Early Returns Show Yes Vote To $269 Million In Annual Cuts

US Airways unionized baggage handlers and aircraft mechanics appear to have approved yet another wage and benefit concession deal, this one worth $269 million, in an attempt to keep the bankrupt airline out of the hands of liquidators.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports the International Associations of Machinists in Pittsburgh, Charlotte and Philadelphia have already voted on the matter and early returns suggest it will be approved.

It's a tough package, one that includes pay cuts of as much as 18-percent, reduced sick time and holidays, as well as pink slips for about 2,500 workers.

Baggage at 20 of the airline's bases are also voting on a concessions package with results expected to be announced on Friday.

But don't expect that the workers are very happy with their decision. This is the third round of concessions some of them have endured over the past three years.

"They are just like junkies," Aliquippa mechanic Dan Kovolenko told the Pittsburgh paper. "They keep coming back for more and more."

FMI: www.usairways.com