Reprieve from Chaos

For a while it looked as if it would be the worst Christmas ever for air travelers. Two major airlines--United and National, which together carry 28% of the nation's air traffic--were grounded by strikes, and their absence tipped the holiday-choked U.S. air-transport system into near chaos that meant frustrating delays and disappointments for thousands of air travelers. Suddenly, at week's end, there was hope that United and perhaps even National might be flying again by Christmas. Even so, strike-caused snarls were likely to plague travelers for a few more days.

The breakthrough in the 13-day-old United strike caught the industry by surprise, including the machinists who had closed the airline down on Dec. 6, largely over a dispute concerning job security for union members. Both management and the union expected a long walkout. When the two sides met early last week at the urging of the National Mediation Board, no one expected quick results. But after holding separate sessions with United and the machinists, White House Mediator W.J. Usery saw a possibility for a compromise. On Thursday he brought the two sides together in a bargaining session that lasted through the night. At 9:30 Friday morning, United and the machinists shook hands on a new agreement.

For the moment, neither side would disclose the terms of the settlement. But presumably the machinists, already the best-paid nonflying airline union (top hourly wage: about $8), got raises and reassurances about jobs, while United reaffirmed its prerogative to deploy its work force as it sees fit.

Over the weekend, the 16,700 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers at United were to vote on the deal. Mediator Usery said that the outlook for acceptance was excellent, but airline unions are unpredictable. Locals are fragmented and undisciplined, and their leaders have torpedoed agreements reached at the national level in the past. If the machinists do vote in favor of the pact, United planned to restore full service by midweek.

Meanwhile, there was a new chance for a settlement in National's long strike. The airline's 1,200 hostesses shut down the airline on Sept. 6 after President L.B. ("Bud") Maytag rejected their wage and work-rules demands. National and the Air Line Pilots Association, which negotiates on the national level for the flight attendants, reached an agreement in October calling for a $114 rise in the monthly minimum salary, to $750--an 18% increase.

Second Ballot. The hostesses rejected the contract, partly to assert their independence from the male-dominated pilots' union. In response to the airline's petition, Federal Judge C. Clyde Atkins last week ordered the stewardesses to vote again on the pact. He specifically enjoined the hostesses' leaders, who were accused of sabotaging the first balloting, from campaigning for rejection. Even so, the outcome may be close. Having been angered for years by National's "sexist" advertising ("I'm Barbara. Fly me."), the hostesses seem determined to strike National like it has never been struck before: at week's end they were within a few days of beating the 116-day walkout record set by National's striking ticket clerks in 1970.

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