150 Japanese United flight attendants may lose jobs

About 150 Japanese flight attendants at United based in Narita, Chiba Prefecture, are at risk of losing their jobs by Oct. 1 when the US carrier closes three of its international bases, their union has said. While the company said those affected can move to bases in the United States if they have a right to work in the country, some 700 flight attendants at Narita, Hong Kong and Germany's Frankfurt do not have such a right, according to the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA. Some 350 flight attendants are based at Narita and 180 of them are Japanese, said Tony Wetterer, head of the union's council in the city. Only about 30 have a US work permit. United informed the employees in June that the three bases would close on Oct. 1 and they would be let go by that date if they cannot provide documentation for a US work permit, according to the association. The Washington-based union, which represents nearly 50,000 flight attendants at 20 carriers, said earlier that it immediately went into negotiations with United, but the talks broke down when the management refused any solutions that did not involve companywide concessions.<br/>