This article from NYTimes.com has been sent to you by psa188@xxxxxxxxx United and 2 Unions Reach Tentative Agreements April 5, 2003 By MICHELINE MAYNARD United Airlines said late yesterday that it had reached tentative agreements with flight attendants and dispatchers on new six-year contracts that would grant contract concessions sought by the airline, which is under bankruptcy protection. The deals come a week after United reached agreement with its pilots' union on a tentative contract that would allow it to cut its operating costs by 30 percent, and create a low-fare airline intended to compete with Southwest and JetBlue. The airline's 8,800 pilots are set to vote on their deal Friday. The agreement would grant $1.1 billion a year in concessions, the largest share of the $2.56 billion a year in wage and benefit cuts that United is seeking from its five major labor unions. Terms of the agreement with the Association of Flight Attendants were not disclosed, but United said in a court filing that it was seeking $314 million in savings from its 24,000 flight attendants. The union for the flight dispatchers said the proposed contract would yield savings of $4.5 million a year from the 170 flight controllers. United said the deals would "support our plan for transformation," presumably meaning the low-fare carrier, which would operate within the parent airline. "These agreements move us much closer to achieving the savings we need to transform United into a resilient and profitable enterprise," said Glenn F. Tilton, chief executive of United's parent, the UAL Corporation. United is facing a May 1 deadline for meeting requirements of $1.5 billion in debtor-in-possession financing that it obtained when it filed for bankruptcy in December, and wants to secure the concessions by then. The airline has asked a bankruptcy court in Chicago for permission to void its labor agreements. A hearing on that motion is set for April 14. The agreements mean that United now will focus on talks with its last major labor group, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which represents 37,500 workers at the airline. Talks with the machinists have been under way for the last few weeks. On Thursday, United and the machinists' union settled a dispute over United's bid to lay off 1,148 workers at its Indianapolis maintenance base without pay, citing lower bookings because of the war with Iraq. Under that agreement, United will follow its normal layoff procedure, and workers will receive their pay and benefits while they are off the job. United's meteorologists, who are represented by the Transport Workers' Union, have already approved their portion of the concessions package. The tentative deals with the pilots, flight attendants and flight dispatchers set up a repeat of the situation that faced United and the machinists' union late last year, when it sought concessions from its workers in a bid to stave off the bankruptcy filing. The machinists' union was the last among United's unions to agree to tentative concessions. Baggage handlers and other ground workers represented by the machinists accepted the concessions. But United's 14,000 mechanics, which comprise a separate bargaining unit, turned the concessions down and the company filed for bankruptcy. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/05/business/05UNIT.html?ex=1050561032&ei=1&en=cea723716f37f7c8 HOW TO ADVERTISE --------------------------------- For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters or other creative advertising opportunities with The New York Times on the Web, please contact onlinesales@xxxxxxxxxxx or visit our online media kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@xxxxxxxxxxxx Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company