A surprise deal between United Airlines and its flight attendants contrasts sharply with pilot-management talks at Delta Air Lines and American Airlines. As of mid-February, those two carriers were locked in federally mediated negotiations as pilots turned up the heat with strike preparations.
The most notable points that arose from United's provisional agreement with its flight attendants are that the talks were initiated well in advance of the contract's expiry date, and that the new agreement is devoid of any ownership element which would bring the flight attendants in line with machinists and pilots. The three-week discussion produced what flight attendant leaders called a 'job security package,' which caps the carrier's five non-US flight attendant domiciles, with no pay increases before 1998.
The equanimity at United was a far cry from pilot-management negotiations at American and Delta. The years-long contract talks at both carriers have centred on concessions and, more recently, the establishment of low-cost subsidiaries. At American, discussions have been mired since AMR Corp has been turning in record profits in recent quarters.
At Delta, both sides are contemplating the disaster a strike would mean in the run-up to the Summer Olympics in Atlanta - the carrier's main hub. Management, demanding a 7 per cent roll-back in wages totaling $340 million, were hoping to have the low-fare subsidiary in operation by the start of February to serve the competitive Florida markets. Pilots sent out strike ballots, insisting that any concession is linked to an equity stake in Delta in return.
Mead Jennings
Source: Airline Business
