Union Forming 'Strike-Preparedness Panel'

The Air Line Pilots Association's (ALPA) incoming president John Prater promised a return to hard-nosed tactics and offensive action following this year's election -- and it looks like he's going to keep that promise.

ALPA pilots at United are forming what they are calling a "strike-preparedness panel" as they gear up to fight for better pay and work rules.

Union leaders say pilots have given up much as the airline restructured over the past five years. They claim airline executives are getting huge pay raises while pilots continue working under the wage cuts that saved the company.

In a recording obtained by the Denver Post, ALPA spokesman for United Steve Derebey told his members, "We have always worked with this company under the protocol of shared sacrifice. The company has clearly signaled that they have returned to profitability by granting some senior management individuals huge pay raises. Pilots - the very group who saved this airline from the scrap heap of failed airlines - deserve the same return on our investment."

Calyon Securities airline analyst Ray Neidl told the Denver post he's been warning of the coming storm for some time.

Neidl said, "The airline business is labor intensive, with highly skilled people that are heavily unionized. At the first sign of profitability, employees begin to demand outsized wage increases and their 'fair share' to make up for cuts previously made to turn their employers around. This is usually a sign that we are entering the tail-end of the economic cycle for the industry."

He added a company sharing the fruits of success with employees is only fair since they were part of the process, but recommended a dose of caution saying it's important to control costs in a "variable and largely unpredictable industry."

FMI: www.alpa.org