United Gets Order Against Its Mechanics
By LAURENCE ZUCKERMAN
Published: November 18, 2000
A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order yesterday directing mechanics at United Airlines to stop engaging in what the airline asserted was an orchestrated campaign that had forced it to cancel scores of flights in recent days.
United States District Court Judge William J. Hibbler of the Northern District of Illinois denied a request by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers to wait until next week before taking action.
''This is a situation in which the public is greatly impacted,'' he said. ''To delay until Tuesday would not be in the public interest.'' His order will remain in effect until a hearing on Dec. 13.
United went to court hoping to head off a major disruption before the Thanksgiving holiday period, which is the busiest travel week of the year. The airline was forced to cancel more than 20,000 flights last summer after many of its pilots refused to fly overtime.
United has since become a trend setter for the airline industry. A recent settlement with its pilots made them the highest paid in the industry, leading to demands for similar raises from its machinists and flight attendants as well as workers at rival airlines.
Yesterday, United led the way again, initiating the single biggest fare increase in recent memory, according to Samuel C. Buttrick, an airline analyst at UBS Warburg in New York.
The airline raised last-minute walk-up fares $50 on one-way flights of less than 1,500 miles and $100 on flights more than 1,500 miles. The increases apply to 21,000 routes in the continental United States and Alaska.
Continental Airlines, American Airlines and Trans World Airlines matched United's fare but Delta Air Lines proposed more modest increases. Analysts said they would have to wait until Sunday night before they could be sure that all the major carriers had agreed to raise fares.
United and the machinists union have been negotiating a contract for the last year. United has said that it expects to make the mechanics, like its pilots, the highest paid in the industry but that the two sides remain far apart on wages, job security and retirement.
The airline said that maintenance-related flight cancellations had soared far above normal levels in recent days.
United canceled at least 50 flights yesterday, including 44 for maintenance operations. So far this month, it has canceled an average of 56 flights a day because of mechanical reasons, more than double the normal rate.
The mechanics strongly denied that they were involved in any concerted action against the airline and threatened to file their own lawsuit against United for violating their contract.
''Regardless of how United characterizes how we do our jobs, there is no concerted activity or slowdown by I.A.M. members,'' said Frank Larkin, a spokesman for the machinists. ''United needs to realize that this situation can only be resolved at the bargaining table.''
United's request for a restraining order came only hours after the airline announced that it would give all 45,000 members of the International Association of Machinists two weeks' wages in mid-December as an advance against the wage increases they would receive after a new contract was ironed out.
In addition to United's 15,000 mechanics, the I.A.M. also represents 30,000 baggage handlers, customer service agents and other workers at the airline.
United said that the payments were a separate matter and that it went to court to protect the interests of its customers whose travel plans were being disrupted.
''It is not acceptable to have people turn up at the airport and have flights canceled at the last minute because of an illegal job action,'' said Andy Plews, a United spokesman.
Appealing to the courts was a risky move by United's managers because the UAL Corporation, its parent company, is 55 percent owned by the pilots and machinists, making it the biggest employee-owned company in the world. A representative from each union sits on the company's board. Labor also had a strong voice in choosing James E. Goodwin, UAL's chairman and chief executive.
UAL also risks souring its relationship with the machinists further. Last year, a federal judge ordered pilots at American Airlines to return to work after hundreds of them called in sick as a protest, forcing the airline to cancel more than 6,600 flights during the Presidents' Day holiday. The judge also ordered the pilots union to pay American $45.5 million in damages, which has deepened the antipathy between many pilots and the airline.
United declined to say why it raised fares yesterday. But it is no secret that rising fuel prices and higher labor costs related to its new pilots' contract have significantly raised the airline's costs. Both factors led United to post a loss in the third quarter and predict a loss for the fourth quarter.
Mr. Buttrick estimated last month that the generous wage increase the airline recently gave to its pilots plus the one it is expected to give the machinists and other workers would cost the airline an additional $650 million to $700 million.
United has been trying to rebound from a disastrous summer when its on-time performance slid to 40 percent -- by far the lowest in the industry. The airline now estimates that the disruption cost it $450 million to $500 million in lost revenue.
Tensions with the machinists rose at the end of the summer after United ordered mandatory overtime and disciplined some mechanics for what it said were unnecessary absences and increases in maintenance-related flight cancellations.
The airline backed down after talks with union leaders but the situation boiled over again last week. Andrew Studdert, United's chief operating officer, sent a letter to the union accusing it of mounting an illegal job action and threatening to sue.
The union denied the accusation. It even posted a message on its Web site Wednesday urging members not to take any wildcat actions. ''Do not play into the company's hand,'' the message said. ''Do not make it easy for them to discipline or discharge. Please have patience. Perform your duties as the expert mechanics and utility employees you all are.''
Mr. Larkin, the union spokesman, said that if United intended to bring its dispute with the union into court, the union would respond in kind. He cited United's calls for mandatory overtime to cover basic personnel shortages.
''For United to say there is an emergency when there is more work than manpower is a complete rewriting of the agreement,'' he said.
Mr. Larkin also dismissed United's offer to advance union members some of the wage increases that will come after a new contract is signed.
''It's a nice gesture,'' Mr. Larkin said. ''They are just digging into the wrong pocket to make it. It's our money. If they want to make a holiday gesture, it would be nice if they made it from some of their profits.''
