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#Post#: 3832--------------------------------------------------
Airline Unions- American Airlines
DIR By: piedmont2010
Date: April 28, 2012, 4:00 pm
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Here is the latest from the head of the American Airlines Pilot
Union concerning the proposed merger between USAirways and
American. I thought you might find this interesting, it's a big
part of a pilot's daily life.
Fellow pilots,
It was announced this morning that the three unions at American
Airlines—Allied Pilots Association, Transport Workers Union and
Association of Professional Flight Attendants, representing a
total of 55,000 front-line employees—have agreed to support US
Airways’ bid for a merger between American Airlines and US
Airways. This endeavor has been underway for many months and
your APA leadership has been in direct discussions with the
senior leadership at US Airways since early March. In this
letter, I want to explain why APA decided to support a merger,
how the process came about, what the new American Airlines would
look like, and provide a brief overview of what APA has already
negotiated as the framework of a new collective bargaining
agreement.
AMR’s Business Plan
The APA leadership does not believe that AMR’s business plan
will produce an airline that is viable long term. I’ll just
summarize with this: while AMR’s network and route structure
have withered during the past decade, those at United and Delta
have grown larger and stronger, resulting in the steady
defection of American Airlines’ corporate accounts and vital
high-value customers. A big component of AMR’s plan for
restructuring is to force massive concessions on unionized
employees to reduce them to below-market compensation. Another
primary element is to rework the “Cornerstone” plan to try to
bring in additional revenue by down-gauging AMR’s fleet and
through dramatically expanded domestic code sharing. Combined
with the substantially increased productivity management seeks
and the large-scale outsourcing of pilot jobs that management
envisions, the result would be a major loss of pilot jobs at
American Airlines. The effects would be catastrophic, including
further stagnation for a pilot group that has already suffered
from the industry’s longest time to upgrade to captain.
Our Futures
Management has told us that we should be excited because AMR has
ordered new aircraft and has options to purchase more. New
aircraft orders — which primarily will go toward replacing our
fuel-guzzling S80 fleet — do not constitute job security for our
pilots. Most of the Wall Street analysts view American Airlines
management’s efforts to achieve network parity with Delta and
United as “too little, too late.” The same analysts also believe
any such effort would probably destabilize an industry that has
finally gained some meaningful degree of pricing power. We also
need to be mindful of the fact that management intends to impose
regional airline pay rates on large numbers of new Airbus
aircraft—not an especially appealing prospect. So exactly how do
pilots benefit from being displaced into much lower-paying
equipment?
Management’s Vision for a New Pilot Contract
Based on management’s actions to date, their vision—quite
simply—consists of rejecting our contract entirely. They are on
the Harvey Miller high-speed train to terminate our contract in
bankruptcy court (Miller was Frank Lorenzo’s lawyer at
Continental and Eastern. He is now AMR’s lead restructuring
attorney). Management has made no moves at the table that
suggest any interest in trying to arrive at a consensual
agreement. While APA has taken the high road and made every
effort to negotiate in good faith, management has shown beyond a
shadow of a doubt they’re not interested in reciprocating.
The New American Airlines
First and foremost, the combined carrier will be branded
American Airlines, based in Fort Worth Texas and headquartered
at CentrePort. It will be comparable in size and scope to Delta
and United, with a robust domestic network capable of supporting
significant international expansion. American Airlines’
relationship with oneworld will be maintained and strengthened.
All of American Airlines’ aircraft orders with Boeing and Airbus
will proceed. The former US Airways route system will be
realigned with the American Airlines system to add more cities,
more markets and better frequencies. The new American Airlines,
under a lean, energetic and highly capable management team, will
be able to compete on an equal footing to win back high-value
customers. On the East Coast, which is the largest and most
lucrative airline market in the world, American Airlines will go
from No. 5 to a strong No. 1. In the Midwest, we will go from
No. 4 to No. 1. In Miami, our dominance to South America will be
enhanced by stronger East Coast traffic flows. For the first
time in years, American Airlines will be in a position of
strength in Chicago.
How Did We Get Here?
As your APA leadership has been emphasizing for some time, we
are committed to evaluating all available alternatives to AMR
management’s restructuring plan in an effort to provide a better
outcome for our pilots. US Airways’ senior management has made
no secret of their desire to further the process of industry
consolidation by joining with American Airlines. For many
months, a team from US Airways has been making presentations to
various Wall Street analysts and investors, including one of
APA’s advisers. After being briefed on the substance of the US
Airways presentation, I initiated a dialogue with that airline’s
leadership, which resulted in a series of meetings beginning
last month. Their vision was compelling. Shortly thereafter, the
APA Board of Directors was briefed and they gave a “thumbs up”
to continue exploring a potential merger.
Negotiations
When it started becoming clear that a merger with US Airways was
a superior alternative to AMR’s stand-alone plan—and with the
support from the APA Board of Directors—we assembled a team to
begin substantive discussions with the senior leadership at US
Airways. Accompanying me to Phoenix for those discussions were
members of the APA Negotiating, Scope, Industry Analysis,
Technical Analysis and Contingency Committees, as well APA’s
General Counsel, bankruptcy counsel and a delegation from
investment adviser Lazard. At this point, US Airways began
discussions with the leadership at APFA and TWU, which had begun
to evaluate this alternative course of action.
