Union wants U.S. to declare impasse in UAL talks By John Crawley WASHINGTON, April 7 (Reuters) - Negotiators for 23,000 United Airlines employees want mediators to declare an impasse this week in their contract talks with the carrier so the union can start laying the groundwork for a possible strike by ramp, customer service and other workers, union officials said. The company and negotiators for the International Association of Machinists will meet with the National Mediation Board on Thursday in Washington for the first time since talks broke off three weeks ago after a deadlock over wages and other compensation. The IAM will press the government to release it from meditation and begin a 30-day cooling-off period after which a strike date could be set. Union members have authorized their leadership to call a strike, if necessary. The machinists say, however, that the two sides are close enough to an agreement that triggering a strike deadline could, in fact, be the key to reaching an agreement. "It's close enough to happen but that doesn't mean it will," said IAM spokesman Frank Larkin. "We've been at this point almost forever. That's the nature of airline negotiations without a deadline." The federal Railway Labor Act, which governs airline contract talks, allows negotiations to continue open-ended, even in mediation, until the threat of a strike brings the dispute to a head. If mediators do not declare an impasse, another round of talks could resume later this month, the union said. The negotiations between United and the IAM District 141 Lodge have been ongoing since 1999. "There is a sense here that this could be resolved," Larkin said. "But preparations for a strike are going forward nevertheless." Strikes at other big airlines failed to materialize over the past year because President George W. Bush followed through on a promise not to permit them. Bush intervened or threatened to do so in several cases last year and this year. His actions, criticized by labor as an infringement of its collective bargaining rights, blocked threatened walkouts at airlines or created conditions that pushed feuding sides into contract agreements. If an impasse is declared this week in the latest United dispute and the White House intervened after 30 days, a strike could not take place before July at the earliest. That is in the middle of the industry's critical summer travel season. Chicago-based United, a unit of UAL Corp. (UAL) and the world's second-biggest airline, says it has put an industry leading package on the table for its ramp workers, customer service agents, food service employees and security guards. While neither side would detail proposals, the union contends that the carrier's latest proposal was not the best deal for everyone. That group of workers has not had a raise in base pay since 1994. Nevertheless, the company was hopeful the talks would progress and obstacles could be overcome quickly. "It's important for us to get this contract wrapped up," United spokesman Joe Hopkins said without elaborating on the airline's strategy for doing so. "We'll just have to see what the future brings." United is coming off a bruising contract battle with its mechanics, also are represented by the machinists union. The White House intervened in December to prevent a threatened walkout, and a special presidential board recommended terms that finally settled the dispute in March. The current talks have gone more smoothly than the long and bitter negotiations with the mechanics. The financially troubled airline is under enormous pressure to lower its labor costs. United is expected to seek concessions from its unions this year as it seeks to improve its financial condition after posting massive losses. The company lost a record $2.1 billion in 2001. ©2002 Reuters Limited.