Las Vegas Sun

November 14, 2009

Currently: 48° | Complete forecast | Log in

Leaders of pilots union recommends agreement

Friday, Dec. 17, 2004 | 9:06 a.m.

CHICAGO -- Leaders of United Airlines' pilots union endorsed a tentative contract agreement Thursday and sent it to the membership for a ratification vote, saying there was a risk the bankruptcy court would have imposed an unacceptable alternative.

The decision by the Air Line Pilots Association's United branch moves the carrier a step closer to a consensus pact with a key union on new labor contracts that would sharply reduce wages and benefits again for its workforce.

Details were not disclosed by the union's leadership or the company.

, which has said any revised contract with pilots must provide $191 million in annual savings. The company last month gave the union a series of options on how to achieve that target -- from a straight 18 percent pay cut to smaller cuts and changes in work rules.

"We were faced with a tough choice: negotiate with the company to reach a consensual agreement that would inevitably involve further concessions, or proceed in the bankruptcy court where we faced a dangerous risk of an imposed, and totally unacceptable, outcome," Mark Bathhurst, chairman of the pilots union's master executive council, said in a statement.

archive

  • Most Read
  • Discussed
  • Most E-mailed

Complete Listing

Calendar »

  • 14 Sat
  • 15 Sun
  • 16 Mon
  • 17 Tue
  • 18 Wed

All events on Saturday »