Working with US Airways, APA was able to achieve in just over a
week far more than we had been able to achieve in more than five
years of trying to bargain with AMR management. Our interaction
with US Airways was in stark contrast to what we have been
experiencing with AMR. We dealt directly with the people whose
jobs are to run an airline. Many of the talks consisted of
president-to-president interaction. In accordance with the APA
Constitution and Bylaws, there were always two members of the
APA Negotiating Committee present during these negotiations.
Completely absent from the discussion were the posturing and
game-playing that characterizes the approach AMR management
takes when dealing with us.
Returning from Phoenix, we had accomplished a great deal toward
constructing a framework for an agreement, but we still had
several important unresolved issues to address. We convened a
special APA Board of Directors meeting and the Board remained in
session as the unresolved issues were negotiated. The APA Board
of Directors then spent several days carefully studying and
evaluating the plan of reorganization agreement. Upon the
closeout of the last remaining issues, the APA Board of
Directors voted unanimously to support the framework for a new
CBA.
A New Collective Bargaining Agreement for the Pilots of American
Airlines
APA has agreed with US Airways on a framework for a new
collective bargaining agreement. Our agreement will be distilled
into final contract language during the next 60 days and will be
sent out for a membership ratification vote as specified in
APA’s Constitution and Bylaws. Details on the specifics of the
new CBA will be provided in a separate, upcoming communication
from the APA Negotiating Committee. Please click here to access
our special AA-US Airways merger page on the members’ side of
alliedpilots.org. This page will be updated regularly as
additional information becomes available.
A Good Day for APA
I would like to extend my personal thanks to the many APA
officials and committee members who worked tirelessly to
conclude this agreement. This includes my fellow National
Officers, the APA Negotiating Committee, Scope Committee,
Industry Analysis Committee, Pension Committee, APA Contingency
Committee, Technical Analysis Committee, and last but certainly
not least, the entire APA Board of Directors. All of these
individuals have put in countless hours on behalf of their
fellow pilots.
Still a Long Road Ahead
This merger, along with a new CBA and a much brighter future for
American Airlines, is still far from certain. Chapter 11
restructuring is a difficult, complex process for all concerned.
I urge all pilots to stay informed and involved. We will keep
you updated as events warrant.
In unity,
Captain Dave Bates
APA President
HTML http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv359/Boeing747_2009/WingViews.jpg
#Post#: 3844--------------------------------------------------
Re: Airline Unions- American Airlines
DIR By: piedmont2010
Date: April 29, 2012, 9:28 pm
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American Airlines management, like many US corporations, seem to
think the future is a race to the bottom. The middle class in
this country did not get to where they are by giving concessions
and making less money. Business is supposed to be (ha!) smart
enough to make money and grow, and passing that prosperity on to
their employees who then spend it in their communities.
Unfortunately, these days the mentality seems to be let's
downsize into prosperity. Much like the Democrats believe that
we can tax people into prosperity. It's no wonder this country
is going so fast in the wrong direction! No one wants to build
anything, they just want to make a quick buck. >:(
#Post#: 3847--------------------------------------------------
Re: Airline Unions- American Airlines
DIR By: ralphc
Date: April 30, 2012, 9:34 am
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Hi Dave...
Whilst I don't fully understand the 'politics' behind all of the
above and I don't want to 'get' political...you seem quite
frustrated with it....Luckily..you don't have SAA..they've just
asked for another ZAR 6Billion!! :o to add to the other
Billions they've just 'frittered away' over the last decade...Of
course...the obliging Govt. of the day..will no doubt give it to
them..without strings attached of course...BTW...The last MD was
'suspended' for dodgy expenses..and the rest...That's
nationalised Airlines for you though >:(
Hope it all works out well in the end...
Thanks
Ralphc
#Post#: 3848--------------------------------------------------
Re: Airline Unions- American Airlines
DIR By: piedmont2010
Date: May 1, 2012, 9:38 am
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Thanks Ralph, I do feel better! I guess every country has it's
problems, one way or another. A big country like ours tends to
have big problems. Argh. Just venting....
#Post#: 3852--------------------------------------------------
Re: Airline Unions- American Airlines
DIR By: ralphc
Date: May 1, 2012, 1:13 pm
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Hi Dave...
No problem..."vent" away... :D...Ours is big too...but ours are
bigger than yours.... (problems that is..thought I'd better
clarify that.... ;)) I think the saying goes.. ;)
Best Wishes
Ralphc
#Post#: 3857--------------------------------------------------
Re: Airline Unions- American Airlines
DIR By: HAG0063
Date: May 1, 2012, 10:24 pm
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This is certainly not limited to the airline industry. I see
much of the same mentality in my line of work. It's a very sad
state of affairs.
#Post#: 3859--------------------------------------------------
Re: Airline Unions- American Airlines
DIR By: piedmont2010
Date: May 2, 2012, 2:41 pm
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Seriously, what do the teach people in business school these
days?
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