January 21, 2005 - The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) today announced that all three IAM-represented groups at US Airways voted to accept new four-year agreements providing hundreds of millions of dollars in annual cost savings to the bankrupt airline.
The three groups at US Airways include Fleet Service workers, Mechanic & Related employees and Maintenance Training Specialists who voted separately under the threat of a bankruptcy court ruling that would have terminated existing labor contracts at the airline if the company’s offers were rejected.
“US Airways management must utilize the advantage our members have provided, not squander it as they have done in the past,” said IAM General Vice President Robert Roach, Jr. “The company has everything it needs from labor to succeed. The pressure is now on management to deliver.”
“The vote came down to choosing between bad and worse,” said William O’Driscoll, President of IAM District 142, representing US Airways’ Mechanic & Related and Maintenance Training Specialists. “Let their decision end the debate about our members’ commitment to US Airways.”
“It is time to look beyond labor costs for answers to this industry’s chronic mismanagement,” said Randy Canale, President of IAM District 141, representing Fleet Service workers.
The IAM represents more than 130,000 air and rail workers in North America. For information about the agreement between the IAM at US Airways, visit the District 141 website at www.iam141.org and the District 142 website at www.iamdl142.org.
