TWA, Union Reach Accord

Trans World Airlines and its major union representing flight attendants, mechanics and other workers reached a tentative agreement Sunday on a new contract, possibly averting a strike that could have jeopardized the long-struggling company.

The International Association of Machinists said it would cancel the rank-and-file voting that began last week, and then present the new contract offer to its members. The union represents 16,000 of TWA's 21,000 employees.

Union leaders agreed there would be no work stoppages during the month-long ratification process.

"The IAM will recommend to our members that they vote 'yes' on ratification of these revised proposals, which represent a significant improvement over previous contract offers from TWA," union official William O'Driscoll said in a statement.

TWA chief executive Bill Compton said the company "recognizes that our employees need the largest raise we can profitably provide them."

Details of the new pact will be released Tuesday in Kansas City, Mo., where the union is based. Workers will begin voting on it on Wednesday. The airline is based in St. Louis.

St. Louis television stations reported that the new contract is for just 18 months rather than the previous 2 1/2-year offer. TWA spokesman Jim Brown would not comment on the length of the contract.

TWA has survived two trips to bankruptcy court in the 1990s, largely because union members have given up salary and other benefits to keep the company afloat. The losses have been reduced in recent years, but the company has continued to lose money.

Last month, Compton warned that TWA "simply does not have the resources to afford a strike."