United declares 'operational emergency'

The Associated Press

DENVER (August 23, 2000 1:56 p.m. EDT http://www.nandotimes.com) - United Airlines, under attack for flight delays, has declared an operational emergency at five airports in an effort to force mechanics to work overtime.

The order applies to mechanics working in Denver, Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles and Indianapolis. Workers at Denver International Airport were advised in a notice issued by United's Denver manager, Frank Krasovec.

A clause in the contract between United's parent UAL Corp. and the International Aerospace Machinist union allows management to declare an emergency when overtime hours are needed to keep operations running smoothly.

Union representatives said the move was rare.

"I've worked for the company for 15 years now, and they've never done this before," said Scott Brown, chairman of IAM District 141's grievance committee. He said United needs to boost its contract negotiation efforts with mechanics rather than mandate overtime.

United Airlines has been plagued this summer by thousands of flight delays and cancellations because of stalled labor negotiations with pilots and mechanics. Both pilots and mechanics are working under expired contracts and have refused to accept overtime hours. The airline has issued apologies and has trimmed its fall schedule to reflect what it says is a more realistic number of flights.

The airline is seeking disciplinary action against the 36 mechanics the airline says participated in a sickout in Los Angeles on the eve of the Democratic National Convention.

The pilots contract contains no clause that could be used to require overtime, and federal law limits how many hours pilots may fly in a day, Airline Pilots Association spokesman Herb Hunter said.

United has averaged more than 200 flight cancellations daily this month, and members of Congress have called for an investigation.

Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater has asked airlines to prepare contingency plans for delays and flight cancellations during the busy Labor Day weekend.

United spokesman Joe Hopkins said the airline declared the operational emergency to help clear a backlog of deferred maintenance problems that has been building since mechanics began refusing to work overtime voluntarily.

"It's a tool available to managers systemwide," Hopkins said.

Only the most junior-level employees have been asked to work overtime, Hopkins said. About 50 of United's thousands of mechanics nationwide were asked to work overtime Monday.

The company has experienced a dramatic increase of out-of-service aircraft in many locations, resulting in canceled flights, Krasovec said in the memo. "This situation is negatively impacting our efficiency and the operational service level we provide our customers, the traveling public."

http://www.nandotimes.com/noframes/business/story/0,2469,500242740-500358323-502096551-0,00.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), August 23, 2000