A quick summary of major and noteworthy events since the start of negotiations.

October 28-30, 2008
This week, American Airlines and the Transport Workers Union met for three days under the auspices of NMB mediators Zachary Jones and John Livingood. During these sessions, both parties exchanged comprehensive contract proposals which addressed any open articles and letters. After reviewing and discussing the content of the proposal, several tentative agreements were reached, which included: Article 1: Scope & Recognition and all letters of memorandum with the exception of the “Operations Specialists” letter and the “Seat Miles Schedule by Commuter Air Carriers” letter. Those two (2) letters remain open.

The parties established the agenda for their next negotiating session, which will be held December 16-18, 2008 at FSU.

October 13-17, 2008
There are no Dispatch updates for this week.

August 25-29, 2008
There are no Dispatch updates for this week.

August 18-22
There are no Dispatch updates for this week.

August 11-15, 2008
There are no Dispatch updates for this week.

August 4-8, 2008
The National Mediation Board assigned John Livingood to mediate the Dispatcher negotiations between American and the TWU.  Mr. Livingood has been with the NMB since 2000 and has worked on both airline and railroad cases during this time.  Previously, he had 19 years of labor relations experience in the railroad industry.

The first joint meetings are scheduled to take place October 28-30.  The Company looks forward to the National Mediation Board’s guidance and to working toward reaching a new agreement with the Dispatch workgroup.

July 24, 2008
Today, American Airlines and the Transport Workers Union agreed to jointly file an application with the National Mediation Board for mediation regarding the contract governing the Dispatch workgroup. The application for mediation will be submitted on Friday, July, 25.  However, American and the TWU will continue direct negotiations without mediation for the other six TWU-represented workgroups.

The Company believes that the NMB’s assistance with the Dispatcher workgroup will be valuable and we look forward to their guidance as we move into formal mediation. 

American hopes this process will assist the two parties in reaching a new agreement with the Dispatcher workgroup that will address both parties’ interests while recognizing the economic realities facing the industry and our company. 

July 14-18, 2008
Please see the Maintenance & Related Timeline and updates page for new information regarding negotiations this week.

June 30 - July 4, 2008
The Company and the Union met on Thursday, July 3 at Flagship University.

American provided proposals for Articles 3: Work Schedule and Article 16: Recall to the TWU committee.  After a short break, the parties reached a tentative agreement on Article 16. 

Both parties will continue to discuss open issues with the goal of reaching an agreement that will balance the interests of all the involved parties, and discussions are scheduled to continue on July 24, 2008.

May 19-23, 2008
The Company and Union met this week to exchange proposals on outstanding articles. The parties will continue to review these items prior to their next meeting, which we anticipate will be in mid- to-late June.

May 16 , 2008
This week, American Airlines presented the Transport Workers Union with a comprehensive contract proposal.  Unfortunately, the TWU has rejected the company’s proposal.  American sought to address the key areas of interest identified by the TWU, including pay, holidays, sick leave and vacation; and at the same time recognize the economic realities facing the industry and our company.

American Airlines, along with the entire airline industry, is facing unprecedented challenges. In addition, American’s labor costs are the highest in the industry. While we could not address structural increases at this time, the tentative agreement did include improvements in pay and paid time off for TWU-represented employees.

Regardless of the current situation, American appreciates our strong business partnership with the TWU. We recognize the commitment by these employees who have helped to save money, generate additional revenue and improve operations. Despite the many challenges facing us, we believe this would have been a responsible investment in our employees and would have reflected the company’s commitment to our continued business partnership.

Summary of Key Common Proposal Components Across all Seven Workgroups:

Duration:

• Two years – with the option to open early six months prior to the amendable date

Pay:

• Lump sum payments as follows:
• Five percent (5%) on date of signing
• Three and one half percent (3.5%) one year after date of signing
• Commitment to explore a performance-based variable compensation plan, which is tied to corporate and local business results.

