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US Airways Employees in Winston-Salem, N.C., Await Possible Reorganization

Posted on: Saturday, 10 September 2005, 00:00 CDT

Sep. 9--Employees at US Airways Group Inc. in Winston-Salem may be affected by the airline's proposed sale to America West Holdings Corp.

US Airways has notified the 268 employees at its local revenue-accounting department that America West's system would be used if its reorganization plan is approved by a U.S. bankruptcy court judge, Amy Kudwa, a spokeswoman for US Airways, said Wednesday.

"It's too early to determine how the decision will affect the department's employees or the timing of the system changeover," Kudwa said.

The revenue-accounting employees are based in Madison Park in the northwest part of the city. They represent nearly 25 percent of US Airways' work force of 1,122 in the Triad.

America West operates its revenue-accounting department near its headquarters in Tempe, Ariz.

A potential final hearing on US Airways' reorganization plan is set for Thursday in Washington. If Judge Stephen Mitchell approves the plan, the airline could emerge for the second time from Chapter 11-bankruptcy protection in late September and conclude its deal with America west soon afterward.

As recently as August 2004, US Airways had about 1,600 employees in its local reservation and Dividend Miles centers in Winston-Salem. But that work force has since been cut to 591, the airline said.

Many of the departures came from employees accepting "early out" packages as part of the airline's decision to consolidate four reservation or call centers in Winston-Salem and Pittsburgh into its center on Hanes Mall Boulevard. Another 60 employees are eligible to take the package, spokesman David Castelveter said.

The package, which was offered before America West's bid, consists of a pay out of up to $20,000 and other benefits. About 43 Pittsburgh employees transferred to Winston-Salem out of a potential 697.

Most of those reservations jobs have been sent offshore by the airline to centers in El Salvador, Mexico and the Philippines.

"The Winston-Salem reservations center will be very important to us, as we expect call volume to increase in the post-merger period," said Phil Gee, a spokesman for America West.

"In the long term, nothing has been determined. It is likely to take three years before the merger is completely done, so changes will happen slowly."

Castelveter said that US Airways has decided not to pursue incentive offers of up to $300,000 over three years from the Winston-Salem City Council and the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners. The boards approved the incentives in February.

The boards' offer was based primarily on meeting goals for job retention of 850 jobs, as well as job creation and capital investment. The incentives would have been paid at the end of three 12-month periods.

Castelveter said that because the center's work force has decreased in recent months, "it is unlikely that there will be any opportunity to collect on incentive payments."

Becky Gerald, the president of Communications Workers of America 3640, said that the union's contract with US Airways requires the airline to have a reservation center in Winston-Salem for six more years. But she said that the union might have to renegotiate the contract because of potential new ownership.

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UAIRQ, AWA,

Source: Winston-Salem Journal

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