TWA, Flight Attendants Recess Bargaining; No Progress Seen

Three hours of negotiations between TWA and striking flight attendants, the first bargaining session since the walkout began six days ago, recessed Wednesday with no progress made, a federal mediator said.

No new negotiations were scheduled, said Helen Witt of the National Mediation Board, which had called both sides together.

Victoria Frankovich, president of the 5,700-member Independent Federation of Flight Attendants, blamed the impasse on the absence from the bargaining table of TWA Chairman Carl C. Icahn, who owns 52% of the airline’s stock.

“There is no possibility of reaching an agreement without Mr. Icahn being here, but I am always optimistic,” Frankovich said.

Wednesday’s talks were the first since bargaining halted Friday at the start of the walkout.

Negotiators Depart Swiftly

“No progress has been made in the talks,” Witt said. “We intend to stay in touch with the parties and when there is a basis for resumption of negotiations we will bring them back together.”

The six-member TWA negotiating team, headed by William Hoar, vice president of labor relations, left the hotel swiftly after talks broke off, avoiding reporters and making no statements.

Icahn had been TWA’s chief negotiator before the strike began. Lawrence Hilliard, a spokesman at TWA’s headquarters in New York, said Icahn had never been scheduled to attend Wednesday’s negotiations.

Machinists reported for work as scheduled Wednesday at the airline’s Kansas City, Mo., overhaul base, where about 3,000 union members perform government-required maintenance and repairs on the TWA fleet, said Mark Burdette, TWA station manager.

On Tuesday, the airline won an injunction issued in Kansas City that bars machinists from staying off the job in support of the attendants.

The maintenance center had been closed during the sympathy strike because only a few people reported.

16 Held at Airport

In New York, police arrested 16 union members Tuesday night after they linked arms and blocked an entrance to a TWA cargo hangar at John F. Kennedy International Airport for nearly an hour. The protest was aimed at machinists returning to work under the injunction.

TWA, which reported losses of $193.1 million last year, has insisted that flight attendants take a 22% pay cut and work more hours each day with less rest between flights.

The union offered to accept a 15% cut in base pay, which ranges from $16,000 to $28,000 a year, although some experienced attendants earn as much as $36,000, including overtime.