UAL Negotiators Continue to Progress

Negotiations on the UAL/CAL/CMI JCBA continued the week of March 18th with proofreading the final pass between the parties of the articles discussed so far. Once this was completed, a full copy of all the articles with the suggested corrections was discussed with their legal representative and then sent to the company for review. New items and those items not already agreed to will be discussed starting next week in Phase Two of the process.   

While this list was extensive; covering Articles 2 through 21, it was noted that the overwhelming majority of the changes to the content of each of these articles had been discussed and agreed to by the parties and the suggested changes were the product of the recommendations from the membership and the steering committee. Language that could not reach an agreement or parts of articles that contained economic properties will be discussed further by the parties in the next phase of negotiations.

Next week the parties will reconvene in Chicago along with Senior Mediator Pat Sims and Mediator Michael Kelliher. The committee will be given a presentation by the company on the present and future economic state of the airline, a standard practice which is a normal part of any negotiations. After that presentation is complete the union committee will meet with their actuaries and economists to continue preparation for phase two of negotiations including all economic items.

Airline Industry News

Governmental and Regulatory

The state of Texas will pay to keep 13 air traffic control towers open that are scheduled to be closed by the sequester.

The Senate has rescheduled a hearing on aviation safety that was postponed last week by votes in the upper chamber. The hearing of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee was planned to allow lawmakers to check on the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) progress on implementing safety provisions that were included in last year's $63 billion funding bill. The committee said Thursday that the hearing would now be held when lawmakers return from Easter recess on April 16.

A U.S. bankruptcy judge has approved  has approved the proposed merger between U.S. Airways and American Airlines.

Airline and Industry

Boeing completed the first flight test of its 787 Dreamliner with a retooled lithium-ion battery system on Monday.

The proposed merger between American Airlines and US Airways would challenge competing airlines at New York's LaGuardia Airport.  
 

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