The machinists union at Eastern Air Lines...

The machinists union at Eastern Air Lines blasted the carrier’s latest contract offer but said it would put the wage-cutting proposal to a vote of its members. Miami-based Eastern accused the union of using the ratification vote to stall 10-month-old contract talks, and the airline again urged federal mediators to declare an impasse in negotiations to begin a 30-day cooling-off period. At the end of the period, Eastern, a subsidiary of Texas Air Corp., would be allowed to impose lower wage rates and the union would be free to strike. The union, Eastern’s largest with 12,000 members, did not set a date for the vote, but machinists officials said it could take place by early September.