Strike deadline nears at United Airlines

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Erik Larsen-wins-reducer sentence SOCIALIST ACTION DECEMBER 1991 and MALIK MIAH SAN FRANCISCO-The hand clapping and foot stomping by 250 Bay Area union stewards began immediately after Jerry Nelson, president of International Association of Machinists (IAM) Lodge 1781, promised, "We'll be on strike by Christmas if the company refuses to work with Handcuffed but unbowed, former Marine Corps reservist and antiwar fighter Erik Larsen saluted his parents, friends, and supporters with the familiar peace sign, as Camp Le Jeune, N.C., military authorities led him off to begin serving a jail sentence for opposing the genocidal Gulf Last month, a six-member Marine Corps panel of Gulf War veterans reduced the term of Larsen's confinement to the Camp Le Jeune brig to six months. A pre-trial agreement had previously limited Larsen's incarceration to eight months.

Standard "good behavior" time is expected to further reduce Larsen's term by an additional month.

Larsen will receive a "dishonorable discharge" for intentionally missing a troop movement and for his 32-day absence without leave (AWOL).

Larsen was originally threatened with the death penalty for "desertion in time of war." But widespread public support, the unceasing dedication of his family, and the capacity of attorey Rivkin to expose the stream of lies and patriotic byperbole us." Nelson blasted the latest contract offer by United Airlines.

Local Lodge 1781 comprises almost half of the 27,000 United Airlines IAM-represented mechanics, baggage handlers, cleaners, and kitchen workers at major airports throughout the country.

The old agreement expired on Nov. 1, 1989.

In effect, United has "borrowed" hundreds of millions of dollars of deferred wage increases (interest free) which should have been negotiated two years ago.

Yet, airline management is still balking at providing a decent improvement over the last contract. While details of negotiations are not made public, most informed union sources believe the latest company wage offer amounts to a 2 percent annual wage increase for three years, with a retroactive wage increase of 1 percent for 1989 and 1990.

This, of course, is well below the inflation rate of 4.5 percent annually and is totally unacceptable to the union. Two of the most serious company proposals involve reducing the starting pay of the baggage handlers to under $8 per hour and extending the five-year staggered wage progression that it now takes to reach the full rate of over $16 per hour. launched by the Marine Corps, resulted in the step by step dropping of charges and threats as Larsen's case proceeded.

In the face of threats to sentence Larsen to death, then life imprisonment, then a seven-year term in the military brig, the pre-court martial agreement reached between Larsen and Marine Corps representative Major General Vermilyea represented a stunning victory.

Larsen's soujourn has ended for the moment, although his attorney, military specialist Robert Rivkin, told Socialist Action that appeals are in progress at three different levels of the military "justice" and federal court system.

One appeal is in response to the denial of conscientious objector status for Larsen. Another refers to the introduction into the sentencing hearing of a videotape in which an Army captain stated that Larsen was "an embarrassment to the military."

The judge at the hearing ruled that the panel should "ignore" the political contents of the videotape. But Rivkin charges that the judge's ruling was insufficient. The video was introduced, he explains, "to inflame and prejudice the panel against Erik Larsen for having exercised his first amendment rights"

None of Larsen's appeals are expected to be concluded before the end of his sentence is served. Rivkin noted, however, that success in either effort may result in a further reduction of the "dishonorable discharge" part of his sentence.

Erik Larsen, and his friend and fellow Marine Corps resister Tahan Jones, were the nation's leading Marine Corps antiwar fighters. Their courageous stand was an inspiration to the hundred of thousands who mobilized against the Gulf War.

Their continuing defense is our elementary obligation. Jones's trial is expected to begin in early December. work day be lengthened by one-half hour without pay. This would also almost certainly trigger a strike.

In the 58-day 1979 strike, the IAM won a seven-and-a-half-hour work day with an additional half-hour lunch period paid by the company at the applicable hourly wage rate. The company now wants to eliminate this gain by extending the work day to eight hours—meaning a dramatic 16 percent increase in hours.

Cut-throat competition

Government regulation of airline fares and competition ended over 12 years ago. The attractive immediate effect to the consumer was much lower fares, as numerous start-up companies like Peoples' Express entered a previously restricted field.

The real objective of deregulation, however, is only now being felt as the three larger, financially stable carriers-American, United, Delta-are driving out their weaker competitors.

