THE FAT LADY HAS ENTERED THE BUILDING
"Our mission here is to save as many jobs as possible. We are being attacked on every front" by low-cost competitors, said the airline's chief executive, Bruce Lakefield, when asked about the ruling's effect on workers.
Lakefield told employees in a recorded message that a timeline to impose the cuts will be announced in the next few days.
Mollie McCarthy, leader of the Association of Flight Attendants' Philadelphia-based local, said the pay cuts are devastating and particularly galling given that management is not taking a similar hit.
"That's what's going to make my people really angry," she said.
Brian Leitch, an attorney for the airline, acknowledged that US Airways would need to do more to prevent a collapse, including obtaining permanent cost-savings from its unions twice as large as those achieved by the temporary cuts.
"Our mission here is to save as many jobs as possible. We are being attacked on every front" by low-cost competitors, said the airline's chief executive, Bruce Lakefield, when asked about the ruling's effect on workers.
Lakefield told employees in a recorded message that a timeline to impose the cuts will be announced in the next few days.
Mollie McCarthy, leader of the Association of Flight Attendants' Philadelphia-based local, said the pay cuts are devastating and particularly galling given that management is not taking a similar hit.
"That's what's going to make my people really angry," she said.
Brian Leitch, an attorney for the airline, acknowledged that US Airways would need to do more to prevent a collapse, including obtaining permanent cost-savings from its unions twice as large as those achieved by the temporary cuts.
