This article from NYTimes.com has been sent to you by psa188@juno.com. Unions Vow to Press Fight for Aid Reconsideration December 6, 2002 By MATT RICHTEL and STEVEN GREENHOUSE SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 5 - United Airlines' major unions urged the government today to reconsider its rejection of the airline's loan guarantee application and vowed to take the fight to Congress and President Bush. Two of those unions, the machinists' and the flight attendants', also indicated that they might consider further concessions, but only with a promise that those changes would keep the airline, the second-largest in the world, out of bankruptcy. All three of United's major unions - representing pilots, machinists and flight attendants - met in person and by teleconference tonight to plot strategy, but they said beforehand that they would base their next move on guidance from United's management and the Air Transportation Stabilization Board. "We want the A.T.S.B. to reconsider," said Robert Roach Jr., general vice president for transportation at the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, United's largest union. "We want guarantees from the A.T.S.B. about what it would take to have the loan guarantee approved." Mr. Roach and other union leaders said they had been in contact with their allies in Congress in hopes of spurring legislation that would override the transportation board's decision. But there may not be enough time to avert a bankruptcy filing. United may file for bankruptcy by Monday, according to people briefed on the company's debt negotiations. The scramble to plot a new direction came after unions for the pilots, flight attendants and most of the machinists reached a tentative agreement for $5.2 billion in concessions, contingent on approval by all rank-and-file members, that they felt would be enough to secure the government's loan guarantee. The government's decision was met by surprise in some quarters, and disappointment. Edward Wytkind, executive director of the A.F.L.-C.I.O.'s transportation department, said the board had violated Congressional intent by failing to provide short-term financial stability. "We will call on Congress to do something about it - that is, if they're willing to take on this White House," Mr. Wytkind said. But down on the tarmac, in the hangars, at the ticket counters and on the planes, the feeling among employees was less angry and more uncertain. Some of United's more than 50,000 union employees said they did not see a clear path for the airline's future or their continued employment. The board's decision also pushed one issue into the background: whether the mechanics would agree to all the pay concessions they had been asked for to generate the savings United had promised the board. After rejecting the concessions last week, the mechanics had been set to vote on slightly revised ones today, but they suspended the vote after the decision by the air transportation board. "We were being blamed last week" for scuttling the airline's prospects for a loan, said Joseph G. Prisco, 41, an aircraft maintenance technician in San Francisco. Now, he said: "Everybody is polite to each other. It's kind of surreal at work. It's out of our hands, and it wasn't our fault." Instead, union officials blame the air transportation board, which they said had been vague in outlining what United must do to secure loan guarantees. The unions said they would not rule out further concessions - if such sacrifices would ensure financial backing. "Everybody now is focused on the survival of the carrier," Mr. Roach said. But workers may have little choice. If United files for bankruptcy, there is a strong possibility that it will ask a bankruptcy judge to abrogate part of its labor contracts so it can cut wages and benefits. David Gregory, a labor expert at the St. John's University School of Law, said the unions might consider additional concessions now to stave off such an eventuality. "The gun is now to their head," Mr. Gregory said. "The entire enterprise, not only United, but the unions, have walked not only to the precipice - they've stepped over it." In fact, the machinists' union said yesterday that it had retained a law firm in New York that is expert in bankruptcy filings. United's unions met this evening in a hastily planned gathering to discuss pressing Congress and starting a public relations drive aimed at casting the White House as the villain. "It's an attempt to exhaust all of our options and look for any options of restructuring outside of court," said Sara Dela Cruz, a spokeswoman for the flight attendants' association. Mr. Wytkind said: "The Bush White House has set the nation's airlines into a potential financial tailspin, and from what we can tell, they're not willing to do anything about that. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of workers and passengers will be hurt." Mr. Roach of the machinists' union said: "Everybody is shocked and concerned that the federal government would not be there for American workers as they are for rebuilding Afghanistan. It's in the national security interest to protect a transportation company like United." But while some union leaders blamed the Bush administration, some rank-and-file members said responsibility for United's troubles lay with the company. The board's decision to reject the loan application "was bad for United, but it may have been the right decision," said Robert F. Rendler, 38, a mechanic for 17 years who is based in San Francisco and said he was among the mechanics who had planned to vote against the concessions. He said the union had not done a good job defending the interests of its members. "I don't know who I fear more, the bankruptcy judge or my union," he said. Mr. Rendler said he was already preparing himself for the possibility that he would have to look for another job. Other employees were almost fatalistic about United's prospects. "We are all just really, really depressed. People are sad. People are very angry," said one 59-year-old veteran flight attendant who is based in San Francisco but lives in Denver. She declined to give her name. "That was the way people felt yesterday before the news," she added. "Today it's worse." Susan Tonon, a 16-year employee of United and a nonunion worker based in Elk Grove, Ill., said employees would have to give up something. "I want to see us saved as a company," she said. "We may need wage concessions by everyone. It's going to have to happen." http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/06/business/06WORK.html?ex=1040189641&ei=1&en=aedc4cd88a6d1bbd 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