United, 5,000 Pilots Reach Back-toWork Agreement
After a night of secret talks in Chicago, United Airlines and its 5,000 striking pilots today tentatively settled the thorny “back-to-work” issues that have prolonged the crippling 27-day strike against the company.
The announcement of the settlement, reached under the supervision of the National Mediation Board, was unexpected. The two sides broke off talks more than two weeks ago and settled into a war of attrition that seemed likely to idle most of United’s planes through the summer travel season.
United, claiming that it could rebuild the airline during the next nine months by hiring thousands of new pilots to replace the strikers, had rejected separate requests from the pilots union and the mediation board to resume negotiations.
Ratification Vote Today
Details of the tentative settlement were not expected to be revealed until the Air Line Pilots Assn.’s master executive committee ratifies it. The committee, whose decision does not require membership approval, was expected to meet in Chicago this afternoon.
United, which has been able to fly only about 14% of its routes since about 95% of its 5,200 pilots went on strike May 17, would probably require several days of logistical preparations to restore full service if and when the settlement is finalized.
“We’re not going to announce any details about the resumption of services until we’re sure we’ve got an agreement,” United spokesman Joe Hopkins said in Chicago.
The pilots, whose wages average $85,000 a year, struck over United’s proposal to sharply cut the pay of newly hired pilots by creating a separate wage scale for new hires. Similar “two-tier” systems have been adopted by several other airlines in an effort to cut costs.
Unresolved Questions
The two sides negotiated a compromise two-tier pact a week after the strike began. But while that settled the strike’s prime economic issue, it left hanging several unresolved back-to-work questions created by the strike itself.
In an effort to reward about 300 pilots who stayed on the job, the airline planned to give them “super seniority” in bidding for future flying assignments. The pilots said they would not come back to work unless seniority was maintained at pre-strike levels.
The pilots also demanded that United place on its employment roster about 500 pilot trainees who were trained in the months before the strike and were scheduled to be hired the day the strike began. All but a handful of the trainees, who were heavily lobbied by the pilots association, refused to cross the picket line. United officials--surprised and embarrassed by the wholesale support for the strike--vowed they would never hire the trainees.
A final sticking point was United’s flight attendants, most of whom struck in sympathy with the pilots. The pilots took issue with United’s plan to give seniority benefits to non-striking attendants. United said the pilots have no jurisdiction to represent the attendants, who have their own union.
