US Airways pilots union ratifies more cost-cuts ARLINGTON, Va. (Reuters) =97 The union representing pilots at US Airways= said=20 Saturday it had ratified an agreement on some $100 million in cost-cutting= =20 measures to help keep the airline from shutting down. The Air Line Pilots=20 Association's Master Executive Council, which represents more than 4,000=20 pilots at the beleaguered airline, approved the measures which include cuts= =20 in pay, pension and other benefits. The package agreed upon Tuesday night=20 includes changes in productivity and work rules, temporary wage cuts, and=20 savings on benefits and pension plans. The pilots' group has already=20 ratified $465 million in annual wage cuts and other concessions. The=20 Arlington, Virginia-based airline has already won $1.3 billion in annual=20 savings but asked its unions for additional concessions after the carrier=20 began falling short of revenue targets in September. The Retirement Systems of Alabama, US Airways' primary bankruptcy financing= =20 partner, stepped up the pressure on workers last week, stating that it=20 could refuse to fund the airline if it didn't secure another $200 million=20 in labor cost-cuts to help it meet requirements for its financing. But the= =20 head of the pension group, David Bronner, said earlier this week that the=20 agreement with the pilots union dramatically reduced the chances that US=20 Airways would liquidate. "US Airways continues to have productive=20 discussions with its other unions on further cost-cutting measures," US=20 Airways said in a statement. The airline has said it expects to emerge from= =20 bankruptcy in March if it can win final approval of an application for $900= =20 million in government backing on its loans. US Airways, the nation's No. 6= =20 airline, succumbed to Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August after suffering=20 heavily from the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. 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: (TnT News) http://www.tntmirror.com/ (TnT News) courtesy of Roj Trinbago Website & TnT Web Directory Roj's Trinbago Website: http://www.tntisland.com TnT Web Directory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************