This article from NYTimes.com has been sent to you by psa188@juno.com. United's Mechanics to Vote on Revised Proposal December 2, 2002 By MICHELINE MAYNARD CHICAGO, Dec. 2 - Mechanics at United Airlines, who rejected an earlier request for wage and benefit concessions aimed at helping the struggling airline, will vote on a revised proposal on Thursday, union officials announced this morning. Approval of the plan by mechanics would be the last critical piece in United's recovery program, which is aimed at avoiding a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing and win federal loan guarantees. The revised proposal is still worth the $700 million in cuts that the earlier plan would have yielded, but addresses union members' concerns about workplace issues and vacation time they would be losing as part of their concessions, said Scotty Ford, president of the union local that oversees United's 13,000 mechanics. The announcement of the vote, posted this morning on the union's Web site, was accompanied by a letter from United's chief executive, Glenn F. Tilton, who promised that the company would review workplace improvements throughout its operations by June 1. The two sides reached agreement on the revised concessions plan after a marathon bargaining session that began on Sunday morning. Neither the union nor the company have disclosed where the talks took place. United's board meets today to discuss a range of issues related to the company's restructuring efforts. The company faces a vital decision on a $375 million payment on loans backed by aircraft, which is due today. Executives close to the restructuring effort say that it is likely to take advantage of a grace period of 10 business days, pushing the payment's due date to Dec. 16. That would be well after the vote by the mechanics, who are members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. The airline needs their approval to complete a package of $5.2 billion in wage and benefit concessions that is the linchpin of a $14.1 billion turnaround plan it has presented to the federal Air Transportation Stabilization Board. The board has set no timetable for approving United's application, but it is expected to meet later this week. Approval of the revised mechanics package would boost the airline's case. Two other groups represented by the machinists' union approved their portion of concessions last week. Pilots at United previous approved $2.2 billion in wage and benefit cuts, while flight attendants voted in favor of a package worth $412 million on Saturday. All of the concessions sought by the airline run for the next five and a half years, and kick in as soon as it obtains the loan board's approval and secures financing. Mr. Ford pleaded over the weekend for union members to put aside animosity for the airline and reverse their decision. In announcing the revised package this morning, Mr. Ford told workers in a letter that the package offered "the final opportunity" for United to avert a Chapter 11 filing. "On Thursday you will be voting on more than your contract; you will be voting on the direction of your company, your job and your future. Weigh all options before you vote, and make an informed, educated decision," Mr. Ford said. The earlier contract proposal, which mechanics rejected on a vote of 57 percent to 43 percent early on Thanksgiving Day, contained wage cuts of 6 to 7 percent, depending on job classification, as well as the loss of four vacation days. Union officials said workers were upset that they could not choose which specific days would be forfeited. And they also felt the proposal should have addressed longstanding disputes over what the union terms "quality of work life" issues, basically matters at work sites that involve decisions made jointly by union and management. Such efforts are supposed to encourage team work between the two sides. But mechanics, and many other union members at the airline, have long complained that they do not have control over their schedules, which they say are dictated by management without their input. And, many union members have been displeased at what they consider to be the slow pace at which their complaints are resolved by supervisors. Mr. Tilton, in a letter to Mr. Ford, said he would seek a report from the airline's labor relations department on the workplace issues by June 1. Mr. Tilton disclosed that United's concessions agreements with each of its unions call for the establishment of committees to review the way each part of the airline is run. Said Mr. Tilton, "Cost savings are necessary if we are to be able to avoid a Chapter 11 filing but we must also have management working together with all employees to incorporate employee input." Under the revised concessions plan, workers still give up pay for the four vacation days a year that was called for in the rejected proposal. Under the new plan, workers initially will be asked to give up those days during early 2003, when the airline "faces dire financial circumstances," according to Peter B. Kain, United's vice president for labor relations. In subsequent years, mechanics will be able to choose which of the four vacation days will be unpaid, with at least two falling in the first half of the year, unless a union member has decided to take all his or her vacation in the second half of the year, Mr. Kain said in a letter to Mr. Ford that was posted on the union's Web site. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/02/business/02CND-AIR.html?ex=1039838452&ei=1&en=6899c2a5a959b072 HOW TO ADVERTISE --------------------------------- For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters or other creative advertising opportunities with The New York Times on the Web, please contact onlinesales@nytimes.com or visit our online media kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com. Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company