The article below from NYTimes.com has been sent to you by psa188@xxxxxxxxx /--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight ------------\ SIDEWAYS - OPENS IN NEW YORK AND LOS ANGELES OCT. 22 An official selection of the New York Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival, SIDEWAYS is the new comedy from Alexander Payne, director of ELECTION and ABOUT SCHMIDT. Starring Paul Giamatti, Thomas Haden Church, Sandra Oh and Virginia Madsen, SIDEWAYS opens in NY & LA October 22 and will expand across North America in November. Watch the trailer at: http://www.foxsearchlight.com/sideways/index_nyt.html \----------------------------------------------------------/ Pilots Union Agrees to Cuts at Northwest October 15, 2004 By MICHELINE MAYNARD Northwest Airlines and its pilots union reached tentative agreement yesterday on a deal that would save the airline $300 million in labor costs. Leaders of the Air Line Pilots Association, which represents pilots at Northwest, will now decide whether to submit the two-year agreement to members for a vote. The tentative settlement includes $265 million in cuts, the first granted to the airline by any of its labor groups. It comes more than a year after Northwest first sought the cuts. As part of the deal, Northwest said, salaried employees will take cuts worth $35 million. Before the tentative agreement can be carried out, Northwest must renegotiate a $975 million credit arrangement, which expires a year from now. If that happens and the pilots ratify the deal, Northwest said, the labor savings would take effect Dec. 1. Details on the cuts for employees were not available. The tentative agreement came less than two weeks after Northwest's chief executive, Richard H. Anderson, resigned to join a health care company. His successor, Douglas M. Steenland, Northwest's president, vowed to continue the talks. Northwest sought $950 million in concessions from its unions in the spring of 2003, with a warning by Mr. Anderson that the airline might file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection if it could not cut its costs. But analysts were skeptical that Northwest was in such dire need. Although Northwest has lost $2.1 billion since 2001, it has insulated itself somewhat from the threat posed by low-fare airlines by focusing on its hubs in Minneapolis, Detroit and Memphis, and on its Asian routes. Mr. Anderson subsequently backed off his prediction. Earlier this year, the pilots union said it would be willing to accept a deal worth $200 million. Talks accelerated last weekend before ending with yesterday's tentative agreement. Northwest said it would continue discussions with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers and the Transport Workers Union of America. Northwest said it hoped to open talks soon with flight attendants, mechanics and other employees. A federal bankruptcy court judge, meanwhile, is set to hear more arguments today on a request by US Airways to cut its union members' pay 23 percent. US Airways has said it could be forced to liquidate by midwinter if the cuts are not approved. The request, which has been the subject of two court hearings thus far, is opposed by the unions at US Airways, which say the airline has not proved it needs such deep cuts. US Airways filed for its second bankruptcy in two years on Sept. 12, after workers refused its bid for $800 million in wage and benefit cuts. Those would have been their third round of concessions. Two were granted in the first bankruptcy. Yesterday, US Airways won court approval for an agreement with its lenders and a federal loan board that will permit it to continue to draw from its cash to run its operations. Kristen A. Lee contributed reporting from Alexandria, Va., for this article. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/15/business/15air.html?ex=1098850164&ei=1&en=4f5aef2be7a5791c --------------------------------- Get Home Delivery of The New York Times Newspaper. Imagine reading The New York Times any time & anywhere you like! Leisurely catch up on events & expand your horizons. Enjoy now for 50% off Home Delivery! Click here: http://homedelivery.nytimes.com/HDS/SubscriptionT1.do?mode=SubscriptionT1&ExternalMediaCode=W24AF 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 2004 The New York Times Company