Machinists at US Airways must decide this week whether to approve the latest contract proposal that includes deep pay, benefit and job cuts, or vote it down and face the possibility of the demise of the company. Though under different circumstances, fourteen years ago Eastern Airlines machinists faced a similar decision and, when they voted to reject that proposed contract and go on strike, Eastern folded and 19,000 workers lost their jobs. The future of US Airways, mired in bankruptcy proceedings and struggling to reach an agreement with its machinists is, at this point, up in the air.
See "Last Stand Could Fell US Airways", Griff Witte and Amy Joyce, The Washington Post, January 17, 2005