United Strike Ruling Deferred

United Airlines’ labor situation remained in limbo Thursday as a federal judge declined to rule on a threatened strike by the carrier’s baggage handlers and customer-service agents until after their contract standoff was resolved.

U.S. District Judge James Zagel put off until June 7 a decision on the machinists union’s request for a temporary restraining order that would have barred United from trying to impede a strike.

The International Assn. of Machinists and Aerospace Workers maintains that it has the right to strike if United’s bid to terminate its contract is approved by a bankruptcy judge Tuesday.

The two sides are in talks to try to reach a contract agreement that would make that ruling unnecessary.

“Today’s decision does not affect our plans to strike United Airlines if we cannot reach an agreement with the company and the bankruptcy judge rules in United’s favor,” machinists union spokesman Joseph Tiberi said.

United contends that a strike would be illegal under the Railway Labor Act even if the contract was terminated.

Both sides said the biggest remaining obstacle to a settlement was a pension plan to replace the defined-benefit fund the company was terminating. The company wants to create an investment-based 401(k) savings plan; the union proposes participation in its own multi-employer pension plan.

Separately, U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Eugene Wedoff denied a motion by the flight attendants union to stay his May 10 order approving United’s plan to unload its four defined-benefit plans on the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., the government’s pension insurer.