Pickets March at Pan Am Terminals Across Country

Picket lines went up from Miami to Los Angeles to Honolulu today as transport union workers struck Pan American World Airways, virtually shutting down the financially troubled carrier’s domestic service and severely curtailing its overseas flights.

“I think it is going to be a long strike,� said Transport Workers Union airline division director John Kerrigan, who announced the strike of 5,753 mechanics, baggage handlers, flight dispatchers and food service workers at 12:35 a.m.

Picket lines were up at airports in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami and Honolulu. Kerrigan said that Pan Am pilots--who settled their contract with the airline Tuesday--have promised to honor TWU picket lines and that other unions have advised their members to stay off the job.

Only 15 U.S. Flights Today

Pan Am spokeswoman Pamela Hanlon said the airline will operate only 15 flights originating at airports in the United States today: one from San Francisco, three from Miami, eight from New York and three from Los Angeles.

Pan Am usually runs 400 flights per day in the United States.

Travelers complained that they had been stranded by the strike.

“We didn’t know anything until we were standing there, baggage in hand, waiting to get off the plane (in Miami),� said Abbie Endicott, who was returning home to Washington from Santiago, Chile. “They said, ‘Sorry for the inconvenience, the airline is on strike.’ �

“They just stranded us in Orlando (Fla.),� said Rose Simon, who had been on a flight from New York to Miami. “We got some passengers together and hired a car to drive to Miami. And they sent my baggage to Tampa.�

Pan Am made fresh contract offers to mechanics Wednesday night, but Kerrigan said they were rejected.

Pan Am offered TWU members a 20% wage increase over 36 months, Kerrigan said. In addition, it offered mechanics an immediate $1,200 bonus and a $900 bonus to other bargaining employees, he said.

Pan Am has asked all 19,000 unionized employees for productivity gains and large reductions in pension and health-care benefits.

The airline had a pretax operating loss of $106.7 million last year. It has not made a profit since 1980, and has cut more than 8,000 jobs in the last five years.

A Pan Am mechanic earns a top base salary of $29,500, compared to $39,600 at United Airlines. Baggage handlers, who also belong to the TWU, earn $23,800, compared to $31,600 at United.