A Presidential Emergency Board has extended a strike prohibition in the deadlocked negotiations between United Airlines (UAL) and its International Association of Machinists (IAM) represented mechanics. President Bush formed the board on December 20 citing concern about the effect a strike in the two-year-old contract dispute could have on the industry and the national economy. UAL wants all employees to take pay cuts to help the company through its current financial problems, but the mechanics---who agreed to massive cuts in the mid-1990's to help the company and never received promised raises---have pointed to their well-below industry level wages in refusing to take such cuts.
See "Panel holds off strike by United mechanics", JOHN SCHMELTZER, Chicago Tribune, January 20, 2002