UAL Union Ratifies Contract

The International Association of Machinists District 141, representing 23,000 United Airlines assorted workers, over the weekend ratified a contract reached with UAL Corp. management on April 25.

The deal was the final unresolved contract for the carrier's employee groups. "Our next goal is to work collectively and creatively with our union leadership and all employee groups to continue our recovery strategy," said United CEO Jack Creighton.

UAL management faces a challenging path in convincing unions to accept concessions as part of a companywide cost savings initiative seen as critical in returning the carrier to profitability. United at the end of March still was losing more than $4 million a day and, according to analysts, must restructure costs, deal with mounting debt and improve passenger yields to avoid either an application for federal loan guarantees or a potential bankruptcy filing. United management has not ruled out either scenario.