A quick summary of major and noteworthy events since the start of negotiations.
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October 26, 2011
American Airlines
and the Transport Workers Union have reached a tentative agreement in principle for the Fleet Service and Ground Service employees.
This tentative agreement provides our Fleet Service and Ground Service employees with increased compensation and enhancements to other contract items such as vacation, sick time and holidays.
The tentative agreement also gives American additional productivity and better aligns our work rules with all other airlines through outsourcing the dayline cabin cleaning and fueling work. The employees currently performing these jobs will be reassigned to other duties. The productivity improvements and savings provided through the outsourcing helps fund the structural increases and the other economic enhancements, while ensuring that we remain competitive.
The parties worked collaboratively throughout the negotiations process. This is the second tentative agreement reached for this workgroup. After the first TA was not put out for a vote, the parties worked within the structure of the first agreement and continued to identify creative solutions to address the key interests of both our TWU-represented employees and the company.
This agreement is a significant step in our efforts to achieve the competitive costs that are critical to our future success.
American Airlines has more than 50,000 employees represented by unions, including approximately 10,350 under this tentative agreement.
Key highlights of the agreement are below.
Compensation
Profit Sharing
Scope
Holidays
Vacation
Sick Leave
Retirement Benefits
Active Medical
$150 Contractual Standard Medical Option (Current) |
Value Medical Option (Proposed)* |
|
Employee Only |
Standard Option 1: $90.75 |
$59.42 |
Employee + 1 Dependent |
Standard Option 1: 181.21 |
$118.84 |
Employee + 2 or more Dependents |
Standard Option 1: $238.62 |
$178.27 |
Retiree Medical
Eagle ASM Cap
Duration of Agreement
October 14, 2011
This week American Airlines and the Transport Workers Union Stores negotiating committees resumed mediated discussions in Los Angeles, CA under the auspices of NMB Mediator Jack Kane.
The parties spent the two days of negotiations addressing all of the remaining open articles. American presented the TWU with a comprehensive proposal on the first day of negotiations and after several sessions, tentative agreements were reached on several articles. These included Articles 3: Hours of Work, Article 5: Shift Differential and Article 36: Meal Periods. All remaining open articles will be addressed at the next session, when the TWU will be expected to respond to the company’s last comprehensive proposal.
The company continues to bargain in good faith and to work toward finding creative solutions that allow the two parties to reach mutually acceptable agreements. Further negotiations date were not scheduled by Mediator Kane at this time.
September 16, 2011
American is very pleased the Transport Workers Union-represented Ground School and Simulator Pilot Instructors ratified their contract. These employees will receive immediate financial gains along with enhancements to other contract items, such as vacation and holidays.
Since beginning negotiations with all of our unionized workgroups, our goal has been to reach new agreements allowing American to compete successfully while providing competitive pay, benefits and a good career for our employees.
While the Simulator Technician agreement was not approved, we will continue working toward an agreement and will look to the National Mediation Board for guidance on next steps.
American felt both of the tentative agreements reached represented the company’s best offer and demonstrated we can reach agreements with the TWU. We hope to move forward and re-work the Simulator Technician agreement in a balanced way to achieve ratification.
July 28, 2011
American Airlines and the Transport Workers Union have reached two tentative agreements in principle for the Simulator Technician workgroup and the Ground School and Simulator Pilot Instructor workgroup.
These tentative agreements provide our Simulator Technicians and Ground School and Simulator Pilot Instructors with market-based compensation, including structural increases, and enhancements to other contract items such as vacation and holidays.
Both parties worked collaboratively during this negotiating process to reach tentative agreements that address the interests of our TWU-represented employees and the company.
It is our understanding the TWU will provide details of the agreements and the voting process to its members in the coming days.
American Airlines has more than 50,000 employees represented by unions, including approximately 80 simulator technicians and approximately 160 ground school and simulator pilot instructors.
July 27, 2011
When we resumed Fleet Service negotiations last month at the request of the NMB, we were meeting for the first time since May 2010, when the TWU decided not to put last year’s TA out for a vote. Both the company and the TWU Committee, comprised of representatives from the various TWU Locals, expressed hope a new or revised TA could be reached within a short period of time by making some minor adjustments to the prior agreement.
