This article from NYTimes.com has been sent to you by psa188@juno.com. Prediction of Failure for Airline Contract February 12, 2002 By BLOOMBERG NEWS WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 (Bloomberg News) - Mechanics with United Airlines will probably reject a contract recommended by a presidential board that fails to guarantee pay and benefits, their union leader said today. The union very likely will turn the measure down when it votes on it on Tuesday, Thomas Buffenbarger, president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, told reporters at a briefing. The board, which was appointed by President Bush, wants the union to consider returning some of its gains later to help the airline, the operating unit of the UAL Corporation (news/quote), recover from a record loss last year after the recession and Sept. 11 attacks reduced travel, he said. A rejection of the contract by the 12,800 mechanics and cleaners would give the airline and machinists a week to reach another agreement before workers would become free to strike on Feb. 20, assuming no further government intervention. "If it doesn't pass, we're going to get right back together with the I.A.M. and work it through with them," United's chief financial officer, Jake Brace, told investors at a Goldman, Sachs & Company conference in Miami. The presidential panel recommended a 37 percent raise in top pay for mechanics this year, a 13.5 percent increase for the past two years, to be paid later, and other increases of 3.9 percent next year and 2.8 percent in 2004. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/12/business/12UAL.html?ex=1014530326&ei=1&en=dfcb033eb5b3e8d7 HOW TO ADVERTISE --------------------------------- For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters or other creative advertising opportunities with The New York Times on the Web, please contact Alyson Racer at alyson@nytimes.com or visit our online media kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com. Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company