By Frank Swoboda, The Washington Post
Tuesday, August 8, 2000
After a weekend of mounting flight cancellations caused by bad weather and pilot job actions, United Airlines said yesterday that it will scratch 1,840 flights from its September schedule.
Since May, the nation's largest airline has been forced to cancel about 3 percent of its flights to cope with the disruptions caused by severe summer storms and the refusal of some union pilots to work on their days off to protest the pace of negotiations on a new labor contract.
United canceled 4,800 flights from May through August after the pilots started their job action. The new September schedule was announced after a weekend of operational horror in which United canceled about 700 flights on Saturday and Sunday, followed by 226 cancellations yesterday.
The airline, the world's largest employee-owned corporation, is in contract negotiations with the Air Line Pilots Association, which represents United's 10,198 pilots. The pilot's current contract expired April 12, but under the provisions of the Railway Labor Act, which governs labor relations in the airline industry, it is not unusual for negotiations to continue for a year or more after the expiration of a contract. During that period neither side is permitted to take any job action such as a strike or lockout.
This year, however, contract negotiations began early in the hope of reaching agreement before the April expiration date. A number of pilots have been frustrated by the failure to reach an agreement and have refused overtime work in protest.
United Chairman James E. Goodwin has said he hopes to reach a contract agreement by Labor Day.
Key issues still to be resolved include a "scope" clause, which determines what type of aircraft United pilots will fly, as well as work rules, pay and retirement. Company sources indicated progress was being made on the scope clause, which is critical for determining how many regional jets can be flown on United routes by its commuter partners.
Adding to the pressures at the bargaining table, particularly with the pilots, is United's proposed merger with US Airways. One of the major problems is expected to be meshing the carriers' pilot seniority lists. Unlike any other work group at the two carriers, pilots are paid according to the size of the aircraft they fly. In a merger, many pilots will be bumped to smaller planes and smaller paychecks unless an agreement can be worked out with the union for integrating the seniority lists.
One plan under consideration, according to a source, would be to calculate the lifetime earnings of all United pilots in their current jobs and then pay them the difference between that and a lower salary they might be forced to take. Another possible solution would be to simply guarantee the current pay of all pilots regardless of what plane they fly, much as train crews are paid under contracts in the railroad industry.
In the meantime, United had some good news yesterday for customers who managed to make it onto a plane. The airline announced it was introducing new lunch and dinner entrees for passengers flying on economy-class tickets.
Grounded
United Airlines has been forced to cancel a sizable number of its 2,400 daily flights over the past three days:
Saturday 350*
Sunday 352
Monday 226
*Approximate
SOURCE: United Airlines
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