TED REED
Staff Writer
US Airways says it wants its flight attendants to make concessions valued at $116 million, part of the $800 million in concessions it is seeking from workers.
Airline officials disclosed the number Thursday, in a meeting at US Airways' Arlington, Va., headquarters with leaders of the carrier's chapter of the Association of Flight Attendants. Those leaders will meet today to decide whether they will negotiate over concessions and the form they will take.
Union President Perry Hayes said the union hasn't taken any position on the cuts because, until Thursday, it didn't know what the airline wanted.
Teddy Xidas, president of the union's Pittsburgh local, said that if the flight attendants agree to negotiate, they will use a financial analyst to determine the value of specific changes the company is seeking. "There are things we can do, but my short answer, at first glance, is that $116 million is not a doable thing as a cost target," Xidas said.
Changes in work rules, benefits and salary are all on the table, the airline has said. For instance, if the airline scheduled flights differently, flight attendants could fly more hours and spend fewer hours sitting around the airport, resulting in a cost savings, airline officials said Wednesday. The average top-scale flight attendant earns about $41,000 annually.
The nation's seventh-largest carrier, which has its largest hub in Charlotte, won $1.9 billion in annual cost reductions during a bankruptcy case that ended in 2003.
It is still losing money, largely due to mounting competition from low-fare carriers, and wants to cut costs by an additional $1.5 billion, including $800 million from workers.
The airline has told union leaders it wants $295 million from pilots and $120 million from the International Association of Machinists, which represents mechanics and fleet service workers.
Leaders of the Communications Workers of America, which represents ticket and gate agents, have not yet been told the value of their package.
Staff Writer
US Airways says it wants its flight attendants to make concessions valued at $116 million, part of the $800 million in concessions it is seeking from workers.
Airline officials disclosed the number Thursday, in a meeting at US Airways' Arlington, Va., headquarters with leaders of the carrier's chapter of the Association of Flight Attendants. Those leaders will meet today to decide whether they will negotiate over concessions and the form they will take.
Union President Perry Hayes said the union hasn't taken any position on the cuts because, until Thursday, it didn't know what the airline wanted.
Teddy Xidas, president of the union's Pittsburgh local, said that if the flight attendants agree to negotiate, they will use a financial analyst to determine the value of specific changes the company is seeking. "There are things we can do, but my short answer, at first glance, is that $116 million is not a doable thing as a cost target," Xidas said.
Changes in work rules, benefits and salary are all on the table, the airline has said. For instance, if the airline scheduled flights differently, flight attendants could fly more hours and spend fewer hours sitting around the airport, resulting in a cost savings, airline officials said Wednesday. The average top-scale flight attendant earns about $41,000 annually.
The nation's seventh-largest carrier, which has its largest hub in Charlotte, won $1.9 billion in annual cost reductions during a bankruptcy case that ended in 2003.
It is still losing money, largely due to mounting competition from low-fare carriers, and wants to cut costs by an additional $1.5 billion, including $800 million from workers.
The airline has told union leaders it wants $295 million from pilots and $120 million from the International Association of Machinists, which represents mechanics and fleet service workers.
Leaders of the Communications Workers of America, which represents ticket and gate agents, have not yet been told the value of their package.
yeah right
NO MORE FREE GOLF! :blink:
