Nope, and when did that happen?
See below: May 11th 2005
TOM BEARDEN: Since a federal bankruptcy judge approved United’s plans to terminate its four employee pension programs, the airline can shift responsibility for them to the federal government and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, or PBGC, which Congress created in 1974.
The PBGC protects nearly 35 million workers and retirees in more than 29,000 pension funds. United’s employee pensions are under funded by an estimated $9.8 billion. The PBGC would only guarantee some $6 billion of that total. That means some of the airlines’ workers could have their pensions cut. And for some of the highest-paid pilots, the cuts could be even steeper.
The airline’s parent company, UAL Corporation, has been in bankruptcy protection since December 2002, and has been pushing to end its pensions since it lost a bid for a federal loan package last year. Company officials said yesterday’s ruling means it can save jobs and $645 million a year, a matter of survival for the airline.