Hobiehawker
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Business - Reuters
UAL Attendants Authorize Call for Strike
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Flight attendants at UALCorp.(OTC BB:UALAQ.OB - news), parent of bankrupt United Airlines, authorized their union to call for strike activities if the carrier terminates their collective bargaining agreements, the union said on Thursday.
Of the eligible voters, 88 percent voted in favor of strikes, according to a statement from the Association of Flight Attendants. The move sets the stage for a work stoppage if the No. 2 U.S. airline repeals a collective bargaining agreement with the union.
"United flight attendants have already made huge sacrifices to help our airline succeed," said Greg Davidowitch, president of the AFA Master Executive Council at United.
"But it's not just up to the employees to save United," he added. "It's time for United management to look at itself for a solution to the current situation it has created."
Bankruptcy Court Judge Eugene Wedoff has agreed to consider letting UAL end the agreements and has scheduled hearings on the matter beginning Jan. 7. Talks on wage and benefit concessions between the AFA and UAL management have been ongoing.
The union has vowed to implement its strike plans if the flight attendants' contract is rejected, and has called on the company to reach a negotiated settlement instead. The plans known as Create Havoc Around Our System (CHAOS) call for surprise intermittent strikes.
The time and place of such strikes would be determined by the union and targeted for maximum impact. Action could take the form of a system-wide one-day strike, a strike targeted for one specific city or an individual flight at a remote location, the AFA said.
United flight attendants have not staged a strike since 1985, said AFA spokeswoman Sara Nelson Dela Cruz. On that occasion, the flight attendants were supporting a strike by UAL's pilots.
"We regret that the AFA continues to take actions which are simply not helpful to United, its tens of thousands of employees or its customers," United spokeswoman Jean Medina said.
Medina said, however, that United believes both the Railway Labor Act, which governs potential strikes in the airline industry, and the Bankruptcy Code prevent the actions contemplated by the AFA.
Elk Grove Village, Illinois-based United, which has been under Chapter 11 protection since December 2002, wants to reject labor contracts with its six unions if it fails to extract an additional $725 million in annual savings from its employees by January.
Earlier on Thursday the U.S. Pension Benefit Guarantee Corp. said it had filed a motion in court asking for permission to take over the retirement plans of United's pilots. If a judge approves the plan, United would no longer be required to contribute to the pilots' pension plans.
The airline has said, however, that it needs to terminate all four of its pension plans in favor of less expensive ones.
UAL Attendants Authorize Call for Strike
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Flight attendants at UALCorp.(OTC BB:UALAQ.OB - news), parent of bankrupt United Airlines, authorized their union to call for strike activities if the carrier terminates their collective bargaining agreements, the union said on Thursday.
Of the eligible voters, 88 percent voted in favor of strikes, according to a statement from the Association of Flight Attendants. The move sets the stage for a work stoppage if the No. 2 U.S. airline repeals a collective bargaining agreement with the union.
"United flight attendants have already made huge sacrifices to help our airline succeed," said Greg Davidowitch, president of the AFA Master Executive Council at United.
"But it's not just up to the employees to save United," he added. "It's time for United management to look at itself for a solution to the current situation it has created."
Bankruptcy Court Judge Eugene Wedoff has agreed to consider letting UAL end the agreements and has scheduled hearings on the matter beginning Jan. 7. Talks on wage and benefit concessions between the AFA and UAL management have been ongoing.
The union has vowed to implement its strike plans if the flight attendants' contract is rejected, and has called on the company to reach a negotiated settlement instead. The plans known as Create Havoc Around Our System (CHAOS) call for surprise intermittent strikes.
The time and place of such strikes would be determined by the union and targeted for maximum impact. Action could take the form of a system-wide one-day strike, a strike targeted for one specific city or an individual flight at a remote location, the AFA said.
United flight attendants have not staged a strike since 1985, said AFA spokeswoman Sara Nelson Dela Cruz. On that occasion, the flight attendants were supporting a strike by UAL's pilots.
"We regret that the AFA continues to take actions which are simply not helpful to United, its tens of thousands of employees or its customers," United spokeswoman Jean Medina said.
Medina said, however, that United believes both the Railway Labor Act, which governs potential strikes in the airline industry, and the Bankruptcy Code prevent the actions contemplated by the AFA.
Elk Grove Village, Illinois-based United, which has been under Chapter 11 protection since December 2002, wants to reject labor contracts with its six unions if it fails to extract an additional $725 million in annual savings from its employees by January.
Earlier on Thursday the U.S. Pension Benefit Guarantee Corp. said it had filed a motion in court asking for permission to take over the retirement plans of United's pilots. If a judge approves the plan, United would no longer be required to contribute to the pilots' pension plans.
The airline has said, however, that it needs to terminate all four of its pension plans in favor of less expensive ones.
