Tuesday April 23, 6:03 pm Eastern Time Associated Press Ramp Workers, United Near Settlement By DAVE CARPENTER AP Business Writer Ramp Workers, United Near Settlement; IAM Refuses to Attend Recovery Talks CHICAGO (AP) -- United Airlines officials met Tuesday with union negotiators representing 25,000 baggage handlers and reservations agents amid hopes a settlement may be near in the carrier's last unresolved labor contract. An agreement is necessary before the world's No. 2 airline can proceed to the next, critical step in its financial recovery plan -- a package of cost reductions that United hopes will have employee wage concessions as its linchpin. Cautious optimism surrounded the newest round of talks in the 28-month-old negotiations, which were on the verge of settlement when the Sept. 11 attacks drastically worsened the airline industry's economic outlook. The workers' chief negotiator, Randy Canale, said in a communique to union members on the eve of Tuesday's first full day of talks in Chicago that recent discussions with United officials "give us reason to believe an agreement is possible." "We're hopeful we can get something done this week," spokesman Joe Tiberi of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers said as mediated negotiations proceeded Tuesday, but cautioned, "we've been close before." United spokesman Joe Hopkins said only that contract talks were being held and "we'll see what they produce." But the IAM, United's largest union, dealt a blow to United CEO Jack Creighton's plan to push ahead on pay givebacks. Union officials said they would not attend the meeting Creighton scheduled for Thursday among the leaders of all employee groups until the ramp workers' contract is settled and ratified by members -- a process that could take a month or more. "Our position remains the same, no recovery plan will be discussed with the IAM without an industry-leading agreement and until all members achieve the agreement they deserve," said a statement posted Tuesday on the IAM District 141 Web site. Frank Larkin, another IAM spokesman, said the union had made that position clear to the company "a number of times." Asked whether the union might be open to wage concessions after the ramp workers' pact is resolved, he said it was premature to discuss the subject and depends on a vote by members in any case. Hopkins declined comment on the union's refusal to attend the meeting. United's parent company, UAL Corp., reported a $510 million first-quarter loss last week and has been unprofitable for two years amid labor turmoil, the economics slowdown and the attacks, which shrank business travel. Passengers have been returning to its planes, but revenues still aren't enough to cover costs even after the carrier trimmed hundreds of daily flights and laid off 20,000 employees last fall. The airline said Friday it burned through cash at about $5 million a day in the first quarter. UAL shares rose 14 cents to close at $14.60 Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange. ------ _________________________________________________________________ Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com