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By ALEXEI BARRIONUEVO
CHICAGO, May 11 - Three unions at United Airlines said on
Wednesday that they were prepared to strike to protect their
contracts, one day after the carrier, which is operating
under bankruptcy protection, received court permission to
terminate four pension plans.
The unions - representing flight attendants, bag handlers
and machinists - all issued statements saying members gave
wide approval to strike. A spokeswoman for the Association
of Flight Attendants, which has 21,000 members at United,
said the union would most likely respond through unannounced
and intermittent strikes called chaos strikes. Such actions
could take the form of a one-day national strike or a strike
on a single flight at a remote location.
The flight attendants' union said it was reviewing the
possibility of appealing the default of its pension plan,
but a spokeswoman, Sara Nelson Dela Cruz, called avoiding
termination "all but impossible," given the court's action.
United contends any strikes would be illegal because the
rest of the workers' labor agreements remain in effect.
Airline workers are covered by the Railway Labor Act, which
forbids them to strike as long as contracts are in place. |
