Hopeful
Veteran
- Dec 21, 2002
- 5,998
- 347
The TWU media relations is non-existent!!! AA couldn't possibly explain how it offered its worst proposal to date after the Union reduced its proposal to meet the company in the middle. Obviously, it's a story the TWU doesn't want to tell.
******************************
TWU explains why it turned down American Airlines contract offer
Terry Maxon
More details have come out on American Airlines' offer to the Transport Workers Union, rejected by the TWU last week. Here are some broad observations.
1 American appears serious about not putting forward anything that would increase its cost structure.
It proposed a lump sum of 5 percent of an employee's base pay at date of contract signing and another 3.5 percent a year later. That would mean more extra pay of $5,500 to $6,000 for mechanics and related employees.
But those increases are not built into the pay rates, but are one-time payments. So an employee making $68,000 a year before the 2 ½-year contract would still be making $68,000 a year afterward.
That's important for the next contract, because the two sides would start out discussing what to do about that $68,000 rate of pay rather than $73,900, as it would have been if the 5 percent increase and 3.5 percent increase had been built into the pay rates.
To repeat American's hotline message after TWU rejected its latest offer last week:
American is trying to balance the union's requests for improvements in pay, holidays, sick leave and vacation with the fact it has the highest labor costs in the industry. To offset that disadvantage, American needs improvements in overall work rules to close the gap between the company and its competitors.
2. The union appears serious about not giving any concessions this time around.
Differing TWU committees represent different groups of employees. Although each committee put it a different way, their hotline messages resembled what the committee representing stores employees put out to members late Friday:
This Proposal did contain additional concessions in which the Company implies are to help remain competitive with the rest of the Industry. The Stores Sub-Committee is not interested in entertaining a Proposal which is concessionary in nature.
According to the union, American wants to stop paying retiree medical insurance for new hires; not allow new hires into the defined-benefit pension plan; and would not match the new-hire employees' contribution to the 401(k) plans for the first year of employment.
A ground worker told me that the company's proposal would allow them to out-source ground handling at airports with 15 or fewer American flights a day - leading to speculation that it would allow American to get rid of thousands of its ground workers and use lower-cost contract labor instead.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As if we didn't give enough back in 2003.
I wonder what concessions the company is considering for the executives?...Maybe a $10 co-payment to the annual country club dues?
******************************
TWU explains why it turned down American Airlines contract offer
Terry Maxon
More details have come out on American Airlines' offer to the Transport Workers Union, rejected by the TWU last week. Here are some broad observations.
1 American appears serious about not putting forward anything that would increase its cost structure.
It proposed a lump sum of 5 percent of an employee's base pay at date of contract signing and another 3.5 percent a year later. That would mean more extra pay of $5,500 to $6,000 for mechanics and related employees.
But those increases are not built into the pay rates, but are one-time payments. So an employee making $68,000 a year before the 2 ½-year contract would still be making $68,000 a year afterward.
That's important for the next contract, because the two sides would start out discussing what to do about that $68,000 rate of pay rather than $73,900, as it would have been if the 5 percent increase and 3.5 percent increase had been built into the pay rates.
To repeat American's hotline message after TWU rejected its latest offer last week:
American is trying to balance the union's requests for improvements in pay, holidays, sick leave and vacation with the fact it has the highest labor costs in the industry. To offset that disadvantage, American needs improvements in overall work rules to close the gap between the company and its competitors.
2. The union appears serious about not giving any concessions this time around.
Differing TWU committees represent different groups of employees. Although each committee put it a different way, their hotline messages resembled what the committee representing stores employees put out to members late Friday:
This Proposal did contain additional concessions in which the Company implies are to help remain competitive with the rest of the Industry. The Stores Sub-Committee is not interested in entertaining a Proposal which is concessionary in nature.
According to the union, American wants to stop paying retiree medical insurance for new hires; not allow new hires into the defined-benefit pension plan; and would not match the new-hire employees' contribution to the 401(k) plans for the first year of employment.
A ground worker told me that the company's proposal would allow them to out-source ground handling at airports with 15 or fewer American flights a day - leading to speculation that it would allow American to get rid of thousands of its ground workers and use lower-cost contract labor instead.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As if we didn't give enough back in 2003.
I wonder what concessions the company is considering for the executives?...Maybe a $10 co-payment to the annual country club dues?
