Labor officials said yesterday that US Airways and several of its largest unions were not ready to settle on concessions from employees even though they have to agree quickly on cuts to bolster the company's application for a federal loan guarantee. The airline is also continuing to talk with its competitors on a partnership that would be critical to its recovery.þþUS Airways has been working this month to persuade its unions to agree to cuts that would save $950 million a year in labor costs because the government expects to see that the carrier can successfully restructure if it receives a guarantee. US Airways applied last week for a $900 million guarantee for $1 billion in loans. But federal officials will probably reject the application if the carrier cannot prove that it will cut costs. The filing came as a surprise because David N. Siegel, the chief executive, had said he wanted to reach an agreement on concessions before making the application.þþAt least one union is reluctant to start final negotiations until it sees whether the airline obtains concessions from the pilots, which is the group with the largest costs.þþÿThe holdup is that management and the pilots are attempting to reach agreement first,ÿ said a posting on the Web site of the Association of Flight Attendants. ÿEveryone knows that the pilots' deal is the one with the most money in it for the company. If management can't reach a deal with the pilots, everything falls apart in terms of getting the loan guarantee from the government.ÿþþOn June 12, the flight attendants offered management a concession package of $61 million a year, about two-thirds of what executives had said they wanted. The union has not changed that number since, said Jeff Zack, a union spokesman.þþÿWe haven't given the company another proposal, and we won't until we see what happens with the pilots,ÿ he said. ÿIn order to finish these talks, we need the pilots to finish theirs.ÿþþThe Web site posting said that the flight attendants did not plan to give up a larger percentage of their wages and benefits than the pilots did.þþLast week, the pilots offered $400 million in concessions, also two-thirds of what management is seeking.þþÿThere's no sense of how close we are,ÿ said Roy Freundlich, a spokesman for the Air Line Pilots Association. ÿThere are a lot of open issues at this point.ÿþþRepresentatives of the machinists' union met with management on Tuesday, and financial advisers were reviewing the numbers yesterday, said Joe Tiberi, a spokesman for the union, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. The carrier initially asked the union for $261 million in cuts, and labor leaders and management have exchanged counterproposals.þþÿOur meetings and discussions with the company do not depend on what the pilots do,ÿ Mr. Tiberi said. þþThe varying stands taken by the unions highlight the difficulties that often prevent management and labor from working together in the airline industry. But US Airways said it needed the federal loan guarantee to survive. It lost $269 million last quarter and $2 billion last year.þþÿWe're making progress,ÿ David Castelveter, a US Airways spokesman, said of the talks. ÿWe're all focused on a common goal and trying to meet that goal.ÿþþAs part of its recovery plan, the airline is also looking for a domestic and international code-share partner, which would allow it to expand routes with another carrier and share revenue. Mr. Freundlich said that although the pilots' contract with US Airways forbids any kind of code-sharing because of job concerns, the union has agreed to allow the carrier to seek a partner. Once the airline finds a partner, then the pilots will review the agreement to determine whether they need to demand job or wage protection, he said.þþOne person close to the discussions said yesterday that US Airways was closer to an agreement with United Airlines than with any other carrier. US Airways said it ÿcannot confirm or deny any public speculation.ÿ At a luncheon in New York yesterday, Gordon M. Bethune, the chief executive of Continental Airlines, scoffed at the idea that US Airways might strike a deal soon with United.þþÿI think they're going well,ÿ Mr. Bethune said of his own airline's talks with US Airways. ÿThey would be a wonderful partner, especially here in New York.ÿþþUnited is trying to untangle its own labor problems because it has said it would like to file for a loan guarantee. The airline reached a tentative agreement on concessions with its pilots last week, and the leaders of their union approved concessions last night that included pay cuts of 10 percent.þþLeaders of the flight attendants' union are meeting this week to review a proposal that United gave them on Monday. But the machinists' union, the largest labor group at the airline, said it was not in serious talks with management.þ
Source: NY Times
