Dec 07, 2006 (Chicago Tribune - McClatchy-Tribune Business News via COMTEX) -- United Airlines' pilots union said Wednesday that it is establishing a "strike preparation committee," a signal that labor unrest is building at the world's second-largest airline.
In a special session this week, union leaders for the Air Line Pilots Association unanimously voted to form the committee, typically used to coordinate activities during contentious contract talks, even though the present labor agreements for pilots and other union employees at United run through 2009.

Union leaders said they are ratcheting up their rhetoric in reaction to growing anger by many pilots over what they see as a disparity between management and employee pay.

"They're certainly sending a message to management that they're not going to roll over," said George Hopkins, a labor historian.
While United pilots and other workers are locked into long-term contracts that forced steep pay cuts, some executives have reaped salary increases and other perks. Particularly contentious are the 40 percent pay raises granted by United's board in September to Chief Executive Glenn Tilton and Chief Operating Officer Peter McDonald.

"Nobody [among pilots] has given up less than 40 percent of pay; most have given up close to 50 percent," said Capt. Herb Hunter, a 747 pilot for United and spokesman for the union. "Somewhere, it seems to us, the notion of shared sacrifice has gone away."
However, the pilots union isn't planning a strike or other job action, as yet, Hunter said.

Rather, the vote is intended to pressure management at the Elk Grove Township-based carrier to open contract talks on pay and work conditions as early as next year.
"It's a preparatory step for negotiations," said Hunter. "One thing we've asked is for the company to step up and talk to us."
United says it isn't interested in reopening a contract reached just last year, and it has no obligation to do so, labor experts say. Furthermore, pilots have no legal right to strike until the contract is amendable in late 2009.

"Now is the time for us to focus on our customers, and that's what we're going to do," said United spokeswoman Jean Medina. "We worked very hard with ALPA to consensually and successfully negotiate the current contract. We look forward to doing the same when this agreement becomes amendable."

While it has operated in the black for the past two quarters, United remains on shaky ground financially and can't afford to give back pay concessions workers granted during its three-year bankruptcy stint, said Ray Neidl, aviation analyst with Calyon Securities Inc.
But it is in Tilton's, and the airline's, best interest to make peace with its pilots, he said. While they may not be able to initiate a strike, pilots could still disrupt operations by sticking to the letter of their contracts and not working overtime. They did so during the summer of 2000, prompting massive flight cancellations.

"It's a service business," said Neidl. "You saw what happened the last time. That would make me a bit nervous [as an investor]."
Worker dissatisfaction appears to be growing at United and other airlines where employees agreed to steep pay cuts to keep the carriers aloft during the recent industry downturn.

At United, much of the worker anger is directed at the executive compensation garnered by Tilton after the airline exited bankruptcy in February. He was granted 545,000 shares, worth about $23 million at the airline's $42.25-per-share closing price Wednesday, as well as 822,000 stock options worth about $5.7 million. Since early August, Tilton has cashed in shares and options worth $3.3 million.

Some pilots have sported buttons reading "United pilots have 40/40 vision," a reference to the pay raises given Tilton and McDonald.

 

I guess the UAL pilots are sick of working for B6 wages and benefits. Good for them!

 

Godspeed United! Management needs a clear sign that the gangbang is over. The average american CEO now makes more than 400x's their respective american workers, that multiplier was ~40 in 1980/ This started when ALPA, IAM & AFA agreed to not contest Dereg in '78. It's gotten ridiculous in the last 5 1/2 years.

 

If ALPA pax pilots industry-wide did a work action...ie, write every mx thing up, slow/safe taxi speed, etc that would send a nice msg...

Every pax pilot should be concerned w/ industry pay and we all are sick of TSA BS...

No one show up for work next week!

 

I just wish our quivering MEC leaders, (CAL), had the same sized balls as United's.

Just saw our top two execs cash in $14 million dollars worth of stock options last month each. Not one peep from our MEC chairman or his minions.

 

Ouch!!!!!!

 

I'll be coming off of mil leave in June 2009 ... with a truckload of kerosene. With the sucko pay and work rules, United management has turned the job into something that's easy to walk away from.

 

Dubo was too much one way, Whiteferg went way too far the other. Bathurst and the current MEC are exactly what UALALPA needs.
It also helps that the pilots have been so raped of pay and work rules that we're willing to burn the place down.

 

My congratulations to any MEC that can turn this race to the bottom around.

 

i wonder how much they think theyll ask for back