026 results and authorization (SEC). Executive sales: Form 4 filings, July–August 2026.
