United Airlines pilots want faster talks
CHICAGO (AP) -- Pilots at United Airlines said on Monday that they will ask a federal mediator to release them from further talks if the company doesn't commit to making a deal by June 1.
Pilot union head Jay Heppner said pilots would ask on April 30 to be released from talks. A release from negotiations is one step of many required before an airline union can strike. Mediators often refuse such requests and order the two sides to keep talking.
Pilots who came from United and from Continental are in talks for a joint contract at the combined airline. It has taken longer than either side had hoped when they merged in 2010.
It wasn't immediately clear whether Continental pilots will make a similar move. United and Continental pilots are represented by their own units of the Air Line Pilots Association, with separate leadership and governing councils.
The union said the airline is purposely slowing negotiations so it can keep hiring regional and foreign airlines to do flying that had been done by United pilots. Big airlines commonly hire regional feeder carriers to pick up passengers in smaller cities and bring them to big airline hubs. They also have arrangements with foreign airlines allowing them to sell seats on each other's planes.
United issued a statement saying it is "committed to reaching agreements quickly, but those agreements must be fair to the company and fair to employees."
On Monday, the union distributed to pilots a study that said that 66 percent of United's domestic flights are done by regional carriers. It also said United now employs 20,000 fewer people than it did in 2000, despite the addition of Continental.
According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, United alone employed 96,646 people in 2000, compared to 81,400 at the combined company as of January. U.S. airlines laid off thousands of workers during the 2000s, and United went through bankruptcy protection as well.
Shares of United Continental Holdings Inc. rose 86 cents, or 4 percent, to close at $22.30.