It's the old double standard again, government should not interfere, EXCEPT of course, when it is to protect the interests of big business!

*****

Monday June 25 8:55 PM ET

White House Threatens to Intervene in Airline Dispute

By John Crawley

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House on Monday effectively halted any chance of a strike on July 1 by American Airlines flight attendants, saying President Bush (news - web sites) would intervene if no contract settlement is reached by then.

A White House statement said federal mediators overseeing the negotiations have requested the appointment of a Presidential Emergency Board, which would delay any walkout for up to 60 days once the current 30-day cooling off period expires at 12:01 a.m. EDT on Sunday.

``The president will accept that recommendation and create an emergency board if the parties are unable to reach a negotiated settlement,'' the statement said.

American, the world's largest carrier and a unit of Fort Worth-based AMR Corp., and its flight attendants' union are scheduled to resume talks with federal mediators on Thursday in Washington.

The union, which represents 23,000 flight attendants, believed the threat of presidential intervention undermined its leverage at the negotiating table. However, the flight attendants said a deal was within reach.

``The president's announcement, though unwelcome and destructive of the collective bargaining process, was not unexpected,'' John Ward, president of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, said in a statement.

``There is no reason the parties should not be able to reach an agreement this week; all it takes is a willingness on the part of the company to finally put the money on the table that is needed to close the narrow gap,'' Ward said.

NO-STRIKE PLEDGE

Earlier this year, the Bush administration intervened in the dispute between Northwest Airlines Corp. and its mechanics and threatened to do so in the dispute between Delta Air Lines Inc. and its pilots. Contract settlements were reached in both cases.

Building on a pledge to not allow strikes at major airlines this summer, Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta (news - web sites) signaled this month the Bush administration would not permit a walkout by American flight attendants if requested to do so by the National Mediation Board.

``The president is concerned a major airline strike could threaten the economy,'' the White House statement said. ``He also wants to assure the flying public that they can enjoy the upcoming Fourth of July holiday without fear that their travel plans will be disrupted by a strike at American Airlines.''

American used the threat of intervention to assure travelers they would not face a potentially crippling work stoppage.

``The administration's action today should strongly reassure the traveling public that there is no possibility that a strike could disrupt our operations during the busy summer travel season, allowing our customers to book American with confidence,'' the airline said in a statement.

American also said it would try to reach an agreement and repeated that it was offering ``an industry-leading contract.'' The carrier has said its offer included a 21.6 percent increase in base pay over six years, profit-sharing, and a 3 percent signing bonus.

But flight attendants, whose base pay ranges from $16,000 to $35,000, say the proposed raises fell short of what Delta pays its flight attendants. The union also says that quality of life issues, including scheduling and crew rest, remain unresolved.

The union warned that a walkout in September was possible, if an emergency board took effect and expired without helping to reach a deal.

The door would then open for possible congressional intervention to impose a solution or take other action. The union has petitioned Congress to stay out of the contract dispute, and Capitol Hill has not signaled what it would do if faced with that decision.

-- Dumbya the fucking liar (don't intervene to help consumers @ always intervene. to help big business), June 26, 2001

Answers

interesting but will look BORING to the braindead dittomonkies who could careless about the truth.

-- (bush@twofaced.scum), June 26, 2001.

If airlines are (as is being claimed to justify this government intrusion into the free market) critical to the American economy, then federalize them. Have the government take them over, lock, stock and barrel, and then the government can make all the decisions about air travel and air cargo transport that it pleases.

However, the President should leave matters alone otherwise. Bush said he would run a hands-off government. Now let him prove it. Either let the free market work itself out, or federalize the whole thing. You can't have it both ways.

-- Already Done Happened (oh.yeah@it.did.com), June 27, 2001.

Dumbya likes to destroy labor unions. He likes hiring the illegal immigrants that he is so fond of in Texas, so he thinks that all Americans should have the same rights as they do... none.

-- (slaves are @ good. for business), June 27, 2001.