United Airlines said last night that it was starting to negotiate separately for concessions with each of its five unions, even though the unions had formed a coalition to present a single concession plan to executives.þþThat proposal — cutting $1 billion in annual labor costs over five years — was delivered on Sept. 25 to Glenn F. Tilton, the chief executive of UAL, the parent company of United. Mr. Tilton has not yet responded publicly to the proposal, which fell far short of the $1.5 billion a year over six years that United demanded in August. But since Sept. 25, Mr. Tilton has been meeting privately with each of the unions to talk about the concessions.þþUnited is working to obtain the concessions to revise an application it filed with the federal government for a $1.8 billion loan guarantee, which it has said would help it obtain financing to stave off a bankruptcy filing before debts become due in mid-November.þþIn a written statement last night, United did not say why it had begun separate negotiations but said that it had always expected to do so. It said it began talks yesterday with the International Association of Machinists, which represents 35,000 workers at United.þþThe machinists did not immediately return calls seeking comment. That union has been fairly reluctant to give concessions to management. It has said that management needs to demonstrate that it is willing to smooth over rocky relationships with the employees.þþThe pilots, on the other hand, have been effusive in their support of Mr. Tilton, praising his strategy even though he took over only in early September.þþMeanwhile, the flight attendants have said they do not think they should have to give concessions because their pay scale is the lowest of all the major employee groups.þþYesterday, United said that the ÿproductive dialogueÿ with the union coalition was continuing and that it was still studying the coalition's proposal. United, the nation's second-largest carrier after American Airlines, lost a record $2.1 billion last year and $851 million in the first half of this year.þþThe other unions in the coalition represent baggage handlers and ticketing agents.þþþþþ
Source: NY Times
