=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/news/archive/2002/02/18/n= ational1902EST0654.DTL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Monday, February 18, 2002 (AP) United Airlines announces tentative agreement with mechanics DAVE CARPENTER, AP Business Writer (02-18) 16:02 PST CHICAGO (AP) -- United Airlines reached a tentative contract agreement with the union representing its 12,800 mechanics and aircraft cleaners Monday, less than 36 hours before a planned strike that could have grounded the world's second-largest carrier. If ratified by mechanics in a March 5 vote, the settlement would end a bitter two-year contract dispute and give them their first raise since 1994. They were preparing to walk off the job at 12:01 a.m. EST Wednesday if no settlement was reached. United's chief executive, Jack Creighton, called the accord "a critical milestone in developing a recovery plan that meets the needs of passengers, preserves jobs and puts the company on the road to financial stability." But labor tranquillity, if achieved, would come at a considerable cost. Besides granting the same 37 percent raises voted down by mechanics last week, the tentative pact would, through so-called license premiums, make more of them eligible for top-scale pay which is being bumped up $9.54 an hour to $35.14. It also would improve retirement benefits, the union said, and move up t= he payment of retroactive pay for work dating to July 2001 by 31/2 months. Several hundred million dollars would be paid in quarterly installments beginning Dec. 15 and lasting until Oct. 15, 2004, instead of from 2003-2005. Key to acceptance of the deal by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers was United's easing of a contract requirement that the mechanics agree to unspecified future concessions the airline seeks as part of its financial recovery plan. Like the pilots and other labor groups, the mechanics now will be able to vote separately on such concessions. "This agreement fulfills the IAM's promise to negotiate an industry-leading contract," said chief union negotiator Scotty Ford. He said the union negotiators unanimously recommended approval. The announcement came on the fourth day of urgent talks at a suburban Chicago hotel following the mechanics' rejection of United's last contract offer, which was crafted by a presidential emergency board. For the first time in 26 months of off-and-on talks, both sides were working against a strike deadline with no apparent chance of intervention by Washington. Congress, which must act at President Bush's behest to block a strike, is in recess until next week. "This agreement shows that settlements can be reached without government interference," said Robert Roach Jr., a vice president of the machinists' union. United had acknowledged a decline in bookings for the coming days, reflecting public fears of a shutdown. Mechanics over the weekend began removing personal belongings from United maintenance centers in preparation for a strike that analysts said could have meant bankruptcy for the Elk Grove Village, Ill.-based airline, which lost $2.1 billion last year. A "yes" vote on March 5 is not assured, with many mechanics still angry from years of labor strife at the majority employee-owned airline. On the Net: United Airlines: www.united.com United mechanics: www.iam141m.org =20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2002 AP