Unions study plan asking $2.4 billion in annual labor cuts CHICAGO (AP) =97 United Airlines' unions met with their advisers Monday to= =20 review the bankrupt carrier's proposal for severe cuts, which one union=20 said would more than double the previous targeted concessions. The flight=20 attendants' union told its members that at the demand of the lenders who=20 are enabling United to keep flying in bankruptcy, the carrier is seeking to= =20 slash labor costs by $2.4 billion annually within the next two months. That= =20 compares with approximately $1 billion in yearly cuts that unions agreed to= =20 this fall as part of United's failed bid for a government loan guarantee.=20 United spokesman Joe Hopkins said Monday the airline had no comment on the= =20 cost-cutting process. The Association of Flight Attendants said United=20 management informed negotiators for the airline's unions of the=20 restructuring plan total on Friday. "Those cost reductions must be secured= =20 by mid-February," the union said in the update on its Web site. "Thus,=20 things will happen very fast." Spokesman Jeff Zack of the union representing 18,000 United flight=20 attendants said the group was given "significant leeway" in how to come up= =20 with its share of the required savings, using a combination of wage cuts=20 and productivity improvements. Flight attendants had agreed to 4% wage reductions last month as part of=20 the recovery package which was nullified when the government rejected the=20 wage plan. United has cut 3,500 flight attendants' jobs. Zack said it=20 remains uncertain how many further jobs might be at risk in the bankruptcy= =20 restructuring. United's pilots and machinists, whose pay has been at or=20 near industry-leading levels, face bigger, double-digit wage cuts as well=20 as the likelihood of layoffs. The world's second-biggest airline had warned= =20 in filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Dec. 10 that painful cuts= =20 were coming that would go well beyond its previous financial recovery plan,= =20 which called for $5.2 billion in labor cutbacks by 2008. It must meet=20 strict requirements showing financial progress throughout bankruptcy or=20 risk defaulting on its $1.5 billion in interim financing. Pilots' union spokesman Steve Derebey said his union was going over=20 management's proposal but declined to discuss it, saying the carrier's=20 pilots themselves had not yet been told. Mechanics, who rejected a=20 tentative agreement for 7% pay cuts last month, are now being asked to take= =20 13% reductions, according to a communique the union sent out to its members. The company also has informed the union representing mechanics that it=20 wants to revise health care terms and change work rules in order to improve= =20 productivity and efficiency. "United indicated that their proposal was a=20 starting point for further discussions," Scotty Ford, president of District= =20 141-M of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers,= =20 said in the note to members on Saturday. "District 141-M is now reviewing the term sheets with our financial and=20 legal advisers. We also expect to discuss the proposed terms with the=20 United Airlines union coalition." Meanwhile, United and US Airways said=20 Monday they will expand the recently launched code-sharing arrangement for= =20 their flights on Jan. 7 =97 a deal United expects to generate more than $200= =20 million for it in annual revenue. The partnership will allow the two=20 struggling carriers to sell tickets on each other's flights, coordinate=20 schedules and offer reciprocal perks such as frequent flier miles. US=20 Airways customers will be able to travel to nine cities in the western=20 United States initially, including five cities currently not served by US=20 Airways, while United passengers will have access to 12 additional cities=20 in the East and Southeast. Shares in United parent UAL Corp. fell 25 cents= =20 to close Monday at $1.50 on the New York Stock Exchange. 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 *********************************************************