The updates section provides historical information about scheduled bargaining sessions.
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November 14, 2011
Company and APA negotiators have spent several weeks in intensive bargaining sessions in an effort to conclude more than five years of negotiating. We've shared countless ideas with APA negotiators in an attempt to respond to pilot priorities and apply new thinking to decades-old problems. Our goal has been to put a tentative agreement in our pilots' hands and give them a chance to vote on it. While we made significant progress in many areas, so far we've been unable to find enough common ground to reach a deal.
APA negotiators haven't offered viable responses to numerous options that company negotiators have suggested as possible solutions. Instead of waiting and letting more precious time slip by, the Company elected to put a comprehensive proposal on the table today. During the course of bargaining, the APA negotiating committee explained there are differing priorities among the pilot group, so company negotiators offered two options to improve our competitive position.
We have made a concerted effort to maintain the core concepts of our discussions to date, but without the APA's active participation, we've made judgments on how to fund pay increases and deliver on other elements requested by the APA. Our proposals offer pay raises, maintain industry leading benefits, increase job protections, prevent outsourcing and create a framework for growth. Certainly, these enhancements require some trade-offs. In return, the company has asked for enhanced productivity, additional operational flexibility and movement toward a more competitive benefit structure.
The proposals, summaries and additional negotiations information can be found here.
As pilots look at the components of the proposal, there may be some who describe it as concessionary. The reality is that in virtually every area of the proposal, we have offered industry leading terms. For example, we've asked for pilots to contribute more toward their retiree medical coverage. This is a change, but it still would be the lowest contribution rate in the industry. American's pilots will maintain one of the strongest scope protections in the industry, linking the use of codeshare to mainline growth. It will also ensure any new aircraft are flown by AA pilots. And while the company has proposed transitioning new hires to a 401(k) plan, AA pilots will continue to enjoy the best retirement plans in the industry. The bottom line is this: American has proposed a contract which leads the industry.
Pilots have repeatedly asked for a roadmap that puts us on a path toward growth. With this proposal, we have the framework to grow our way to prosperity given the right economic conditions. A ratified agreement, combined with our recent unprecedented aircraft order, is the lynchpin to propel the company forward. But the opportunity to capitalize on this is finite. We need to act now.
We hope our pilots will have an opportunity to vote on what the company has put forward. Right now, it's not a tentative agreement. It's a comprehensive proposal that can turn into a tentative agreement if the APA chooses to do so.
The time has come to close this chapter and move forward.November 11, 2011
Company and APA negotiators met this week at an off-site location, Monday through Friday. Negotiations have recessed for the weekend. Company negotiators will continue to work to prepare proposals to present to the APA on Monday.
November 4, 2011
Company negotiators met with APA representatives at Flagship University this week for five days of bargaining sessions. Captain Jim Thomas summarized the progress made this week in a letter to pilots. Negotiations will resume next week on Monday, November 7.
September 19, 2011
AA and APA negotiators met in non-mediated negotiations last week in Washington, D.C. Discussions continued on a number of topics, including Scope and work rules, which focused specifically on long-haul and small narrow-body flying. Parties will convene in subcommittee meetings this week and will also discuss scheduling the next negotiations dates.
September 2, 2011
Parties met in non-mediated negotiations Monday through Friday of this week, and discussed a variety of topics including Scope and sequence protection. Negotiations will recess next week while parties conduct internal preparation meetings.
August 12, 2011
Non-mediated negotiations with the APA resumed last week in Washington, D.C., with parties meeting Monday through Thursday. Vasu Raja, AA’s Managing Director of Corporate Planning, gave an update on the network and parties began discussions on Scope. While the company reiterated the need to have a competitive domestic network, including a competitive commuter feed, opportunities that would address pilot concerns in this area were also discussed. For example, the company proposed an indexing of commuter flying that would be directly tied to growth of the mainline. Additionally, the company discussed the possibility of introducing small narrow-body jets to AA’s fleet to provide similar feed in lower-demand markets.
In addition to Scope, discussions continued on international flying, including long-haul flying, and on board crew rest facilities. The company expressed its desire to enhance revenue without having a negative impact on crew rest, and discussed opportunities that would achieve this goal.
Parties continued non-mediated negotiations this week, meeting Wednesday in subcommittee meetings to discuss daily open time coverage and to review draft contract language regarding sequence protection.
