United's machinists last holdouts to emergency pay cuts CHICAGO (AP) =97 United Airlines has approval from four of its five unions= =20 for emergency pay cuts in bankruptcy. Now it's counting on a judge to order= =20 the participation of the only holdouts: its machinists. A day after flight= =20 attendants overwhelmingly ratified 9% interim pay cuts, United was hoping=20 for a favorable ruling from federal bankruptcy Judge Eugene Wedoff. Wedoff= =20 was to rule Thursday or Friday on whether to impose 13% pay reductions on=20 the machinists =97 13,000 mechanics and 24,000 ramp, customer service and=20 gate workers. If he grants the order, United says it will have enough=20 financial breathing room to meet its lenders' requirements until May 1,=20 allowing it time to negotiate permanent contracts. Flight attendants joined= =20 pilots, dispatchers and meteorologists in reluctantly accepting United's=20 proposal for temporary wage cuts, a move the company says will provide=20 about $70 million a month in savings to pacify its lenders. But as with the= =20 other unions, their interim agreement expires Friday unless the machinists'= =20 participation is assured by day's end. Ninety-four% of those participating= =20 in weeklong voting that ended Wednesday voted in favor of the wage-cut=20 agreement, the union said, although turnout among United's 24,000 flight=20 attendants was just 62%. "This cut is very painful, especially since flight attendant compensation=20 is so minimal to begin with," said Greg Davidowitch, president of the=20 United branch of the Association of Flight Attendants. "Flight attendants=20 have once again shown that we are committed to seeing our airline=20 successfully emerge from bankruptcy." Flight attendants' pay before the=20 cuts ranged from $17,000 to $44,000 a year. Like the pilots, the flight=20 attendants also assailed the company for being "less than forthcoming" with= =20 information about its overhaul plans. "Recognizing the contributions of=20 front-line employees is a key to this process because bankruptcy doesn't=20 end well when the workers and management are not on the same page,"=20 Davidowitch said, alluding to the risk of liquidation if labor dissension=20 erupts. United CEO Glenn Tilton said he was grateful for the flight=20 attendants' decision and pledged that the company will continue to work=20 with its unions to reach consensual agreements. The pay-cut agreements do=20 not give an expiration date for the temporary wage reductions, which will=20 last until a new contract is negotiated or imposed by the bankruptcy court= =20 this winter or spring. Elk Grove Village, Ill.-based United, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy= =20 last month, has until Feb. 15 to cut costs. Otherwise it could lose the=20 rest of $1.5 billion in interim financing supplied by a group of banks.=20 Pilots approved a 29% pay cut; the 180 controllers and 40 meteorologists=20 will see wages slashed by 13%. The Machinists' union, however, has objected= =20 to United's proposal that its members take 13% reductions, saying the=20 company has not provided sufficient evidence. United noted in its formal=20 response to the machinists' objections in federal bankruptcy court late=20 Wednesday that it will default on its debtor-in-possession financing unless= =20 it achieves substantial labor cost reductions =97 including from its=20 machinists =97 by mid-February. Without a favorable ruling from Wedoff, United will move in court to start= =20 having all labor contracts voided. It said in its court filing that it=20 wants to avoid having to resort to those proceedings because they would=20 "unnecessarily strain the negotiating process and jeopardize the company's= =20 restructuring efforts." Negotiations continued Wednesday for a second day=20 in Chicago between the airline and leaders of the International Association= =20 of Machinists and Aerospace Workers on long-term cost reductions. The union= =20 said no discussions on United's proposal for interim cuts were taking place. *************************************************** 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: http://www.hilofoodstores.com TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************