Machinists Union Counters UAL’s Latest Contract Offer

The union representing 15,000 mechanics at UAL Corp.’s United Airlines submitted a new contract proposal to the carrier Friday in a second day of serious negotiations in Washington following a monthlong hiatus.

Both sides declined to comment on progress being made toward settling the labor dispute, which United said has disrupted its flight operations. The mechanics’ contract came up for renewal in July.

Frank Larkin, spokesman for the International Assn. of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, said the move was a counterproposal to United’s contract offer the previous day, but he wouldn’t say how far apart the two sides remained. Talks have been held off and on for nearly a year.

United spokesman Joe Hopkins confirmed the latest talks but wouldn’t discuss them. The airline has said it wants to reach a contract agreement as soon as possible.

Bargaining teams for United and District 141M of the IAM were summoned by federal mediators to reconvene talks Friday evening after a day spent reviewing each other’s positions.

Larkin said the mechanics were prepared to negotiate through the weekend “provided real progress is being made.”

Separately, a federal judge in Atlanta delayed a ruling Friday on Delta Air Lines Inc.’s request for an order requiring its pilots to resume overtime flights.

U.S. District Judge Willis Hunt Jr. said the delay was necessary because of the volume of information to be reviewed in the Delta case and because of an ongoing criminal trial. He is expected to rule on the issue next week.

A Delta spokesman said he didn’t know if weekend flights would be affected. Last weekend, Delta said it canceled 386 flights.

The airline filed suit Tuesday against the union that represents its 9,800 pilots, seeking an order to make pilots restore the status quo in their overtime requests.

Many Delta pilots have stopped requesting overtime flights, which the airline says has forced it to cancel hundreds of flights since last month. It accuses the pilots of an “illegal job action” even though it concedes overtime flights are voluntary.

Only a fraction of Delta’s pilots regularly fly overtime, but the drop in their overtime requests has caused scheduling difficulties that have forced the carrier to trim about 3% to 5%--100 to 125 flights--from its daily 2,700-flight schedule.

Delta and the Air Line Pilots Assn. have been in contract talks since September 1999. Many of the pilots are unhappy with the airline’s 10-year proposal that seeks to tie their raises to the company’s financial performance.