Struggling US Airways may seek labor concessions

ARLINGTON, Va. - US Airways CEO David Siegel is warning employees that the struggling airline can no longer afford to pay salaries comparable to those at large competitors.<br> <br> Most US Airways workers, with the exception of flight attendants, have contracts that call for salaries of &#34;parity plus one,&#34; which is the average pay given to employees of the four largest airlines, plus 1 percent.<br> <br> In a recorded message to employees Monday, Siegel said the company will continue to meet its contractual obligations for now. But he warned that management may soon seek across-the-board concessions from its unions.<br> <br> &#34;Continuing to tie our compensation plan to those of the four largest U.S. carriers does not make a lot of sense in today&#39;s airline industry environment,&#34; Siegel said. &#34;These carriers are much larger than US Airways. They have many more assets and enjoy far greater financial strength.&#34;<br> <br> Arlington, Va.-based US Airways is the nation&#39;s seventh-largest airline. It had been sixth until it reduced capacity and jobs by 23 percent last year.<br> <br> UAL Corp., the parent company of United Airlines, has been seeking wage concessions from employees for several months.<br> <br> US Airways was hit particularly hard by the industrywide downturn following Sept. 11. The airline had already been struggling following a failed merger with United, and it was the largest carrier at Reagan National Airport in metropolitan Washington, which remained closed for several weeks after the attacks.<br> <br> The airline lost $2 billion in 2001.<br> <br> Roy Freundlich, a spokesman for the Air Line Pilots Association&#39;s US Airways unit, said the union would reject any efforts to extract pay concessions.<br> <br> &#34;Employees are not the cause of US Airways&#39; current problems or its current size,&#34; Freundlich said. &#34;The size of an airline does not indicate its financial strength, its service level ... or its profit potential.&#34;<br> <br> Siegel, a former Continental Airlines executive who took over as US Airways&#39; president and CEO earlier this month, met last week with leaders of the unions representing mechanics, engineers and flight attendants. He meets with the pilots&#39; union this week. <br> <br>

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