Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 25, 1994 TAG: 9402250192
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Knight-Ridder/Tribune
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
Company spokesman David Shipley confirmed the meeting has been scheduled for Thursday, but would not discuss the agenda. A source familiar with the board's activities said concessions will be discussed.
Leaders at USAir's three major unions have been expecting a plea for concessions for weeks, in light of USAir's difficulty in competing with such lower-cost airlines as Continental and Southwest.
USAir hasn't made a quarterly profit without one-time gains in almost five years, and has been hard hit in the current quarter by bad weather in its key East Coast markets.
Some analysts say USAir needs more concessions to survive.
The unions - covering pilots, flight attendants, and machinists - represent about half of USAir's 46,000 employees.
Chairman Seth Schofield has said he thinks the unions would agree to concessions if the company needs to seek them. He recently told airline analysts, however, that the company would have to demonstrate that it can fully use the concessions made two years ago.
An officer of the Air Line Pilots Association, which represents USAir pilots, said an offer of stock for wage cuts - along the lines of what was done at Northwest Airlines and is being contemplated at United Airlines - won't be enough.
USAir also must come up with an improved operating plan and give labor more say in management decisions, said Bob Gaudioso, vice chairman of the union's USAir council.
by CNB