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Pastimes : TOBACCO COURT * NEW LEGAL DEFENSES & PUBLIC OPINION -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: PatiBob who wrote (6)	2/14/1999 8:28:00 AM
From: Jerry in Omaha	Respond to of 32

Ms. PatiBob, That fly swatter swats both ways. Capital and labor both get squished. Will this thread concentrate on performing hapless post mortem forensics on the dead flies? Or perhaps instead contemplate the fly swatter itself and the hand(s) that wield it? Perhaps we should guess where next it's going to swat. Proverbs for Paranoids, 3: If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about answers. Thomas Pynchon - Gravity's Rainbow. Jerard P FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -- An irate federal judge held American Airlines' pilots union and two union leaders in contempt Saturday, threatening to fine them millions of dollars for not doing enough to get pilots back to work. ''Unfortunately, the radical element that seems to be in control of the Allied Pilots Association seems determined to fly American Airlines into the side of a mountain, taking themselves, the company, their co-workers and their customers with them,'' U.S. District Judge Joe Kendall said. More than half a million travelers have been left at the gate by the nation's second-largest airline because of the large number of pilots calling in sick. Kendall had ordered the pilots on Wednesday to quit their job action, which stems from a dispute with management. But 1,700 of the airline's 9,400 pilots remained on the sick list Saturday afternoon at the Fort Worth-based airline. That number was down from about 2,443 on Friday and airline officials seemed optimistic operations soon would return to normal. Allied Pilots Association President Rich LaVoy said he implored the pilots to return to work following Kendall's ruling. ''We obviously don't agree with the judge's order,'' he said. ''We are going to continue to comply with the judge's order and ask that the pilot's get back in the cockpit to get the system up and operating.'' Kendall said he did not believe the union leadership was sincere in its efforts. ''No one can make someone go fly an airplane, particularly if someone is dishonest and willing to lie and say they are sick when they really aren't,'' Kendall said. ''But what a federal judge can do -- and what I will do -- is make people pay for what they break.'' Kendall said he would decide Wednesday how much to fine the union, LaVoy and union Vice President Brian Mayhew. He said the fine and related damages would be ''eight figures'' and ordered that the union set aside $10 million, or about a quarter of its net worth, in a bond to pay it. He also ordered LaVoy to set aside $10,000 and Mayhew $5,000. LaVoy and Mayhew, both pilots, earned more than $200,000 last year, mainly doing work for the union. American officials said that 5,600 flights have been canceled since the work action began, costing American between $67 million and $90 million, Chiames said. A spokesman for AMR Corp., parent company of American Airlines, which had asked Kendall to declare the union in contempt, said officials had mixed emotions. ''We're gratified with the judge's order but clearly disappointed it has come to this,'' said spokesman Chris Chiames. ''A majority of our pilots are doing their jobs and we hope the rest come back real soon.'' American canceled 1,102 flights Friday -- nearly half of its daily total -- a day after it canceled 1,170. The carrier also scrapped 845 flights for Saturday and 209 for Sunday, with additional cancellations possible. Union members have been calling in sick and refusing to accept overtime since Feb. 6 in a dispute over American's handling of pay raises to pilots of recently purchased Reno Air. American pilots and those formerly with Reno Air stand to make more money once they all fall under American's existing contract. Many American pilots would advance up the seniority chart, while Reno pilots would get pay raises compared to their old carrier. AMR says the process of integrating the companies and pilots will take a year to 18 months. The pilots claim that is too long and accuse the company of dragging its feet. The judge described the situation as a minor labor dispute that the union has transformed into a shakedown. ''Even though it may indeed be more economical for American to cave in and pay, in the long run, if you pay extortion today, you typically have to pay it tomorrow,'' he said. ''When the pitch is 'pay us what we want or we will cost you more,' it is the type of negotiation one usually sees when doing business with one of the five families in New York.'' AP-NY-02-13-99 2152EST