United's unions discuss alternate plan By Marilyn Adams, USA TODAY Signaling growing conflicts within United Airlines, its labor leaders met=20 recently with two investment firms =97 including one headed by the company's= =20 former CEO =97 to discuss alternatives to management's=20 bankruptcy-reorganization plan. The discord comes as the management of UAL,= =20 United's parent, attempts to negotiate $2.5 billion a year in labor cost=20 cuts by March 15. Labor unions' discussions with outside investors could be a way of=20 pressuring management into a compromise. Or they could be the opening=20 gambit in a power struggle over UAL's direction. The unions met with the=20 Texas Pacific Group and Greenbriar Equity Group, according to people=20 knowledgeable about the meetings. Texas Pacific provided the financing that= =20 brought Continental Airlines and America West out of Chapter 11 in the=20 1990s and recently bid for the same role in US Airways' Chapter 11 case.=20 Greenbriar is headed by former United CEO Gerald Greenwald, whom unions=20 recruited to lead the company after employees bought control of UAL in 1994. People familiar with the meetings said labor leaders voiced doubts about=20 whether United's management team is capable of leading it out of Chapter 11= =20 reorganization. Although United's workers aren't expected to retain their=20 majority stake, reorganization would be difficult without employees'=20 support. Labor leaders who could be reached Sunday declined to comment on=20 the meetings, and United downplayed them. "Conversations with interested=20 parties are taking place and will continue to take place," United spokesman= =20 Chris Brathwaite said Sunday. Brathwaite said Greenwald told the company=20 Friday that he discussed only exit financing with the unions and not a=20 turnaround that would remove current management. BusinessWeek reports in=20 its March 3 issue that some United labor leaders want Greenwald to be=20 non-executive chairman and bring in new money and management. United=20 dismisses the story. Among labor leaders, the most controversial aspect of= =20 United's plan is a proposal to start a low-cost airline within United that= =20 would have separate labor contracts. United executives insist a separate=20 operation, with much lower operating costs, is crucial to compete against=20 discount carriers such as Southwest Airlines. *************************************************** 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.dbombo.net/muddyangels/ TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************