Refuses To Send It To Rank And File Vote

US Airways' union pilots just said "NO" Wednesday to the airline's latest request for pay concessions, with leadership refusing to allow the issue to go to a rank-and-file vote. The plan would have cut pilot pay by another 21-percent and would have cut US Airways' contributions to the pilot pension plan by half.

When you add the company's current request to concessions already given by the pilots, Capt. Fred Fishwater told KDKA TV in Pittsburgh (PA), it would come to a 50-percent cut in wages and benefits. "I don't buy that," he said. "The airline has to increase its concentration on the revenue side of the equation."

Doing that would mean US Airways would have to find a way to lure more passengers on board. KDKA suggests that'll be tricky, given that the airline is cutting back on the number of flights.

Regarding airline demands that the pilots' union leaders put the issue to a vote by the general membership, Fishwater told the television station that won't happen this time. "I hope the company gives us a proposal that we can at least hold our nose and swallow and then send out to the pilot group," he said.

FMI: www.usairways.com