[Gerald A]

July 30, 2008

United Airlines, accused its pilots' union and a "small group" of its members in a federal lawsuit of misusing sick leave and taking other steps the company said led to hundreds of canceled flights this month.

The unusual but not unprecedented legal move comes amid growing tension between cash-strapped US airlines and their unions as carriers, including United, cut jobs and routes to counter the financial pressures of high fuel prices this year.

"This was a step we did not want to take, and one that we tried extraordinarily hard to avoid, pursuing every other viable solution with ALPA (Air Line Pilots Association)," John Tague, United's chief operating officer, said in a statement to employees.

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