US Airways to Alter Pilots' Pension Plan
In a mixed ruling Saturday, a U.S. bankruptcy judge held that while bankruptcy law does not prevent US Airways from terminating its pilots' pension plan as part of reorganization (see WIT for Jan. 15, 2003), the elimination of actual benefits must be governed by the pilots' union contract. While disappointed by the bankruptcy law ruling, members of the Air Line Pilots Association at US Airways were pleased with the decision that the carrier must negotiate the elimination of pension payments or prove in arbitration that the contract allows it to act unilaterally. An arbitration hearing has been scheduled for March 13, and the outcome will likely determine who has the upper hand in negotiations over US Airways' proposal for a new retirement plan that would cut the pensions savings of 7,000 current and retired pilots in half.
See "US Airways to Alter Pilots' Pension Plan", KEITH L. ALEXANDER, The Washington Post, March 2, 2003