This week, American presented a comprehensive proposal that included additional compensation, increased the Fleet Service Clerks’ current holidays from 5 to 10 with pay at double time and continued to provide access to retiree medical plans on a post funded basis at reasonable rates. We felt this was a step forward that would signal to the TWU how committed we are to reaching another tentative agreement.
Additionally, in order to place American on a level playing field with its competitors, the offer included a provision to have contractors perform dayline cabin service work in eight cities, which would be managed fully through attrition, without a layoff of any employees. This is a proposal which the company has had on the table for quite some time and is consistent with how the work is done at every other major airline.
The TWU responded late in the day on July 25th with a proposal that was a significant departure from the previous TA and actually put us farther apart than we have been in several years. The union rejected all of the company’s proposed improvements in productivity, including those which had been previously agreed to in the May 2010 TA. This, despite American’s consistent message over the last four years that we must have productivity enhancements to help fund the economic increases and to make us more competitive.
The company feels we could reach a deal our employees would find acceptable. However, any agreement must be balanced. We must acknowledge the reality that we currently trail the industry in several important areas -- all our competitors outsource dayline cabin cleaning and have far greater flexibility to utilize their regional airline partners than we do. Most of our competitors don’t offer retiree medical, unless it is completely funded by the retiree.
The company made a reasonable offer, but after no progress was made by the FSC Committee, the Mediator decided to recess the current session early. No further meetings have been scheduled at this time.
American's proposal included:
Compensation
Scope
Holidays
Vacation
Sick Leave
Retirement Benefits
Active Medical
Retiree Medical
Profit Sharing
Eagle ASM Cap
June 28-30, 2011
Fleet Service
On Tuesday and Wednesday, the American Airlines and Transport Workers Union Fleet Service negotiating committees resumed mediated discussions in Fort Worth, Texas with National Mediation Board Sr. Mediator Terri Brown.
This is the first time the two parties have met in negotiations since the tentative agreement was reached in May 2010 and the TWU decided to not put the TA out for a vote. There was a brief status conference earlier this year.
The parties spent the two days exchanging comprehensive proposals covering all the key economic items in the previous tentative agreement. We attempted to revise the TA in a way that would be more amenable to the TWU and the Fleet Service Clerks, while still achieving the company’s key objectives that provide improved competitiveness.
The company continues to work toward finding creative solutions that allow the two parties to reach mutually acceptable agreements.
Sr. Mediator Brown has scheduled the next negotiating session for July 25 and 26 in Fort Worth, Texas.
Simulator Technician and Ground School Instructor
On Thursday, the American Airlines and Transport Workers Union Simulator Technician and Ground School Instructor negotiating committees resumed mediated discussions in Fort Worth, Texas with National Mediation Board Sr. Mediator Terri Brown.
During this session, the union presented a comprehensive proposal. American is evaluating the proposal and will be prepared to respond in some fashion at the next session, which Sr. Mediator Brown has scheduled for July 27 in Fort Worth, Texas.
May 20, 2011
This week, American Airlines and the Transport Workers Union Stores negotiating committees resumed mediated sessions in Tulsa, Okla. with NMB Mediator Jack Kane.
During this week, the company made a presentation in response to the union’s March 2011 proposal, which addressed all open economic articles. The presentation aimed to demonstrate how the TWU’s proposal would affect the company’s competitive position in the industry and its financial bottom-line.
American also formally responded to the TWU’s last proposal. The company’s counter-proposal was not regressive. Relative to the failed TA, it included additional pay raises and an increase in the number of holidays. When taking those improvements into consideration, along with some of the alternatives proposed in other work rules, it remains economically in line with the May 2010 tentative agreement, which is the typical path taken after a TA is reached, but not ratified. American has never wavered from its commitment to reach a fair deal with the Stores group, but any agreement needs to be sustainable and in the best interests of all of our employees and stakeholders.
