New Labor Contract Would Cover Some 7,600 Continental Workers

United Continental Holdings announced Monday that Continental Airlines has reached a tentative agreement on a new labor contract with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) representing Continental fleet service employees. The IBT is expected to hold a ratification vote in the coming weeks.

"This tentative agreement is the product of a lot of hard work by the negotiating committees, and I'm pleased that the Continental ramp, cargo and airport operations agents have the opportunity to ratify an agreement that is fair to our co-workers and fair to the company," said Scott Dolan, senior vice president of Airport Operations at United. "We look forward to continuing the productive working relationship with the Teamsters."

"With the power of the Teamsters, the fleet service workers who joined our union last February got a solid tentative agreement in record time," said Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa. "This tentative agreement sets us up well for the merger process — it protects our members and gives our members raises and improvements."

"This tentative agreement puts us in a strong position to bargain the amalgamated contract later on in the merger process," said Captain David Bourne, Director of the Teamsters Airline Division. "Our negotiating team, made up of Teamster business agents and Continental fleet service workers, were exceedingly thorough in their approach and worked very hard. This agreement is the first step in the process of improving standards. We appreciate the efforts of the company to work with us in developing a fair contract, and look forward to building on this relationship in future negotiations."

The agreement covers approximately 7,600 Continental fleet service employees located throughout the United States.

FMI: www.teamsters.org, www.unitedcontinentalholdings.com