http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04195/345461.stm
Tuesday, July 13, 2004
By Dan Fitzpatrick, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
More than a month into a critical set of contract negotiations, US Airways and its pilots remain at odds over the maximum number of hours that each pilot can work per month.
While both sides agree that pilots should fly more to make the airline more productive, they disagree on the details, with the company asking for a maximum of 95 hours and the union wanting no more than 90.
The five-hour gap between the two negotiating teams materialized last week as the company officially responded to the pilots initial offer, made June 23, that would have increased their monthly work load from 85 to 90 hours. US Airways, which hopes to wring as much as $295 million in savings from its highest-paid union, also said it wanted changes in how the pilots' vacation and sick time would be accrued.
The airline has yet to address another major plank of the pilots' first offer -- a 12.5 percent pay cut -- or the subject of retirement, saying only that "critical elements" such as benefits would be discussed separately.
What continues to rankle some pilots is the company's unwillingness thus far to attach a dollar figure to the pilots' first offer, which observers believe is significantly less than the $295 million in annual savings requested by the company.
That final figure is important as US Airways tries to regain profitability by shaving $1.5 billion in annual costs, $800 million of that from its unions. The company has said it must have new agreements from all unions by September, but to date only the pilots have agreed to discuss any contract changes.
US Airways declined comment on its counteroffer, as did a pilots spokesman, who said the union would not talk about negotiations until they are completed.
But other pilots, writing on pilots-only Web sites, are criticizing the talks, with some expressing concern that the company has yet to discuss what the pilots could receive in return for their third round of concessions in two years.
Pilot union leaders John Crocker and Dan Von Bargen, who represent Philadelphia-area pilots, yesterday described the company's counterproposal as a "wish list" inspired by JetBlue Airways, which also requires pilots to fly 95 hours per month and is a major competitor in key US Airways markets.
"Our response, given to the company, was, 'We do not wish to scrap the current contract and replace it with JetBlue's work rules,' " the pair wrote in an e-mail to the pilot union's Philadelphia members. They also reiterated their complaint of last week, which said the company has yet to explain what corporate cuts can be made to contribute to the goal of $1.5 billion in annual savings.
"We continue to sit across the table attempting to negotiate in good faith with the same basic management team that has been in place for the past several years," the pair wrote last week. "Their tactics appear to be only more of that which we have become accustomed to, yet were promised would change."
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(Dan Fitzpatrick can be reached at [email protected] or 412-263-1752.)
Tuesday, July 13, 2004
By Dan Fitzpatrick, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
More than a month into a critical set of contract negotiations, US Airways and its pilots remain at odds over the maximum number of hours that each pilot can work per month.
While both sides agree that pilots should fly more to make the airline more productive, they disagree on the details, with the company asking for a maximum of 95 hours and the union wanting no more than 90.
The five-hour gap between the two negotiating teams materialized last week as the company officially responded to the pilots initial offer, made June 23, that would have increased their monthly work load from 85 to 90 hours. US Airways, which hopes to wring as much as $295 million in savings from its highest-paid union, also said it wanted changes in how the pilots' vacation and sick time would be accrued.
The airline has yet to address another major plank of the pilots' first offer -- a 12.5 percent pay cut -- or the subject of retirement, saying only that "critical elements" such as benefits would be discussed separately.
What continues to rankle some pilots is the company's unwillingness thus far to attach a dollar figure to the pilots' first offer, which observers believe is significantly less than the $295 million in annual savings requested by the company.
That final figure is important as US Airways tries to regain profitability by shaving $1.5 billion in annual costs, $800 million of that from its unions. The company has said it must have new agreements from all unions by September, but to date only the pilots have agreed to discuss any contract changes.
US Airways declined comment on its counteroffer, as did a pilots spokesman, who said the union would not talk about negotiations until they are completed.
But other pilots, writing on pilots-only Web sites, are criticizing the talks, with some expressing concern that the company has yet to discuss what the pilots could receive in return for their third round of concessions in two years.
Pilot union leaders John Crocker and Dan Von Bargen, who represent Philadelphia-area pilots, yesterday described the company's counterproposal as a "wish list" inspired by JetBlue Airways, which also requires pilots to fly 95 hours per month and is a major competitor in key US Airways markets.
"Our response, given to the company, was, 'We do not wish to scrap the current contract and replace it with JetBlue's work rules,' " the pair wrote in an e-mail to the pilot union's Philadelphia members. They also reiterated their complaint of last week, which said the company has yet to explain what corporate cuts can be made to contribute to the goal of $1.5 billion in annual savings.
"We continue to sit across the table attempting to negotiate in good faith with the same basic management team that has been in place for the past several years," the pair wrote last week. "Their tactics appear to be only more of that which we have become accustomed to, yet were promised would change."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Dan Fitzpatrick can be reached at [email protected] or 412-263-1752.)
