United labor groups propose $1 billion in annual cost cuts CHICAGO (AP) =97 Leaders of United Airlines' five unions say they are ready= =20 to allow the financially struggling company to cut labor costs by $5=20 billion over the next five years, but the carrier had said it needs more.=20 Will the unions' offer be enough? Investors are hopeful it will be. Shares in United parent UAL Corp. leaped= =20 95 cents, or 38%, to $2.99 in morning trading Thursday, although the stock= =20 price remains just half what it was two months ago. United is promising to= =20 respond to the offer "in the days ahead." The airline's board of directors= =20 was expected to review the details in a regularly scheduled meeting= Thursday. Some analysts questioned whether the unions' offer, which has not been=20 publicly disclosed and still must be approved by rank-and-file members,=20 falls short. United had sought $1.5 billion in annual labor cuts over six=20 years. "In a vacuum, a $1 billion (annual) reduction may have a nice ring=20 to it. But nothing has really changed. What we've seen is an offer to=20 negotiate with management," said Jamie Baker of J.P. Morgan. "The=20 management said they needed the full amount of cost cutting," said Ray=20 Neidl, an airline analyst at Blaylock & Partners in New York. "I'm a little= =20 doubtful that there's room for much maneuvering." The unions issued their joint proposal, which included moneysaving measures= =20 beyond the labor cuts, Wednesday in response to a United recovery plan=20 announced last month. Although new United CEO Glenn Tilton hasn't publicly= =20 proposed a figure for concessions, he has said that the $9 billion in labor= =20 cuts urged by his predecessor, Jack Creighton, were reasonable. The unions said their plan would allow the carrier to improve its=20 profitability by $2 billion or $3 billion. Greg Davidowitch, president of=20 the United branch of the Association of Flight Attendants, said the unions'= =20 recovery plan includes "significant savings from management," but he did=20 not offer specifics. A coalition of United unions delivered their proposal= =20 Wednesday to Tilton but did not release it publicly. Machinists' union=20 spokesman Joseph Tiberi said details would emerge once the unions had=20 discussions with United. "We feel this is a significant contribution,"=20 Tiberi said. "It will help United Airlines avoid bankruptcy and obtain the= =20 financing it needs to recover from its current financial situation."=20 Davidowitch said in a statement that it was in his members' interest to be= =20 "part of the solution that assists United in surviving its near-term=20 financial crisis." The Elk Grove Village-based carrier has posted losses of nearly $3 billion= =20 over the past 18 months. United's financial woes have left it unable to=20 secure private capital financing. United has said it needs major=20 concessions to secure a $1.8 billion government loan guarantee and avoid=20 bankruptcy. The letter from the coalition of United's unions said the=20 airline has "the most committed employees and strongest airline franchise=20 in the world." "We will not let it fail," the unions said. The five unions= =20 are the Airline Pilots Association, the Association of Flight Attendants,=20 the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, the=20 Professional Airline Flight Control Association and the Transport Workers=20 Union. United's employees own 55% of the stock in UAL Corp. Less than five= =20 years ago, UAL shares traded at an all-time high of $101.75. Neidl said a=20 rebound to those days is nowhere on the horizon. "The only thing that is=20 going to help United stock is to reach a final agreement and United saying= =20 that bankruptcy isn't necessary," he said. The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site: Roj (Roger James) *************************************************** escape email mailto:ejames@escape.ca Trinbago site: http://www.tntisland.com CBC Website http://www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ The Trinbago Site of the Week: (ReadyMix) http://www.readymix.co.tt/ (ReadyMix Cement Ltd) courtesy of Roj Trinbago Website & TnT Web Directory Roj's Trinbago Website: http://www.tntisland.com TnT Web Directory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************