This year, Eastern and Midway folded. Meanwhile, four major carriers declared bankruptcy, with TWA and USAir left teetering on the brink of insolvency.

Of course, re-monopolization of the airline industry will ultimately mean an end to the low-fare wars that have periodically appeared over the last decade. It's the anticipation of tremendous profits—through higher fares and less competition-that keeps the larger airlines playing the game, matching the low fares of the smaller carriers until they go under.

Jockeying for position in this way is expensive, so each airline seeks to extract more concessions from its workforce to recover the lost profits for its wealthy stockholders.

Thus, financially struggling USAir is now demanding $400 million in concessions from its workers while simultaneously launching a substantial fare reduction.

But even the most financially stable airlines demand that their workers pay the cost of capitalist competition. United Airlines' demands for significant concessions from the IAM is the best example. This year alone, the airline has placed a multiBy ALEXEI FOLGER BOSTON--On Nov. 2, some 2500 pro-choice forces. pro-choice activists tumed out to defend publicly-and well in advance-their a Massachusetts Superior Court judge and at the top of most local television news reports. paid over $400 million for Pan Am routes to London.

Strike preparations

Labor relations between the airlines and the unions are governed by the Railway Labor Act. A series of prolonged stages of negotiations must be conducted before the union has the right to enter what is called a "30-day countdown," after which the union can legally strike.

The IAM workers at United Airlines are at this point. They can strike anytime after 12:01 EST, Dec. 13. According to union officials, it is likely that the airline will present a final offer just before the deadline.

The union will print the proposal and present it to the membership in meetings held throughout the country. It the union negotiators recommend a rejection of the company offer, a strike authorization vote will also be taken. (A two-thirds vote is necessary.) Union officials would then use the anticipated large strike vote to obtain a better offer from the company before actually calling everyone out "before Christmas."

In the meantime, workers at United have indicated their dissatisfaction with the company in numerous ways. Hundreds of workers at the San Francisco Airport Maintenance Operations Base were so upset that they became sick and stayed home on Nov. 1, the second anniversary of the contract expiration.

The union has also urged its members to "work safe." In some cases—to make sure the aircraft parts are extremely sate—workers inspect them not only once, but twice, and even three times. In other cases, faulty company equipment is being taken out of service by alert workers interested in maintaining an acceptable level of safety.

With the busiest travel season of the year occurring between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and with the expansion plans of United to international airports in full swing, the workers have the possibility to exert tremendous leverage against the United Airlines management.

Carl Vincolisi and Malik Miah are members of IAM Lodge 1781. overmatched, and that there was no clin ic where they could hope to challenge Pro-choice supporters stayed at the Slightly more than 100 OR members traveled there trom Boston), and were That afternoon, Boston NOW held a Contrasting the situation to the massive clinic attacks that took place

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... Economy (continued from page 1: “Poverty on the rise as economy stagnates”)

$1.3 trillion in new debts. Under a profit squeeze, many corporations are compelled to sell off their assets simply to pay the interest on their loans.

In the 1950s, companies invested $3 bil lion in new manufacturing plants and equipment for every $1 billion they paid out in interest. By the 1980s, the pattern was reversed. They paid out $1.6 billion in interest for every $1 billion put into plants and equipment.

Such behavior has been encouraged by the government's tax policies that allow the corporations to deduct their interest payments. This tax write-off for capitalists costs the government nearly $100 billion each year.

Thus, while factories, schools, and whole cities fall into decay-and while millions of people enter the ranks of the unemployed and the homelessthe rich are getting much richer. The richest 2.5 million Americans now have almost as much income as the bottom 100 million, and the percent of the country's wealth that they own is even higher.

Between 1980 and 1989, the salaries of Americans earning over $1 million increased an average of 2184 percent. The salaries of those earning $200,000 to $1 million increased 695 percent. But the combined wages of people earning less than $50,000 a year increased only 2 percent (adjusted for inflation).

For large numbers of working people, living standards were already falling before the recession began. Now they are worried about paying off their mortgages, car payments, and credit card debts while they still have any money in hand. There is little left over for new consumer items.

In previous recessions, the government stimulated the economy by cutting taxes or increasing spending. But this time, Washington is stymied by a budget deficit that is already projected to reach a near-record 5.8 percent of the Gross National Product. More government borrowing would balloon the national debt and could trigger a William Viggiano ...while factories, schools, and whole cities fall into decay— and while millions of