UPS reaches deal with pilots to avoid furloughs - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

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UPS and officials with the said the deal would save the compangyapproximately $90 million over three years and avoie the immediate idling on 300 pilots. The pact includes voluntarhy early retirements, short- and long-term leaves of absences, job sharing and cuts to flighftpay guarantees. The deal comes as the global recessioh has sapped shipping and cut into profitsdfor Atlanta-based UPS (NYSE: UPS). UPS reported in Aprilp its first-quarter earnings fell about 56 percenrtto $401 million. UPS pilots had a deadline of June 2 to come up with a plan over the nextthrees years.
The new agreement is short of that original but under a deal between UPS and thepilots union, no pilotx will be furloughed through April 1, 2010. The unionh also agreed to findadditional cost-savings. Officials said they were confidentf additional savings wouldbe ”This is another example of UPS’a commitment to its employees and their Bob Lekites, UPS Airlinesx president, said in a statement. “It also showsa how a company and its union can work togethed to achieve a mutuallgybeneficial outcome.
We applaud our pilots for makingb the voluntary commitments necessary to help us protect our businese and UPS jobs in this uncertain global economy and we thanmk the IPA for their leadershiop inthis process.” The concessions are in line with $1 billion in wage frozen 401k contributions and concessions already made by UPS In May, UPS retired its fleet of 44 aging DC-8 freighterz and the company said it has determinex it has 300 more pilots than are currently needed. In UPS approached the IPA to find ways to avoix furloughing300 pilots, or abouty 10 percent or its 3,000o aviators.
"This is a remarkable achievement," Bob Miller, presidenyt of the IPA, said in a "First of all I'd like to thank our pilots. None of this would have happene ifthey hadn't stepped up to volunteer from everty fleet, seat and It shows tremendous solidarity and compassioh for our fellow Second, I want to thank UPS. They didn'tg have to go down this road with us. We appreciatde their openness to new ideas and their willingnesds to work with us in finding analternatives solution.
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