Airlines Labor Relations

Northwest Airlines was grounded Friday night after its 6,200 pilots went on strike in a contract dispute with the nation's fourth-largest air carrier. The initial disruption was minimal, but the walkout threatened to disrupt U.S. travel within days of the hectic Labor Day weekend. The walkout began at 9:01 p.m. PDT, the pilots' strike deadline, after negotiators for the airline and the pilots' union failed to agree on a new pact.

Operations returned to normal Monday at Trans World Airlines after a holiday weekend of sick calls by flight attendants caused widespread flight cancellations, according to the airline, costing it millions of dollars. The work stoppage resulted in about 200 flight cancellations between Thursday and Sunday, leaving thousands of travelers stranded over the holidays at TWA's Lambert Airport hub in St. Louis. The largest number of cancellations--90--occurred on Christmas Day.

Leaders of the nation's largest labor unions, eager to boost membership and test their growing political clout, are launching a major campaign at Los Angeles International Airport, using it as a centerpiece of a national effort to draw attention to the issue of the so-called living wage. The stakes are high, not just for the region but for the nation.

More than 500 union members launched a campaign Friday to persuade United Airlines to pay its security workers and other employees at Los Angeles International Airport a so-called living wage, increasing pressure on Mayor Richard Riordan to confront an issue that has vexed him and his administration. "This is only the beginning," said Linda Chavez-Thompson, executive vice president of the national AFL-CIO. "We are here."

Philippine Airlines, the oldest air carrier in Asia, closed its doors Wednesday after last-minute negotiations failed to persuade its largest union to accept a recovery plan. The closure immediately stripped Los Angeles International Airport of its only nonstop service to Manila, the Philippine capital. The last of the 57-year-old carrier's once-a-day flights from LAX was scheduled to depart Los Angeles at 11 p.m. Wednesday, airport spokesman Nancy Castles said.

UAL Corp. President and Chief Operating Officer John A. Edwardson resigned Friday under pressure from United Airlines' unions, which opposed him as the eventual chief executive. "I believe it is in everyone's best interests--our employees', the company's and mine--for me to step aside and clear the way for Jerry's eventual successor," Edwardson said in a statement. "United does not need a distracting or disruptive succession process."

Southwest Airlines Co. pilots voted Friday to maintain a 10-year labor contract rather than reopen negotiations, after the company sweetened the original agreement. The airline firmed up certain pay raises, moved up the date for increasing its retirement contribution and negotiated two new non-qualified retirement plans, a union spokesman said. An airline spokeswoman said the company had not estimated the cost of the added sweeteners. Southwest negotiated its pilot contract in 1994.

Philippine Airlines, reeling from labor chaos and the economic crisis that's engulfed other Asian carriers, is threatening to permanently shut down next week unless it reaches a pact with its unions. The Philippine government is trying to broker a settlement, and President Joseph Estrada told reporters in Manila on Friday that he "remained hopeful" that an agreement could be reached between the unions and Lucio Tan, the airline's majority owner.