Airline Accused Union Of Mounting 'Sick-Out' Protest

United Airlines plans to cut 950 pilots' jobs as part of a downsizing to battle high fuel costs. Since that announcement, in the period since July 19, the airline says an illegal pilot sick-out protest has forced it to cancel 329 flights, costing millions of dollars, damaging its reputation, and disrupting the travel plans of about 36,000 passengers.

The Chicago Tribune reports United's parent company, UAL, asked the US District Court in Chicago last week to bar the Air Line Pilots Association from encouraging its pilots to engage in what it calls an illegal and disruptive slowdown. A hearing on that preliminary injunction is scheduled for August 27-28.

In the interim, United said Friday it reached a temporary agreement with ALPA to limit what the airline says are "work slowdowns," that forced the cancellation of hundreds of flights at a time when United is already bleeding red ink by the barrelful.

"We have reached an agreement but it is between the parties," United spokeswoman Megan McCarthy said.
 
If the airline wins its argument in seeking an injunction, the result for the union could be much more serious than a slap on the wrist. In 1999, American Airlines was forced to cancel more than 6,700 flights during a pilot sick-out. The court hit the union with a $45 million fine.

FMI: www.united.com, www.alpa.org