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Bloomberg) United Continental Holdings Inc. (UAL) is struggling to unify two union workforces more than a year after the $3.47 billion all-stock combination that created the world’s largest airline.
Chief Executive Officer Jeff Smisek accused some pilot union leaders yesterday of “shameful” complaints about flight safety, two days after the group sent a 105-page letter to Congress saying that a lack of training on new procedures was “potentially dangerous.”
The exchange spotlighted labor tensions at the carrier as Smisek stitches together predecessor carriers United Airlines and Continental Airlines. Reaping the full $1.2 billion in promised merger savings and new revenue won’t happen until all unions combine and have common work rules and pay scales, said Gary Chaison, a Clark University labor professor.
“It’s a black eye on the merger,” Chaison said by phone from Worcester, Massachusetts. “Labor issues are often the most contentious part of a merger, and this might make some people wonder whether it’s a priority for management or not. It’s also more uncertainty for the investment community.” ............(more)
The complete piece is at:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-18/united-labor-tension-damps-promise-of-1-2-billion-merger-gain.html