America West pilots reject labor contract PHOENIX (AP) =97 America West Airlines pilots rejected a proposed contract= =20 Tuesday, saying the retirement benefits and job security provisions offered= =20 were inadequate. About 1,400 pilots voted, with roughly 73% rejecting the=20 proposed three-year agreement. The pilots rejected the contract because=20 they were unable to get additional retirement benefits, said Peter=20 Blandino, chairman of the local chapter the Air Line Pilots Association.=20 Currently, they have only a 401k plan. The pilots were also concerned about= =20 provisions in the contract they feared could be used to replace them with=20 more regional pilots if America West's regular business shrinks, he said.=20 "I don't think the pilots were shocked as much as dissatisfied about what=20 was offered," Blandino said. "The pilots are pretty sanguine and realistic= =20 about what is going on in the economy and the industry." America West pilots are at the bottom of the industry pay scale, but=20 airline officials have said the pay is being compared to that of larger=20 airlines, such as Delta, instead of similar low-cost airlines like American= =20 TransAir. America West, the nation's eighth largest carrier, has posted=20 losses for nine straight quarters. America West is McCarran International=20 Airport's second largest carrier. Company officials have argued that an agreement with the federal government= =20 to win backing for a $380 million federal loan included setting ceilings on= =20 annual pay increases for workers. "We are disappointed that our pilots=20 voted against ratification of the agreement between America West and the=20 Air Line Pilots Association, particularly given the economic realities=20 facing our industry and our company today," said Douglas Parker, chairman=20 and chief executive officer. America West pilots began negotiating with=20 management in February 2000. The National Mediation Board assigned a=20 federal mediator to facilitate the talks in May 2001. The mediation board=20 suspended talks following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The two sides=20 resumed negotiating last March, and the pilots association and management=20 reached the tentative agreement in December. It called for an immediate 11= =20 percent pay raise and a 3 percent raise in 2005. Blandino said he expects=20 new negotiations to begin by July. "The ccnext step is to get back to the= =20 table and see where those friction points were and try to resolve them," he= =20 said. *************************************************** 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.thehummingbirdonline.com TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************