United, Pilots to Resume Talks in Two-Day Walkout
United Airlines and its 5,200 pilots agreed Saturday to resume negotiations in a two-day walkout that grounded most flights of the nation’s largest airline.
The Air Line Pilots Assn. said that it will return to the bargaining table Monday in Chicago, as proposed by Helen Witt, the chairwoman of the National Mediation Board, according to Charles Novak, United’s manager of corporate communications.
Union spokesman David Jewell confirmed that the pilots would attend the talks.
Impact Widespread
The strike’s effects were widespread. Ticket agents scrambled to find alternative bookings for passengers, and other airlines added planes. Amtrak put on extra cars as travelers stood in lines.
About 86% of the carrier’s flights were grounded Saturday, compared to 89% on Friday, slashing the usual number of daily flights from 1,550 to 220 and the number of cities served from 139 to 51. Eight flights left Los Angeles; 77 flights are normally scheduled.
About 5,200 pilots and first officers went on strike against United on Friday after contract talks broke down over a company demand for a two-tier pay system that would put newly hired pilots on a lower scale than their predecessors. The pilots, who had not struck since 1951, had worked without a contract since April, 1984.
Novak said that United is already screening 5,500 applications to replace the striking pilots on a permanent basis.
Threat Called ‘Very Hollow’
But pilots union President Henry Duffy, who joined the picket line at National Airport outside Washington, said that the company’s threat to fire striking pilots is “very hollow.”
“Trying to replace 5,000 pilots . . . with people off the street is going to be a hard act,” Duffy said. He said that United pilots have thousands of hours of experience and that the company is seeking replacements with as little as 250 hours.
United spokesman Joe Hopkins said that “several hundred” pilots had crossed picket lines. Duffy, however, said that only 56 pilots had done so.
