"US Airways can force pay cuts"

Friday, October 15, 2004

US Airways can force pay cuts
By Jeff Clabaugh
The Baltimore (MD) Business Journal


US Airways, which has been unable to negotiate all of the concessions it
wants from unions, won court approval Friday to force pay cuts on its
workers. 
  
The bankruptcy court's decision to allow US Airways to temporarily suspend
its union contracts clears the way for the carrier to impose a 21 percent
pay cut for union employees. It gives US Airways a four-month window in
which it must continue negotiating with unions. 

US Airways chief executive Bruce Lakefield called the interim relief a
regrettable but necessary step to build cash and continue operations. 

The pilots union's leadership has already accepted a package of cuts that
would save the airline about $300 million a year and forwarded it to pilots
for a vote. The union is expected to announce results of its rank and file
vote next week. 

Three small unions have already approved additional cuts, but other large
unions, including the flight attendants and machinists, have not reached an
agreement. 

US Airways made its second bankruptcy filing Sept. 12. The airline, which
won approval earlier this week to continue accessing its cash to fund
operations, is seeking $950 million a year in new union concessions.


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