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Airline Workers Rally At White House To Blast Cuts

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Source: Media Article

Date: Dec 14, 2004

Washington D.C.WASHINGTON, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Hundreds of flight attendants and other airline workers rallied outside the White House on Tuesday in an angry appeal for the government to block bankrupt carriers from dropping union contracts and pensions.

"There is a price for safe and efficient air travel," said Patricia Friend, president of the Association of Flight Attendants. "We are sending a message not just to our airline managements but to corporate America."

Friend and leaders of other unions representing most U.S. airline workers at the biggest carriers urged Congress and the Bush administration to protect collective bargaining rights, retirement plans and health care benefits, especially during bankruptcy proceedings.

The Bush administration and airline labor groups have clashed repeatedly and executive branch policy has generally favored management interests. Recent bankruptcy court decisions have also gone against labor.

And Congress has shown little interest in helping the airlines after extending various aid packages worth billions of dollars since 2001. Lawmakers have been reluctant to customize any aid directly for unions.

Nevertheless, the flight attendants union, which represents 21,000 workers at United Airlines (UALAQ.OB: Quote, Profile, Research) and 5,000 at US Airways (UAIRQ.OB: Quote, Profile, Research) , has threatened to strike both carriers if they follow through with their threats to void their contracts and pension plans to save money.

US Airways has said it could fail in a month without nearly $1 billion in new pay, benefit and pension savings from its labor unions -- including more than $120 million in flight attendant concessions. Only pilots and customer service agents at the seventh-largest carrier have negotiated givebacks.

"We have made a pledge that if a bankruptcy court eliminates a contract for any union we consider it an attack on every union," said Larry Cohen, the executive vice president of the Communications Workers of America. "This White House and this industry has brought chaos to us and if they violate these contracts we will bring chaos to them."

US Airways still hopes for a giveback agreement with flight attendants but will ask Judge Stephen Mitchell of the Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria for a ruling to preclude any strikes, if concession talks fail.

Some legal experts are split on whether the court would back the airline to protect its assets or allow a walkout or other job action. Federal labor law permits airline workers to strike in limited circumstances.

Separately, the government agency that insures corporate pensions said it appeared US Airways' financial condition is so dire that it may meet the federal standard for terminating pension plans covering mechanics and flight attendants.

In a bankruptcy court filing late on Monday, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. said it had reviewed the airline's finances and believes it does not have sufficient cash flow to support the primary pension accounts covering union workers.

However, the pension agency urged the bankruptcy court to hold US Airways to "the highest standards of proof" in considering whether the company has exhausted all cost-cutting efforts outside of pension plan termination.

By contrast, the PBGC asked a bankruptcy court in Chicago on Monday to compel United to make over $800 million in pension contributions. United also wants to drop its union retirement plans to save money.

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