TWU rejects AA's contract offer

The Transport Workers Union rejected a two-year contract offer from American Airlines, squelching what could have been a rare victory for the airline on the labor front.

The contract would have included a 5 percent bonus upon signing, and a 3.5 percent bonus after one year. It also would have committed both sides to explore additional compensation tied to the company's performance.

It also would have added paid holidays, increased holiday pay and added sick and vacation time. And a new profit sharing plan would have paid 30 percent of net income to employees up to the first $250 million; 25 percent between $250 million and $500 million; and 20 percent of all profits more than $500 million.

Union officials representing fleet service workers were willing to accept the deal, but several other employee groups represented by the union rejected the proposal.

"The company is in the process of re-evaluating our current situation and is considering what future course of action will be appropriate," the airline said in a statement on its labor negotiations Internet site.

- Trebor Banstetter

Comments

[PlaneWatcher]

I don't get it: AMR Employee Relations actually offers the TWU about $100 dollars a month--maybe averaging out to about an extra $5 a day--as a contract proposal?

And AMR senior management accepts this as an adequate "good faith" negotiation with a group still languishing under voluntary pay cuts?

Can any U.S. worker survive with less than a 1% raise since 2003?

You have to wonder that AMR doesn't actually hope to reap a strike. they already proved in their willful defiance of the FAA MD80 inspection standards that they really don't care about canceling thousands of flights to make their point.

Sadly, there really is no point to their strategy, except more heartache for passengers.

[LAX FA]

This doesn't sit well with me. My own union along with the pilots and TWU have been banging war drums against management, but I don't think now's the time to do it. We got a great reminder of that late last week when Frontier had its bankruptcy court cut wages across the board.

The economy sucks, oil won't stop going up... is now the right time for a blood feud against management?

[JR]

Is this really a wise move by the TWU? If this contract negotiation continues to drag on, oil will be a $150+ a barrel and no one will be getting anything.

[Observer]

Travelers, Beware: AMR doesn't want labor peace.

It's not just the AMR "proposal" that still leaves workers 20-30% behind the cost of living.

It's not just the $300 million in bonuses split between the top 90 AMR executives while worker pay remains frozen at slashed rates.

It's not just the YEARS of fruitless negotiations with all labor groups as AMR goes into the footdragging tradition of bad faith bargaining.

Rather, it's an institutional contempt for labor by AMR management that squandered the goodwill of 2003 that had ALL labor groups pulling together.

Travelers, consider booking your summer and fall on an airline not rushing full speed ahead into labor confrontations with every employee group on the property.

AMR management has proven, in their defiance of the FAA safety mandates this spring, that they don't mind seeing the airline and 300,000 passengers grounded.

Passengers booking AA now are signing up for an encore performance of that chaos.

[John S]

More histrionics by the usual suspects, I see. Even to the point of mis-characterizing the FAA groundings as "willful defiance". Looks like PlaneWatcher and Observer are using the same talking points.

The reality is that there is nothing left to give. I'm not going to debate the reasons for that, but that's where you are. Take what you can get - while you can get it.

And thanks for the advice, but this Exec Plat will keep booking his travel on AA.

[Hurry Up and Lay Me Off Please]

I thought G. Arpey said we were going to all share in the turnaround. I guess the employees turned around and the execs. all shared. Hehehehahhah. I wish AMR would go broke and hey, I even work there.

[Mid night oil burner]

Where did you get those fiqure's on pay,please go to the TWU website.These are lump sum payments that's it.Minus tax's that's it.Nothing more 3 vacation days back,they took 5 days.

[Christopher]

Hey AMERICAN GO FILE BANKRUPTCY in tired of this after 20 years OF NOTHING BUT THREATS OF CLOSING BASES AND LAYING OFF EVERYTIME THERE IS A CONTRACT TO BE SIGNED.