I came across this a little while ago:
Deal Ratified by ALPA and Now Awaits Approval from PBGC
ARLINGTON, Va., March 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- US Airways and the Air
Line Pilots Association (ALPA) have reached an agreement on a replacement
pension plan that has been ratified by the ALPA Master Executive Council at
the airline and now awaits approval by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.
(PBGC).
The agreement follows a final round of intense negotiations in which both
airline and union leadership committed to finding a solution to a critical
hurdle that would allow US Airways to emerge from Chapter 11. The U.S.
Bankruptcy Court had issued a decision on March 1, 2003, which found that US
Airways had met the standards and conditions for a distress termination of the
existing defined benefit pension plan and authorized the company to implement
a defined contribution plan. Following the court''s confirmation of US
Airways'' plan of reorganization on March 18, 2003, the resolution of the
pension issue was one of the few remaining issues that needed to be completed.
We are 10 days away from completing our Chapter 11 reorganization and the
choices are rather stark: successfully complete the process and emerge from
bankruptcy protection, or fail. The management of the airline did not
undertake this difficult process to fail, and neither did our pilots, said
David Siegel, US Airways president and chief executive officer. I respect
ALPA''s leadership in working to shape a replacement plan that addresses
concerns of its members. Our pilots have made enormous sacrifices and led all
other employee groups through this restructuring. With the airline business
only getting worse as the Iraqi War heightens public anxiety, it is critical
that we complete our reorganization, exit from Chapter 11, and secure the
$1.24 billion in new financing that awaits us.
Terms of the agreement have not been disclosed, pending review by the
PBGC, which must approve the replacement pension plan and final Bankruptcy
Court approval to complete the process of terminating the existing pension
plan by March 31, 2003.
Deal Ratified by ALPA and Now Awaits Approval from PBGC
ARLINGTON, Va., March 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- US Airways and the Air
Line Pilots Association (ALPA) have reached an agreement on a replacement
pension plan that has been ratified by the ALPA Master Executive Council at
the airline and now awaits approval by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.
(PBGC).
The agreement follows a final round of intense negotiations in which both
airline and union leadership committed to finding a solution to a critical
hurdle that would allow US Airways to emerge from Chapter 11. The U.S.
Bankruptcy Court had issued a decision on March 1, 2003, which found that US
Airways had met the standards and conditions for a distress termination of the
existing defined benefit pension plan and authorized the company to implement
a defined contribution plan. Following the court''s confirmation of US
Airways'' plan of reorganization on March 18, 2003, the resolution of the
pension issue was one of the few remaining issues that needed to be completed.
We are 10 days away from completing our Chapter 11 reorganization and the
choices are rather stark: successfully complete the process and emerge from
bankruptcy protection, or fail. The management of the airline did not
undertake this difficult process to fail, and neither did our pilots, said
David Siegel, US Airways president and chief executive officer. I respect
ALPA''s leadership in working to shape a replacement plan that addresses
concerns of its members. Our pilots have made enormous sacrifices and led all
other employee groups through this restructuring. With the airline business
only getting worse as the Iraqi War heightens public anxiety, it is critical
that we complete our reorganization, exit from Chapter 11, and secure the
$1.24 billion in new financing that awaits us.
Terms of the agreement have not been disclosed, pending review by the
PBGC, which must approve the replacement pension plan and final Bankruptcy
Court approval to complete the process of terminating the existing pension
plan by March 31, 2003.
