United Airlines' flight attendants union, one of five unions negotiating with the airline to cut labor costs by billions of dollars and stave off bankruptcy, has offered to take a 3.6 percent cut in pay, a union spokeswoman said Sunday.þþSara Dela Cruz of the Association of Flight Attendants said the proposal made to the financially strapped airline last week includes an agreement to forgo a lump sum payment in 2003 and a raise in 2004.þþDela Cruz said the 25,000-member union is the first of the five unions in negotiations with the company to inform its members of a proposal. Earlier this year, the flight attendants refused to participate in financial recovery talks initiated by management.þþThe nation's No. 2 carrier is seeking $5.8 billion in cutbacks over 5 1/2 years.þþDela Cruz would not say how much money would be saved with the 3.6 percent pay cut. She said the proposal is just one step in the negotiating process. If United accepts it, she said, the tentative agreement would be put to the union members for a vote.þþEarlier this month, United reported an $889 million third-quarter loss and has been losing money from its operations at a rate of $7 million a day.þþDela Cruz said reports last week that the nation's No. 2 carrier paid its new chief executive a $3 million bonus to sign a 5-year contract were ÿa little bit of a tough pill to swallow to anyone staring down the barrel of concessions.ÿþþBut she said the fact that Glenn Tilton made the bonus public is ÿevidence that this CEO is being forthright with his employees and not trying to hide anything.ÿþþ
Source: Chicago Tribune