On Thursday, the TWU responded to Articles 1: Scope, 4: Compensation, 7: Holidays and 47: Duration of Agreement. The union also stated they were remaining with their table position from March for all other open economic articles. While the four articles they gave American included a few small moves toward the company, they did not address any of the areas American has said it needs to seek changes to in order to be competitive in the industry.
The company continues to bargain in good faith and to work toward finding creative solutions that allow the two parties to reach mutually acceptable agreements. At the end of the session, Mediator Kane scheduled the next mediated session for the week of June 13 in Miami, Fla.
American's proposal included:
Scope
Compensation
Profit Sharing
Overtime
Holidays
Vacation
Sick Leave
Pension
Active Medical
Current Coverage Tiers Standard Plan |
Multiplier |
Company Proposal |
Multiplier |
Employee Only |
1 |
Employee Only |
1 |
Employee + 1 |
2 |
Employee + Spouse/Domestic Partner |
2.3 |
Employee + 2 or more |
2.65 |
Employee + Child(ren) |
1.8 |
|
|
Employee + Family |
3.1 |
Retiree Medical
Duration of Agreement
Please click here for the company’s proposal.
April 8, 2011
Yesterday, the National Mediation Board held a status conference with American’s Fleet Service, Ground School Instructor and Simulator Technician negotiating committees. The NMB also held a separate status conference with the TWU that morning.
The mediator had the opportunity to listen and ask questions of the negotiating committee. At the end of the session, the mediator informed American she will take all of the information into consideration and will report back to the NMB.
The NMB remains in control of the negotiations process for all our workgroups, and we await guidance as to next steps for these negotiations.
This week, American and the Transport Workers Union Stores negotiating committees resumed mediated sessions with NMB Mediator Jack Kane, accompanied by Mediator Walter Darr. The session began with Vice President of Capacity Planning Walter Aue discussing the American Airlines/American Eagle ASM cap. During the week, American gave the union a proposal for Article 3: Hours of Work. On Thursday, the TWU presented proposals for several of the open economic articles.
As we’ve said many times, our labor contracts must include a sustainable cost structure that enables American to compete.
The financial challenges facing our company and the airline industry make it impossible to consider a contract that would increase our cost nearly a hundred million dollars, which in turn would risk jobs and jeopardize the long-term future of all of our employees.
The proposals we received from the TWU fail to take into account the economic realities at American and they ignore the fact that the company already provides the richest health and retirement benefit packages for its employees and continues to perform over 90% of its maintenance in-house – far more than any other airline.
American Airlines and the Transport Workers Union Stores negotiating committees resumed mediated sessions this week with NMB Mediator Jack Kane, accompanied by Mediator Walter Darr.
During the week, the company presented the TWU a counter proposal on Article 39: Fitness for Duty, and a tentative agreement was reached. In response to the TWU’s proposal on Article 1: Scope, American gave a presentation on the current American Airlines/American Eagle ASM Cap to be considered during further discussions about Article 1: Scope. In addition, the TWU gave American proposals on Article 5: Shift Differential and Article 36: Meal Periods.
We look forward to continuing to work toward reaching an agreement with the TWU at the next mediated session, which Mediator Kane set for the week of March 7 in Hurst, TX.
This week, the American Airlines and Transport Workers Union Stores negotiating committees reconvened in mediated sessions with NMB Mediator Jack Kane, accompanied by Mediator Walter Darr.
Throughout the week, Mediator Kane had the two parties address several outstanding articles, which were presented to the company by the TWU, including Article 3: Hours of Work, 11: Classifications and Qualifications, 12: Promotions and Transfer and 39: Fitness for Duty. This resulted in discussion throughout the week around these articles, and after several sessions involving Article 12, a tentative agreement was reached on January 14th. As a result of the discussions, the company also invited additional operations management participants to the sessions in order to help devise solutions to these articles.
The company remains committed to finding creative solutions to reach an agreement that makes good economic and operational sense, and that allow our stock clerks to be competitive in the industry, while positioning the company for long-term success.
Since we began negotiations, the company has come prepared to each negotiating session and ready to bargain with TWU toward reaching a new contract. We look forward to continuing working with the TWU at the next mediated sessions, which Mediator Kane set for the week of February 7 in Hurst, TX.
