Southwest Airlines solidifying pact with flight attendants’ union

Flight attendants at Southwest Airlines have reached a tentative contract agreement with the company.

The airline announced the tentative deal Wednesday without disclosing details. The contract would cover over 20,000 of Southwest’s unionized cabin crew members.

If the deal is ratified, it would end a years-long struggle for a contract between the two parties. The union had approved a strike mandate in January, the first instance of flight attendants authorizing a walkout against an airline. The union’s last contract ended in 2018.

The union recently rejected a proposal from Southwest that would have given workers a 20% pay raise and a yearly 3% raise for the duration of the five-year contract. The company recently reached a deal with its pilots’ union, with workers securing 50% raises over five years.

Over the past three years, airline employees have been demanding improvements to pay and workplace conditions during contract negotiations. Spurred by historic contracts from other airlines like Delta, flight attendant and pilot unions across the U.S. and Canada have demanded to be paid even while the aircraft is on the ground.

The details of Wednesday’s deal could serve as the standard for possible contracts at United and American Airlines, which are in negotiations with unionized flight attendants.