Airbubba
9th Jun 2001, 02:34
June 8, 2001
Comair, Pilots Union Agree to Talks
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 5:01 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Comair and its striking pilots agreed Friday to return to the bargaining table in hopes of resolving a two-month-old strike that has shut down the nation's second-largest regional airline.
The agreement to resume negotiations was announced after company officials and representatives of the Air Line Pilots Association met for 3 1/2 hours with Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta.
Talks will resume Tuesday with federal mediators, and both sides agreed to try to reach agreement within 72 hours.
"The parties have given me their firm assurance that they will leave no stone unturned to reach an equitable agreement,'' Mineta said.
Union officials would not comment after the meeting with Mineta.
Comair President Randy Rademacher said, "I am not going to talk about any of this.''
Pilots walked off the job March 26. The two sides have not met since May 12, when the pilots overwhelmingly rejected a settlement proposed by the National Mediation Board.
Spokesmen for the airline's 1,350 pilots said the board's proposal fell short of the union's demands for a company-paid retirement program, higher salaries, shorter length of on-duty shifts and longer rest intervals between work shifts.
Ohio Gov. Bob Taft had asked Mineta to intercede, citing the "adverse effect'' that the strike was having on southwest Ohio.
Comair, based at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, has been shut down since the strike began. The regional airline also operated a flight hub in Orlando, Fla.
Delta-owned Comair had been the nation's second-largest regional airline behind American Eagle, carrying an average of 25,000 passengers a day. Since the walkout began, the airline has laid off 2,400 of its 4,000 nonstriking employees, eliminated 400 pilot positions, sold some aircraft and deferred capital projects.
Comair, Pilots Union Agree to Talks
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 5:01 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Comair and its striking pilots agreed Friday to return to the bargaining table in hopes of resolving a two-month-old strike that has shut down the nation's second-largest regional airline.
The agreement to resume negotiations was announced after company officials and representatives of the Air Line Pilots Association met for 3 1/2 hours with Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta.
Talks will resume Tuesday with federal mediators, and both sides agreed to try to reach agreement within 72 hours.
"The parties have given me their firm assurance that they will leave no stone unturned to reach an equitable agreement,'' Mineta said.
Union officials would not comment after the meeting with Mineta.
Comair President Randy Rademacher said, "I am not going to talk about any of this.''
Pilots walked off the job March 26. The two sides have not met since May 12, when the pilots overwhelmingly rejected a settlement proposed by the National Mediation Board.
Spokesmen for the airline's 1,350 pilots said the board's proposal fell short of the union's demands for a company-paid retirement program, higher salaries, shorter length of on-duty shifts and longer rest intervals between work shifts.
Ohio Gov. Bob Taft had asked Mineta to intercede, citing the "adverse effect'' that the strike was having on southwest Ohio.
Comair, based at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, has been shut down since the strike began. The regional airline also operated a flight hub in Orlando, Fla.
Delta-owned Comair had been the nation's second-largest regional airline behind American Eagle, carrying an average of 25,000 passengers a day. Since the walkout began, the airline has laid off 2,400 of its 4,000 nonstriking employees, eliminated 400 pilot positions, sold some aircraft and deferred capital projects.