MIAMI (Reuters) - United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS.N) and the union representing its 2,500 pilots will ask a federal mediator to enter bargaining on a revised labor contract, the company and union said on Monday.þþ``Although the parties have utilized their best efforts over the past 22 months, no agreement has yet been reached in the contract areas of scheduling, compensation, pension, scope and benefits,'' UPS and the Independent Pilots Association said in a joint news release.þþThe current contract remains in full force, according to the union and UPS, which is the world's No. 1 package-delivery group. Federal mediators helped the IPA and UPS reach deals in 1991 and 1998.þþUPS, which operates one of the world's biggest airlines in its shipping businesses, and the union have been negotiating changes in the labor pact since October 2002. Members of the National Mediation Board often sat in on the meetings, which had been running on a weekly basis in recent months.þþThe sides reported tentative agreements on secondary issues. Industry sources have said the pilots association was focused on overhauling the methods UPS uses to assign routes, days off and rest periods between flights to the pilots.þþShares of UPS were off 9 cents to $73.33 in early trading on the New York Stock Exchange. þþ
Source: NY Times
