Pilots, Machinists File Suit to Stop Eastern’s Cutbacks
The pilots and machinists unions at Eastern Airlines each filed suit Thursday to block the carrier’s plans to eliminate 4,000 jobs and reduce its flight schedule.
The two suits, filed in federal court in Washington, asked U.S. District Judge Barrington Parker to impose a temporary restraining order on Eastern to prevent its carrying out a sweeping retrenchment program announced on July 22, union officials said.
The legal action marked a new escalation in the fierce labor battle at Eastern, which has been squeezed by heavy losses and its failure to win wage concessions from its principal unions.
Eastern’s cost-cutting plan called not only for mass layoffs but also for a reduction in its active fleet to 202 jets from 246, a 12% decrease in daily flights and the elimination of service to 14 cities. The cuts are scheduled to take effect on Aug. 31.
“That downsizing will sharply reduce staff and service and will result in the transfer of business and work opportunities from Eastern to its sister carrier, Continental Airlines,” the machinists union said.
Eastern and Continental are both owned by Houston-based Texas Air Corp., the nation’s largest airline company.
Eastern spokesman Robin Matell said he did not expect the lawsuits to halt the planned cutbacks at the Miami-based carrier. “We’ve taken these actions because they are in the best interest of the company, and we expect that the courts will agree with us,” he said.
The machinists union has asked the federal judge to block Eastern’s plan, contending that it would violate earlier court rulings barring Texas Air Chairman Frank Lorenzo from shifting assets to non-union Continental.
The union, the largest employee group at Eastern representing 12,000 mechanics and ground workers, has been locked in contract negotiations for nine months.
The machinists also asked the judge to prevent Eastern from imposing lower wages on union members without complying with federal rules that require it to negotiate seriously for a contract.
