=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SF Gate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/chronicle/archive/2002/02= /16/BU7694.DTL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Saturday, February 16, 2002 (SF Chronicle) Strike deadline looms as United, union negotiate George Raine, Chronicle Staff Writer Contract negotiators for United Airlines and its disgruntled machinists resumed yesterday with the clock ticking down to a possible ruinous strike that could start Wednesday at 12:01 a.m. The talks, which are taking place in a hotel near Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, are expected to continue through the weekend, around the clock if necessary, to resolve two fruitless years of contract talks. On Tuesday, with 90 percent of United's 13,000 unionized machinists voting, a contract proposal written by arbitrators appointed by President Bush was rejected by a 68 percent majority. Separately, a strike authorization vote carried by 86 percent of those voting. Although analysts say a strike could lead United into bankruptcy, they generally think a strike is unlikely because Bush has said it is not an option. (He could ask Congress to impose a contract on the parties, although members began a 10-day recess Friday.) A walkout would certainly be costly. Brian Harris of SalomonSmithBarney has estimated United's daily "cash burn" would be from $25 million to $28 million if the carrier shuts down its operations. The offer to the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers contained a 37 percent pay raise for top machinists, but it also included a provision that could take away an unspecified amount as a concession to help with United's financial recovery program, along with concessions from other employees. The machinists say that makes the pay raise illusory. Secondly, machinists are upset that retroactive pay would be delayed unt= il 2003. The workers, members of the IAM's District 141-M, based in South San Francisco, have not had a raise since 1994, when they became United owners through an employee stock ownership plan designed to give them a share in the company's success in exchange for a 14.7 percent cut in wages at the time. The double-barreled rejection and the decisive margins, said the union, have given its members a sense of cohesion. "I notified the company the thing was in the Dumpster, and they said they wanted to return to the table," said Scotty Ford, president and general chairman of District 141-M. "But we go in with an open mind. We are prepared to do some business if United is." Frank Larkin, an IAM spokesman in Washington, said the union is willing = to discuss the airline's financial recovery but at separate negotiations. "They would like to link the two, but the subject at the bargaining table is the replacement of 1994 wages," said Larkin. "They would like to inject into the collective bargaining agreement terms that would favor United's recovery over a long period of time, but the contract we are seeking is meant to provide recovery for employees who have been without a wage increase over eight years," he said. United's Hopkins said the concessions are necessary because of the gap between costs and revenues. "We're a long way from profitability, so we need sacrifices by our employees to help us be on the path we want to be on," he said. United lost $2.1 billion in 2001 and has said it expects a loss in this year's first quarter. To cut costs, the carrier cut its flight schedule by 23 percent, furloughed 20,000 employees and reduced capital spending by $2.4 billion for 2002 and 2003. United has placed a notice on its Web site, www.ual.com, a "travel updat= e" that includes a possible timetable for the next contract vote. "If progress (in the talks) is made, and there is no reason to believe that it can't be, then we anticipate that another vote will occur by mid-March, without interruption to our operations," it says. Meanwhile, the union has this message for its members on its Web site: "= We must not lose sight of the fact that we are facing a Feb. 20 strike deadline. We must assume that the issues will not be resolved, and we must be prepared to use self-help. All local lodges must be fully prepared in the event we are forced to strike United Airlines." The machinists, for their part, think that raising the pay of some to $35 an hour, as is proposed, is reasonable. Said David Quinn, a UAL lead aircraft maintenance technician in Chicago: "Next time you are flying at 40,000 feet over the Rockies or across a vast ocean at 80 percent of the speed of sound, think about whether the faceless man or woman who repairs, rebuilds and inspects that aircraft is any less responsible for your safety than the man or woman up front steering or the executive who charts a course for the corporation." E-mail George Raine at graine@sfchronicle.com.=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2002 SF Chronicle