United machinists say labor pact 'not possible' by deadline CHICAGO (AP) =97 The union representing United Airlines ground workers said= =20 Friday it "won't be possible" to reach an agreement on labor concessions by= =20 the company's March 17 deadline for taking the contract issue to court.=20 After a week of negotiations with the company in Chicago, leaders of the=20 Machinists' union representing baggage handlers and public contact=20 employees expressed hope they will be able to work out a tentative=20 contract. But they told their members such an agreement isn't imminent. "It= =20 is now apparent that achieving new ratified contracts by that date will not= =20 be possible," the union officials said in a posting on the Web site of=20 Machinists' union District 141. "Time is running out on these complex=20 negotiations and difficult issues stand between us and agreement." The main= =20 issues are subcontracting, job security, part-time work status,=20 reservations and United's proposal to create a separate low-cost carrier,=20 according to the statement signed by president Randy Canale and other=20 district leaders. United, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection= =20 in December, is on a tight timetable to show financial progress or risk=20 losing its emergency financing. It wants to slash labor costs by $2.56=20 billion a year and says that on March 17 it will begin the weeks-long legal= =20 process under which existing contracts could be voided and its own terms=20 imposed. Both the airline and the unions have said they would continue negotiating=20 past March 17 if no new pact is reached by then, since the=20 contract-breaking process takes several weeks. The other Machinists' union,= =20 representing mechanics, commented only briefly on negotiations in a Friday= =20 posting to its members. The District 141-M negotiators said that "United's= =20 desire to outsource maintenance and inflict additional furloughs on our=20 membership remains a contentious issue." United's pilots and flight=20 attendants unions both have publicly opposed United's proposal for a=20 low-fares carrier as contract talks continue. United spokesman Jeff Green=20 declined to characterize the status of any contract negotiations. He said=20 the company remains committed to reaching a consensual agreement on labor=20 cost savings with all its unions. On the machinists' side, negotiations are= =20 shadowed by a rival union's intensifying effort to take over representation= =20 from the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. The Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association filed a petition Thursday with= =20 the National Mediation Board seeking to represent United's mechanics and=20 related employees =97 an action IAM officials said threatens to derail=20 negotiations the same way an earlier bid did in 2000. "AMFA's intrusion at= =20 this critical stage introduces potentially fatal distraction into an=20 already precarious situation," said Robert Roach Jr., general vice=20 president for the IAM. "They have placed the futures of the very employees= =20 that they propose to represent in dire jeopardy." He accused AMFA of taking= =20 steps to benefit Northwest Airlines, where the majority of its members=20 work. A phone call to AMFA's office in Minneapolis was not immediately=20 returned. The mediation board will determine if AMFA received enough signed= =20 cards from workers to put the representation question to a vote. Shares in= =20 United parent UAL Corp. rose 6 cents to close at $1.03 Friday on the New=20 York Stock Exchange. *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@xxxxxxxxx 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.tha.gov.tt/ TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************