Eastern Meets Safety Standards Despite Strike, FAA Concludes

Eastern Airlines appears to be meeting federal safety standards despite a six-month strike against the carrier, according to a Federal Aviation Administration report filed Friday.

In fact, the FAA said Eastern’s top management “has exhibited a more compliant attitude toward its regulatory safety responsibilities” since the strike.

The assessment of safety at Eastern, which gradually has been restoring operations since a strike shut it down March 5, is contained in a report filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York where Eastern is seeking protection from creditors under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy code.

The International Assn. of Machinists, which represents mechanics and ground crews, struck the airline over proposed concessions in pay and benefits. Most of Eastern’s pilots and flight attendants honored the picket lines. Eastern has rebuilt some of its operations by hiring new employees.

Eastern’s unions have frequently questioned the airline’s safety because former managers and clerical employees have replaced striking workers. But the FAA, which has stepped up surveillance of the airline because of the strike, found no evidence of such abuses.

A spokesman for the pilots union said the FAA’s view of safety at Eastern is not warranted and that significant safety problems remain as a result of having to throw inexperienced workers into jobs.