CHICAGO -- Attorneys for three United Airlines unions filed a motion Tuesday in Chicago to recoup $260 million to $994 million in unpaid pension contributions. The motion for United's flight attendants, mechanics and ramp workers, was filed by Independent Fiduciary Services, appointed by the U.S. Labor Department to protect the interests of the participants in the airline pension plan, reported CBS Marketwatch.
The three unions' pension plans are under funded by an estimated $8.3 billion, according to the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corp.
Earlier in November, United said it plans to end its pension plans to help it emerge from bankruptcy. The unions' motion would make the pension funds a higher priority in the bankruptcy proceedings.
United Airlines filed for bankruptcy in December 2002 and stopped making pension contributions last summer.
