SOURCE: Yahoo http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=580&u=/nm/20020218/bs_nm/airlines_united_dc_29 United, Mechanics Reach Tentative Deal Mon Feb 18, 2:15 PM ET CHICAGO (Reuters) - UAL Corp.'s United Airlines said on Monday it reached a tentative contract agreement with the union representing its 13,000 mechanics and cleaning staff, avoiding a looming strike at the second-largest U.S. airline. Chicago area-based UAL said in a statement that the tentative deal, the details of which were not released, would be sent to union members for ratification within two weeks. "United and the International Association of Machinists District 141M today have reached tentative agreement on a contract with the airline's mechanics, utility workers, and related employees," UAL and United Chief Executive Jack Creighton said in a statement. "Our negotiating team and United's Labor Committee of the Board of Directors have accepted the terms of the IAM's proposal," he added. "With the agreement, our customers can be confident that United will continue to operate without disruption. Creighton called the tentative deal a milestone in developing a recovery plan for the company that meets the needs of its passengers, preserves jobs and puts it on the road to financial stability. Last week, mechanics rejected an offer from United that included a 37 percent pay increase for the most senior workers, but also sought unspecified future wage concessions and deferred retroactive pay, among other provisions. The raises would have been the workers' first base-pay hikes in eight years. The union was unhappy with the recommendation of a presidential emergency board that mechanics defer retroactive pay. The machinists said the contract contained no job security provisions and they rejected a proposed blueprint for possible wage concessions. The mechanics' union had set a 12:01 a.m. (EST) Wednesday deadline, and there had been speculation on Wall Street that a strike might have forced the airline to file for bankruptcy protection. United posted a net loss of $2.1 billion in 2001, an industry record. In 1994, machinist union members, like pilots, gave pay cuts in return for a stake in the airline through an employee stock ownership plan. The IAM is unhappy that the airline's latest offer includes future wage concessions from all employee groups to help restore financial stability. The mechanics last struck United in 1979. During the summer 2000, pilots staged a work-to-rule slowdown that forced flight cancellations and left United with a sullied reputation among travelers. Subsequently, pilots represented by the Air Line Pilots Association (news - web sites) won an industry-leading contract. Mechanics had authorized a strike in December, but the Bush administration blocked it before the busy holiday travel season by appointing a special board. The board recommended pay raises even though United said it could not afford them in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks that crushed airline travel. -- David Mueller / SAN kawika42@mac.com http://www.quanterium.com