August 1, 2011
AA and APA negotiators continued to meet last week to discuss various sections of the contract. The company presented an overview of the Fatigue Risk Management Plan (FRMP), which we expect to be approved by the FAA in the very near future. The FRMP sets the basis for our pilot fatigue program. In addition, AA and APA negotiators continued discussions on scheduling / work rules and traded proposals on reserve flying and filling of open time. The company also presented a revised long-term disability proposal and ended the week discussing retirement benefit plans.
Parties are scheduled to meet Monday – Thursday this week in Washington, D.C., without the mediator, focusing their discussions on Scope, long haul flying and scheduling / work rules.
July 22, 2011
Negotiations with the APA resumed this week, with parties meeting Monday through Thursday in Fort Worth, Texas. Parties reached a verbal agreement on sequence protection, contingent on the remaining scheduling and work rules provisions being finalized. Discussions continued on reserve assignments, flight duty time limitations and other work rules topics. Additionally, parties received an update on the development of a new Trip Trade System (TTS). Both parties were pleased with the progress of the TTS development.
Parties are scheduled to meet again next week, from Tuesday to Thursday in Fort Worth, Texas, to continue non-mediated negotiations.
July 11, 2011
Non-mediated negotiations with the APA resumed last week in Fort Worth, Texas. Parties agreed to extend scheduled meetings an additional day and met through Friday. Discussions focused primarily on going deeper into details on a number of work rule provisions. In addition, the company presented an updated retirement proposal which addressed new hires and other topics.
July 6, 2011
APA and Company negotiators resumed unmediated negotiations last week, meeting June 28-30, in Fort Worth, Texas. Parties continued to discuss work rules, with both sides presenting counter proposals on the topic. While little movement was made in last week’s session, the company looks forward to continuing discussions this week, from July 5-7.
June 27, 2011
Negotiations with the APA resumed last week, with parties meeting Tuesday through Thursday. Discussions continued on work rules, and the company is working on a response to the union’s counter proposal which will be discussed in the next session. Parties also continued to review economic modeling with the APA finance subcommittee. Negotiations are scheduled to resume this week, June 28-30, in Fort Worth, Texas.
June 20, 2011
Unmediated negotiations with the APA resumed last week in Fort Worth, Texas. Company negotiators presented proposals on Tulsa Flight Test Flying and Check Airmen, along with a comprehensive proposal on work rules which included topics such as sequence protection, training, equipment groupings, hours of service, line construction, filling of open time, and Reserve flying. Assuming continued progress on work rules through the rest of June, parties agreed to extend the negotiating schedule through August, with sessions occurring most weeks. The company is pleased with the progress made at the table last week and looks forward to continuing discussions this week in Fort Worth, Texas.
June 2, 2011
APA and Company negotiators resumed unmediated negotiations last week. Parties exchanged proposals on Tulsa Maintenance Flying and continued discussions on check airmen, benefits and moving expenses. While no tentative agreements were reached, parties agreed to schedule a third negotiations session for the month of June and one in July. The Company is pleased with the continued progress being made at the bargaining table and looks forward to continuing discussions from June 14-17, in Fort Worth, Texas.
May 10, 2011
Negotiations with the APA resumed last week, with parties meeting May 4-6 in Dallas. Talks focused on check airmen and Tulsa Maintenance Flying, and built on previous discussions regarding work rule scheduling. Company negotiators are optimistic about the continued progress being made to narrow the remaining contract issues. The next negotiating session is scheduled for May 25-27 in Dallas. Parties will continue to meet in subcommittees between now and that time.
Unmediated negotiations with the APA resumed last week in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Parties continued discussions on work rules and exchanged proposals on various items, including sequence protection, filling of open time, line construction process and reassignments. Other topics discussed included reserve and access to open time for Flight Standards. Although no tentative agreements were reached, progress was made and issues were narrowed down. Discussions will continue this week from May 4-6, in Dallas, Texas.
APA and Company negotiators resumed unmediated negotiations last week in Fort Worth, Texas. Parties exchanged proposals on crew rest seats; Supplement I – International Flying and International reserve rest; and deadheading. In addition, subcommittee meetings were scheduled to continue discussions on benefits, line construction and reserve. While no tentative agreements were reached, progress was made on several items. Although a number of items remain on the table, Company negotiators are encouraged by the discussions. Unmediated negotiations are set to resume later in April in Dallas/Fort Worth.
Negotiations with the APA resumed this week in Fort Worth, with parties meeting without the federal mediator. Parties agreed to extend the negotiations session an extra day given the large number of topics on the agenda. The parties reached a tentative agreement on Supplement Z – Terrorism. The APA provided a verbal proposal on medical benefits and the company presented proposals on distance learning, deadhead and Supplement I – International Flying and International reserve rest. In addition, parties exchanged proposals on Tulsa and crew rest seats.
