AMERICAN, UNION SET TO HAGGLE : MARATHON SESSION CALLED TO AVOID STRIKE.Byline: Katie Fairbank Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. American Airlines American Airlines Major U.S. airline. American was created through a merger of several smaller U.S. airlines and incorporated in 1934. It continued to buy the routes of other airlines, becoming an international carrier in the 1970s; its routes include South America, the officials began around-the-clock bargaining Thursday night with leaders of their pilots union in an effort to head off an approaching strike at midnight tonight. President Clinton urged both sides to ``reach out to one another'' and settle their differences. ``We have a long way to go and a short time to do it in,'' the airline's president, Donald Carty, toothbrush toothbrush, n a handheld device with an arrangement of bristles at one end, and a handle designed to reach effectively all exposed surfaces of the teeth and gingiva. and shaving kit in hand, said as he showed up for what both sides expect to be a marathon session of back-and-forth proposals. Clinton, at a news conference Thursday afternoon, gave no indication whether he would exercise emergency powers to prevent pilots from striking at 12:01 a.m. Saturday. He was urged to do so by the airline's chief executive officer, Robert Crandall, and by mayors and some members of Congress from areas that would be particularly affected. The airline canceled most overseas flights and about a dozen round-trip domestic flights today so that aircraft would not be stranded strand 1 n. The land bordering a body of water; a beach. v. strand·ed, strand·ing, strands v.tr. 1. To drive or run ashore or aground. 2. at airports with no room to store them for an extended period. John Hotard, an airline spokesman, said the canceled flights included those into and out of White Plains, N.Y., and Orange County. He said passengers booked on the canceled flights were notified Thursday to rebook re·book v. re·booked, re·book·ing, re·books v.tr. 1. To book again. 2. To change a booking for (a performance or reservation). v.intr. on other flights to the same destinations. Although negotiations were scheduled to continue, both sides were preparing for a walkout. The board of the Allied Pilots Association planned a teleconference at the strike deadline. At the White House, Clinton received a report from the Transportation Department estimating that the strike would cost up to $200 million a day and could strand Strand, street in London, England, roughly parallel with the Thames River, running from the Temple to Trafalgar Square. It is a street of law courts, hotels, theaters, and office buildings and is the main artery between the City and the West End. 1. up to 40,000 passengers. The department also said it was prepared to temporarily assign American's landing slots Landing slots or Airport slots are rights allocated to an airline by an airport or government agency granting an airline the right to schedule a landing or departure at a specific time. to other carriers if a strike develops. ``We hope that that analysis of economic damage won't need to be a useful document,'' said White House spokesman Mike McCurry. The president, who has emergency powers to intervene intervene v. to obtain the court's permission to enter into a lawsuit which has already started between other parties and to file a complaint stating the basis for a claim in the existing lawsuit. temporarily, urged both sides to reach an agreement. Clinton said the airline and the pilots union should ``think about how they can reach out to one another in the best interest of the nation.'' Hopes for a settlement rose early Thursday, when the union offered to have its pilots accept lower pay scales for operating jets on regional routes as long as the company accepted its other demands. But American's parent company, AMR (1) (Adaptive Multi-Rate) A variable rate speech codec selected by the 3GPP for the 3G evolution of the GSM cellphone system (WCDMA). Using the Algebraic CELP (ACELP) compression technology, AMR provides toll quality sound at transmission rates from 4.75 to 12. Corp., says it doesn't want American pilots to fly the new jets that have been proposed for regional routes. AMR wants its American Eagle subsidiary, with lower-paid pilots from another union, to fly the commuter jets. The company did not directly reject the offer, but a spokesman suggested the pilots' plan would not work. ``In reality, those jets are going to be operated as American Eagle or they are not going to be operated,'' spokesman Al Comeaux said. ``There are costs involved beyond pilot costs. We have to be competitive.'' The regional jet issue has been a sticking point sticking point n. A point, issue, or situation that causes or is likely to cause an impasse. Noun 1. sticking point - a point at which an impasse arises in progress toward an agreement or a goal in negotiations for some time. Both sides agree the smaller routes are necessary for American to remain competitive, but they don't agree on who should fly the twin-engine jets that have up to 70 seats. American mechanics, flight attendants and other workers all have higher salary ranges than their counterparts at American Eagle, a conglomerate conglomerate, in business conglomerate, corporation whose asset growth, often very rapid, comes largely through the acquisition of, or merger with, other firms whose products are largely unrelated to each other or to that of the parent company. of four separate small airlines funneling $1 billion in traffic to American Airlines. The average American Airlines pilot makes $120,000 a year. The average American Eagle pilot makes about $35,000 a year. The union wants 3 percent pay increases each August for the next three years and a 2 percent raise Aug. 31, 2000. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion