American surveying employees
Company says polls aren't related to voting on concessions deals
04/09/2003
As American Airlines Inc.'s union employees are voting on tentative agreements that could save the company, the airline is surveying them by phone about their attitudes.
The timing of the surveys is purely coincidence, American spokesman Bruce Hicks said Tuesday.
At least one American union spokesman said the calls could suggest the airline has concerns about whether the deals will pass.
Perhaps they're trying to validate what we've been telling them, said Gregg Overman, a spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association.
Employees are about to start voting or are currently voting on agreements that total $1.62 billion in annual concessions. The votes will be tallied Monday and Tuesday.
The pilots union has heard from many members as its road show about the tentative concessions agreement visits cities. Many pilots say the six-year deal, which would provide $660 million in concessions annually, is too long and its pay cuts – 23 percent in the first year – too onerous.
American's pilots said Thursday that they'd asked American's chief executive, Donald Carty, to consider changing the terms of the proposed deal. Specifically, the pilots want provisions that would reopen contract talks if the airline prospers.
Mr. Hicks said he could neither confirm nor deny any reports regarding renewed talks between the airline and unions. And the airline's surveying isn't directly related to the concession process, he said.
We're not asking them how they're going to vote, Mr. Hicks said. It's just attitude-related surveying that we've done for about a decade.
The airline has increased the frequency of its employee surveys to one every two months instead of one large survey each year, Mr. Hicks said.
Other unions also have tried to persuade the airline to modify the agreements.
The Transport Workers Union, representing 35,000 ground workers, said Tuesday that it's still in talks with management about the possibility of reopening the contracts in 2006 instead of 2009.
Although we have made progress, we are still trying to agree on the triggering mechanism, James Little, air transport division head for the union, said in an letter posted on the union's Web site.
The Association of Professional Flight Attendants said in a statement Tuesday that it also met with company officials last week about changing the contracts, but to no avail.
Since that time, there have been no further discussions with company management on these issues, nor have there been any changes to the agreements, the union statement read.
The deals include a profit-sharing plan and stock options for employees, but many pilots say those perks aren't enough to make up for the concessions, Mr. Overman said.
Many American employees have voted on the deals, so it would be difficult to change them at this late date.
American's parent company, AMR Corp., has said it will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy if any of its 10 worker groups – the pilots union, the flight attendants union and the eight groups under the TWU's umbrella – vote against the deals.
There was a sharp selloff Tuesday of AMR shares, which closed at $3.63, down 65 cents.
Also Tuesday, American continued its match of a fare sale begun Monday by Delta Air Lines. The spring sale included prices as low as $44 for one-way tickets.
Company says polls aren't related to voting on concessions deals
04/09/2003
As American Airlines Inc.'s union employees are voting on tentative agreements that could save the company, the airline is surveying them by phone about their attitudes.
The timing of the surveys is purely coincidence, American spokesman Bruce Hicks said Tuesday.
At least one American union spokesman said the calls could suggest the airline has concerns about whether the deals will pass.
Perhaps they're trying to validate what we've been telling them, said Gregg Overman, a spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association.
Employees are about to start voting or are currently voting on agreements that total $1.62 billion in annual concessions. The votes will be tallied Monday and Tuesday.
The pilots union has heard from many members as its road show about the tentative concessions agreement visits cities. Many pilots say the six-year deal, which would provide $660 million in concessions annually, is too long and its pay cuts – 23 percent in the first year – too onerous.
American's pilots said Thursday that they'd asked American's chief executive, Donald Carty, to consider changing the terms of the proposed deal. Specifically, the pilots want provisions that would reopen contract talks if the airline prospers.
Mr. Hicks said he could neither confirm nor deny any reports regarding renewed talks between the airline and unions. And the airline's surveying isn't directly related to the concession process, he said.
We're not asking them how they're going to vote, Mr. Hicks said. It's just attitude-related surveying that we've done for about a decade.
The airline has increased the frequency of its employee surveys to one every two months instead of one large survey each year, Mr. Hicks said.
Other unions also have tried to persuade the airline to modify the agreements.
The Transport Workers Union, representing 35,000 ground workers, said Tuesday that it's still in talks with management about the possibility of reopening the contracts in 2006 instead of 2009.
Although we have made progress, we are still trying to agree on the triggering mechanism, James Little, air transport division head for the union, said in an letter posted on the union's Web site.
The Association of Professional Flight Attendants said in a statement Tuesday that it also met with company officials last week about changing the contracts, but to no avail.
Since that time, there have been no further discussions with company management on these issues, nor have there been any changes to the agreements, the union statement read.
The deals include a profit-sharing plan and stock options for employees, but many pilots say those perks aren't enough to make up for the concessions, Mr. Overman said.
Many American employees have voted on the deals, so it would be difficult to change them at this late date.
American's parent company, AMR Corp., has said it will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy if any of its 10 worker groups – the pilots union, the flight attendants union and the eight groups under the TWU's umbrella – vote against the deals.
There was a sharp selloff Tuesday of AMR shares, which closed at $3.63, down 65 cents.
Also Tuesday, American continued its match of a fare sale begun Monday by Delta Air Lines. The spring sale included prices as low as $44 for one-way tickets.
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