United reaches tentative agreement with attendants on pension

United Airlines reached a tentative agreement with its flight attendants' union Saturday that keeps the employee pension plan intact. The airline also said it won't go to court at this time to cancel the union's contract.

Details of the agreement won't be made public until the Association of Flight Attendants' United Master Executive Council meets Tuesday to vote on the contract, the union said in a letter posted on its Web site. The AFA said the tentative agreement doesn't include changes to the pension plan and keeps medical and dental benefits intact.

UAL Corp., United's parent company, has asked for $1.36 billion in worker concessions as it tries to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company, which is seeking to end the flight attendants' pension plan, said it won't act at this time on a request to have a bankruptcy court scrap contracts for the AFA and aircraft mechanics' union.

United said in a statement it's deferring to the AFA to explain the terms of the agreement to its members. The airline said it will work with the AFA in the next 90 days "to attempt to resolve pension issues."

The airline's bankruptcy judge on Friday rejected an agreement with United's pilot union that would have saved $180 million a year.

United reached a tentative agreement on Friday with the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association on a new contract with concessions. That agreement also doesn't deal with workers' pension plans, United said.

Shares of UAL Corp. fell 10 cents to $1.23 Friday in over- the- counter trading. UAL has said the stock probably won't have any value after the company's reorganization.

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