Ground workers at United approve new contract

A new labor deal for 28,000 baggage handlers and other ground workers at United Airlines gives raises to the workers and gets the airline closer to fully absorbing Continental.

The contract approved Tuesday covers roughly 28,000 workers who came from both United as well as Continental before they merged in 2010.

Besides baggage handlers, the group also includes gate and reservations workers and storekeepers in the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, the largest union at United Continental Holdings Inc.

This is the second group along with pilots to have a joint contract.

The ground workers had voted down a deal in March. The new deal got approval from 70 percent of those voting. It runs through 2016 and includes raises and other improvements.