As I've understood the new Chp. 11 BK law, 18 months POE is maximum with no discretion to the judge.
Yes, but when you're one of the fugliest girls at a bar, you are still likely to go home alone after last call...
Absent other interested parties, there's nothing to prevent current management from holding off on proposing a POR for 19, 24, or 36 months. If AMR's cash balance is spoken for, there's not a lot of attraction left for some of the quick-buck artists.
Also, it's been said in some legal opinions the executive retention (read failure) bonuses so often passed out in BK would be subject to a viable job offer; the judge having discretion as to allowing the failure payment or telling the exec to take the job offered.
It sounds good and if followed would put a major crimp in the devils' styles, making the BK process more unattractive to the executive shareholders (the only shareholders ever considered).
Yep. And that should mute some of the criticism who see Chapter 11 as nothing more than court sanctioned union busting, since the only thing executives would have to gain is getting the company back into a fiscally sound position on all fronts...
If bankruptcy is the plan however, I look for big union gains to be made in advance of a Chapter 11 filing, effectively negating those gains and reducing wages and benefits to what the company desires to pay followed by another round of obscene bonuses after exit.
I disagree with the first part. Pay close attention to what's happening with the pilots, and how management has remained relatively calm/silent.
Arbrogating the contract isn't a given, so signing agreements they don't plan to honor has more potential to backfire on the company. It's pretty hard for the company to argue "yes, we just signed this a few months ago, but we really need these cuts" in front of a judge, absent an event of the scale of 9/11.
On the other hand, it's entirely feasible that the actions of the APA's leadership could wind up making a compelling case for a lack of good faith bargaining on their part. Based on how they have acted so far, the company is probably better off waiting it out, filing, and having the previous contract arbrogated and replaced with the company's terms. Yes, that would be a disaster for the rank and file, but they're the ones who elected Hill & Co...
If I were in one of the other workgroups, I'd be pushing for my union reps to have a Plan B, in that if they do come to an agreement before the pilots, make sure there's language which indicates that there would not be a S1113 challenge by the company if there is a filing within X months of ratification.
As for obscene bonuses... this is another part where your union has to be smarter. Since AMR's management hasn't led by example, the unions need to take some control of the issue so it can be enforced contractually.
Include in the S1113 waiver language that limits the amount of new shares made available to executive management or any other workgroup from exceeding the proportion that they comprise of the restructured company. If management only comprises 9% of the company, then only 9% of the total shares issued to employees would be available for management. If flight attendants make up 18% of the employees and pilots make up 15%, it would prevent the pilots from getting more shares than the flight attendants. Ensure that the pie is divided up equally. There won't be too many judges who would argue with that. But it has to be contractual.
If as you say, I have one foot in the grave, why should I give a damn what AA's management likes, or don't! Or for that matter, you also!
