Machinists at United Airlines ratify new labour contract

Airline Industry Information, July 22, 2005

AIRLINE INDUSTRY INFORMATION-(C)1997-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

Members of the International Association of Machinists (IAM) representing 20,000 groundworkers at United Airlines, have ratified a five-year labour contract, IAM said Thursday (21 July).

The amended terms of the deal were accepted by 67% of all voting members of IAM, the union said. The contract, which saves United USD176m a year, cuts employee pay by 3%-5.5%, reduces the number of paid holidays, cuts vacation time and guarantees a company contribution to a multi-employer pension plan.

The new contract still requires approval by the bankruptcy court. United was scheduled to ask bankruptcy judge to sign off on the deal Friday (22 July).

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