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Comair to Cut Flight Attendant Wages
"Our time has simply run out," Comair spokeswoman Kate Marx said. "After recent discussions with the IBT, it became apparent that we had exhausted every opportunity to reach a consensual agreement."
Comair said, however, that it remains willing to negotiate and still wants a deal with the union. The company would not speculate on the possibility of a strike or its potential impact.
  Comair, a subsidiary of Delta Air Lines Inc., whose headquarters are shown Tuesday, July 11, 2006, in Erlanger, Ky., said Monday, Oct. 9, 2006, it will impose wage cuts and changes in work rules for the regional airline's 970 flight attendants beginning Nov. 15. (AP Photo/Al Behrman) (Al Behrman - AP) |
The airline, based in nearby Erlanger, Ky., also has been negotiating with its pilots and mechanics union.
Comair had earlier reached an agreement with its pilots for $17.3 million in cuts and for $1 million from its mechanics, but those deals were contingent on Comair getting $8.9 million in givebacks from flight attendants. Talks resumed with the pilots and mechanics after Comair said it had reduced the flight attendant concessions to $7.9 million.
Bornhorst has said the carrier needs to cut labor costs to be able to avoid shrinking its service.
Delta announced Aug. 22 that it had requested bids for some of its regional jet service, much of which is handled by Comair. Comair Flight 5191 crashed five days later in Lexington, Ky., killing 49 people, and Delta extended a Sept. 18 bid deadline to Oct. 2.
Comair submitted its bid by last week's deadline, saying that it reflected the restructuring it has completed in nonunion areas and the savings forecast for the flight attendants and mechanics.
But the company said the lack of pilot concessions would likely cost the airline any chance of winning the bid.
No significant progress has been made with the pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, and no new talks have been scheduled with that group, Bornhorst said. ALPA told the company that it would not be able to negotiate until the end of October, he said.
"What the company is saying is extremely confusing," ALPA spokesman Paul Denke said. "We have always been willing to meet anytime and anywhere. We want a fair and consensual agreement."
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