Southwest reaches tentative deal with reservation, customer service agents DALLAS (AP) =97 Southwest Airlines and the union representing its= reservation=20 and customer service agents have reached a tentative contract agreement,=20 which will be voted on by Jan. 30. Union representatives said the tentative= =20 contract agreement covering about 10,000 Southwest workers was reached=20 faster than the industry has before seen. "Our negotiators weren't=20 distracted by the turmoil surrounding the industry," said Robert Roach Jr.,= =20 International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers vice=20 president, in a statement. "They stayed focused and reached a tentative=20 agreement only six weeks after the contract became amendable. Even in good= =20 times, that is unheard of for this industry." The proposed six-year=20 contract includes wage increases, an employee stock option plan and premium= =20 pay for bilingual reservation agents, the union said Monday when it=20 announced the proposed contract. "Both parties came to the table and wanted= =20 to hand write a win-win contract," Southwest Airlines spokesman Ed Stewart= =20 said Tuesday. Stewart said the proposed contract allows the airline to maintain its cost= =20 structure while at the same time boosting the salary of "some great=20 employees." If ratified, the deal would run through October 2008, but it=20 could be reopened by the union for changes in 2006 if the airline's stock=20 doesn't perform to preset levels. The carrier, which is the most heavily=20 unionized U.S. airline at about 85 percent of its work force, has=20 negotiated four major contracts this year, including pilots and ground=20 staff. Stock options have sweetened several recent contracts for Southwest,= =20 the only major U.S. airline to remain profitable every quarter since last=20 year's terrorist attacks. The low-fare carrier's flight attendants are the= =20 last major employee group that has yet to agree upon a contract, although=20 those negotiations are proceeding well, said Stewart. Southwest accelerated= =20 the pace of talks with its unions because it may not be able to grant stock= =20 options for much longer. A proposed Securities and Exchange Commission rule= =20 would prevent a company from granting the options to employees without=20 first gaining shareholder approval. *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) : escape email mailto:ejames@escape.ca Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Site of the Week: www.tobagoweddings.com/ TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************