Rumor Has It: August 2025
Note: “Rumor Has It” is a biweekly newsletter sent to Delta flight attendants about a range of topics from company policies to questions about flight benefits and what is happening around the industry. Delta occasionally addresses questions in Rumor Has It related to AFA’s organizing efforts. For ease of reference, those questions and answers have been included below.
From August 12, 2025 Edition
RUMOR: I heard AFA already started negotiating the second deal for United flight attendants and it won’t be long until they get it.
FACT: United and AFA will return to the negotiating table, but nothing is guaranteed, including how long it takes and the final outcome.
AFA and United are still in federal mediation, meaning their negotiations sessions are facilitated by the National Mediation Board. These sessions won’t begin again until December and are currently scheduled through the end of March 2026. Additional sessions may be scheduled after March if needed.
There is no set timeline for how long this process could take and no guarantees of a significantly better outcome. As AFA previously explained, “it certainly would not be a matter of weeks or even months...and at the end of it we can’t, and no one can, guarantee that it’s going to be fundamentally different in terms of the economics.”
Often, negotiations for a second deal have the same financial framework, just allocated differently. As AFA put it: “Our experience is that the total economic value of the agreement does not change...some targeted issues can get fixed but the overall pot of money does not increase much.” Ultimately, AFA told United flight attendants: “We cannot predict the future or make promises either way.”
Watch this video to learn more about the long process for negotiating a union contract.
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Stay in the know.
Text DELTA to +1 205 846 8096 for updates*
*By texting the keyword above, you are agreeing to receive periodic SMS text messages from Delta Air Lines regarding One Future. One Delta. Standard messaging and data rates may apply. You may unsubscribe any time by texting “STOP” and the keyword above to +1 205 846 8096. Full Terms.