United Airlines has sent its employee unions new contract proposals, seeking to terminate pensions and demanding other concessions.
United, the US' second-largest airline, has been threatening to terminate its pensions since August, and last month it said it would need to cut costs significantly more than anticipated because of the industry's deteriorating financial outlook.
"We recognize this is difficult for employees but it's necessary considering the environment we are in. Fuel is at record high and airfares are at record low," United spokeswoman Jean Medina said Thursday.
The Elk Grove Village-based carrier and its parent company UAL Corp are attempting to save an additional US$2 billion by next year, Medina said. United has already lopped US$5 billion from annual expenditures since it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December 2002.
Facing US$4.1 billion in obligations to its existing pension program over the next five years, United wants to terminate future pension plans and replace it with a defined contribution plan. United's plan -- which the company says is necessary to attract financing to leave bankruptcy -- has caused an uproar among employees.
The government-financed Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp would have to take on United's huge obligations if the airline terminates the pensions. United's plan has also sparked worry in Washington over the potential steep cost to federal taxpayers.
Steve Derebey, a spokesman for the Air Line Pilots Association, said in a recorded message on Thursday that United's proposal outlines "dramatic changes," including the replacement of pension plans.
Another pilot spokesman declined further comment. The union's governing body is scheduled to meet beginning Nov. 15 and will discuss United's proposal then.
United's machinist union -- the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers -- would not comment on the contract proposal until its members were to see it yesterday, spokesman Joseph Tiberi said.
United's flight attendants union spokeswoman Sara Nelson Dela Cruz also said the Association of Flight Attendants would not comment on the contract proposal until its leaders had discussed it.
Along with labor concessions, United senior executives, including CEO Glenn Tilton, also have agreed to a 15 percent wage reduction beginning Jan. 1, Medina said. Tilton earns US$712,500 annually.
Medina said United hopes to reach consensual agreements with the unions on the contracts. If not, the carrier can ask the bankruptcy judge to impose cuts, Medina said.
United is also widely expected to disclose thousands of additional job cuts when it reveals its new business plan later this month. Medina said on Thursday the company does not yet have specifics on the number of job cuts it would make. The world's second-largest airline has about 62,000 employees, down from more than 100,000 before the 2001 terror attacks.
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer began talks with high-ranking Chinese officials in Switzerland yesterday aiming to de-escalate a dispute that threatens to cut off trade between the world’s two biggest economies and damage the global economy. The US delegation has begun meetings in Geneva with a Chinese delegation led by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰), Xinhua News Agency said. Diplomats from both sides also confirmed that the talks have begun, but spoke anonymously and the exact location of the talks was not made public. Prospects for a major breakthrough appear dim, but there is
The number of births in Taiwan fell to an all-time monthly low last month, while the population declined for the 16th consecutive month, Ministry of the Interior data released on Friday showed. The number of newborns totaled 8,684, which is 704 births fewer than in March and the lowest monthly figure on record, the ministry said. That is equivalent to roughly one baby born every five minutes and an annual crude birthrate of 4.52 per 1,000 people, the ministry added. Meanwhile, 17,205 deaths were recorded, resulting in a natural population decrease of 8,521, the data showed. More people are also leaving Taiwan, with net
RSS