A status report on the progress of the scheduling subcommittee was given, and Al Madar – AA’s Managing Director of Safety Operations – provided an overview on the Fatigue Risk Management plan submitted to the FAA. Discussions on reserve systems and training/distance learning also continued.
Unmediated negotiations with the APA resumed last week in Fort Worth, Texas. Parties exchanged proposals on Supplement Z – Terrorism and Sick Leave, and the APA also presented the Company with a proposal on Supplement I – International. Discussions continued on crew rest seats, but no agreements were reached. In addition, Vasu Raja, AA’s Managing Director of Corporate Planning, gave a presentation on American’s domestic growth plans and the parties began discussing Scope-related items. Negotiators have agreed to meet in subcommittee sessions next week to ensure the next unmediated negotiations discussions are as productive as possible.
The parties are scheduled to meet again March 22-24, in Fort Worth.
The Company is pleased that additional unmediated talks with APA have been scheduled through June 2011. The original negotiating protocol, established in December 2010, scheduled negotiations for January through March 2011 and has consisted mainly of administrative items. We are encouraged with the progress made in clearing some of these items off the table and that 7 tentative agreements have been reached since the start of the year.
The parties are currently set to meet March 1-3, March 22-24, March 30 - April 1, April 19-21, May 3-5 and May 25-27; negotiating dates for the month of June are being finalized. In addition, negotiators are considering a schedule of subcommittee meetings to keep talks moving between negotiating dates.
We look forward to continuing to work with the APA toward reaching a contract that benefits both our pilots and the long-term success of our airline, and believe that much progress can be made.
Negotiations with the APA resumed last week in Dallas/Fort Worth, with parties meeting without the federal mediator. A number of contractual items were discussed including Crew Rest Seats and Distance Learning, as well as tentative agreements reached on Passport Expenses, Lock-ins and Deadhead from Training. In addition, negotiators agreed to hold four subcommittee meetings outside of scheduled negotiating sessions to focus on work rules.
Talks are set to continue March 1-3 in Dallas/Fort Worth, where negotiators will continue to discuss items from last week’s sessions as well as Scope.
Unmediated negotiations with the APA resumed last week in Dallas/Fort Worth, taking place Wednesday and Thursday. Parties mutually agreed to cancel Tuesday’s session due to inclement weather. While no tentative agreements were reached in this session of talks, progress was made on several items.
The Company responded to APA’s Vacation proposal and suggested the topic be resumed when the parties discussed work rules at the next scheduled session. AA negotiators also presented a revised Sick proposal that addresses some of the union’s concerns and offers pilots additional compensation for unused Sick days, as well as a revised Active Medical and Dental and Retiree Medical Benefits proposal. Additional topics discussed were Passports, Supplement Z – Terrorism, Lock-ins, Training and Distance Learning and Supplement I – International Flying.
AA negotiators look forward to making more progress on these and other contract items at the next scheduled bargaining session, slated for February 15-17 in Dallas/Fort Worth.
APA and Company negotiators resumed unmediated negotiations last week in Fort Worth, Texas. Parties reached tentative agreements on Section 8 – Moving Expenses and Supplement L – Drug and Alcohol Testing, and the Company presented proposals on Crew Rest Facilities and Supplement Q – Crew Rest Seats. The APA provided proposals on vacation, Supplement Z – Terrorism Benefits, Passport / Visa expenses and International First Officers. Discussions on Section 10 – Sick Leave continued.
Also this week, the Company reiterated the need for a side letter on long-haul flying. There are several long-haul opportunities that the Company would like to pursue, but cannot due to the limitations of the pilot contract. It’s our hope that the APA will realize the potential for additional long-haul flights, which would help address the union's stated concerns regarding career stagnation and pilot growth.
The Company is pleased with the progress made during these sessions and looks forward to continue bargaining with APA February 1-3 .
Unmediated negotiations with the APA resumed this week in Fort Worth, Texas. The Company is pleased to report that tentative agreements were reached on two items of the contract – Jumpseats and Crew Rest Facilities, and significant progress was made on two others, Moving Expenses and Drug and Alcohol Testing. In addition, the parties were able to cover all items on the mutually agreed-to agenda. The APA submitted a proposal on Crew Rest Seats, to which the Company will respond during next week’s negotiating session.
While all TAs and items discussed were mostly administrative, the Company is happy that progress was made and talks were constructive. Negotiations will resume Tuesday, January 18, in Fort Worth.
