Union Is Angry Airline Asked Judge To Negate Contract

Comair's pilots are voting on whether to authorize a strike after failing again on Monday to reach a consensus with the company on pay cuts the airline says it must have.

Comair went to the courts last week for permission to negate the work contract with its pilot union prompting four days of testimony. After listening, the bankruptcy judge sent the two sides back to the bargaining table.

Comair wants the judge to dump the contract and allow it to impose $15.8 million in annual pay cuts on its pilots. Comair's pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), say they already gave at the office in 2005 and want the airline to justify any new pay cuts.

Both sides must submit closing arguments no later than the 11th. The judge says it may be a few days after that before he makes a ruling adding he will not be swayed by threats of a strike.

Meanwhile, the union is picketing parent company Delta. In a release, the union says it is frustrated Comair attempted to sidestep negotiations by asking the court permission to dissolve its contract.

Union leaders say they agreed to take pay cuts in 2005 before the company went bankrupt. Comair's request to the judge amounts to another 11% cut and the union wants the airline to prove it's necessary, especially -- says the union -- Comair's projected profits for 2006 should exceed $50 million.

ALPA negotiated a $17.3 million annual cut back in January contingent on a cut of at least $8.9 million per year from the airline's flight attendants. The airline recently agreed to accept only $7.9 million annually from the flight attendants prompting its pilots to cry foul.

ALPA demanded a new round of negotiations claiming the airline didn't stick to the previous agreement. The two sides have agreed to meet five more times this month.

FMI: www.alpa.org; www.comair.com