Holidays:

• One additional holiday in 2008 (Day after Thanksgiving)
• Two additional holidays in 2009 (MLK Day and Memorial Day, in addition to the Day after Thanksgiving)
• Increase holiday rate of pay to double time from time and a half

Sick Leave:

• Increase sick leave accrual rate to six (6) days in 2008
• Increase sick leave accrual rate to eight (8) days in 2009
• Full pay for sick leave

Vacation:

• Three additional Day-at-a-Time (DAT) Personal Days per year, effective 2009
• Flexibility in choosing which days to take off, subject to operational requirements
• Employees have the option of being paid in lieu for these

Health and Retirement Benefits/Pensions:

• All benefits and pensions remain the same

Profit Sharing:

• Adopt new profit sharing plan effective 2008 to be paid in 2009
• Plan pays out at first dollar of profit
• Plan accumulates as follows:
• $1-$250 million = 30 percent
• $250 million - $500 million = 25 percent
• $500 million and above = 20 percent

Eagle ASM Cap:

• The company was seeking a modest increase in the Eagle ASM Cap.

In addition, there were items specific to each of the seven agreements which were proposed and discussed.

Today, the TWU advised us that the Fleet Service committee accepted their tentative agreement for ratification.  The Fleet Service group is part of the larger Joint committee which also includes the Stock Clerks, Simulator Technicians and Ground School/Simulator Instructors workgroups.  As a result, the Joint committee elected as a whole to take their agreements out to the membership for ratification.  However, three of the included workgroups individually voted not to take the agreement for ratification.

A condition of the company’s offer in each workgroup was that all seven of the agreements had to be ratified before any of the contracts could be implemented.  Therefore, since that condition cannot be met, even if the Joint groups were to ratify, the agreements could not be put into effect.

The company is in the process of re-evaluating our current situation and is considering what future course of action will be appropriate.

May 2 , 2008
The amendable date for the TWU labor contract was May 1, 2008. While we have not reached a complete Tentative Agreement, we have made lots of progress during the last eight months, and have closed out most of the non-economic sections. We are committed to continue to make progress in negotiations and to support reaching a ratifiable contract that creates a stronger, more secure future for both the airline and the TWU-represented employees in a timely manner.

This week, the Company and the Union met with the TWU Dispatch Negotiating Committee and reached Tentative Agreements on 25 articles with no changes to the current contract language. Agreements were reached on:

Article 5: Blank

Article 9: Probationary Period

Article 14: Loss of Seniority

Article 18: Military Leave

Article 19: Termination of Employment

Article 20: Bulletin Boards

Article 21: Blank

Article 22: Blank

Article 23: Attendance at Hearings, Investigations or Training Class

Article 24: Absence from Duty

Article 25: Blank

Article 28: No Discrimination, and Recognition of Rights and Compliance

Article 29: Representation

Article 30: Dismissal

Article 31: Grievance Procedures

Article 32: Boards of Adjustment

Article 33: No Strike - No Lockout

Article 35: Blank

Article 36: Blank

Article 38: Union Security

Article 39: Blank

Article 43: Blank

Article 44: Moving Expenses

Article 45: Blank

Article 46: Effect on Prior Agreements

Note: Articles marked as "blank" are used for all seven union contracts but do not apply to the Dispatch group.

April 18 , 2008
The American and TWU Dispatch negotiations teams met on Thursday and Friday of this week.  At this time, the Company passed Articles 10: Seniority, 13: System Seniority List and 17: Leaves of Absence.  American also provided the TWU with a response to their proposal on Article 16: Recall.

March 27, 2008
The Company cancelled scheduled negotiations for this week and plans to meet with the TWU again on April 17-18, 2008.

March 6, 2008
The Company and Union met on Thursday, at which time the Company received an amended comprehensive contract proposal from the Union.  American shares the desire of the Union to try to complete contract negotiations by the amendable date, but also recognizes that this will require the Union’s participation to find the best long-term choices that will benefit both of the involved parties.

Feb. 22, 2008
The Company and the Union met on Thursday, February 21 to discuss the Dispatch negotiations.  Both sides have agreed to begin discussions around articles that are not economically related.  Both sides have tentatively set their next meeting dates for March 6 and 7, at which time the Company and the Union plan to pass several proposals to each other.

Jan. 11, 2008
On Wednesday, January 9, 2008, the TWU Negotiating committtee for Dispatch presented the Company with a new proposal on Article 4: Compensation. The Company is reviewing the proposal and remains committed to finding an agreement that best serves the long-term interest of American, all employees and stakeholders. The Company and the TWU agreed to future meeting dates, which include January 28 and February 21, 2008.

Nov. 7, 2007
American Airlines and the TWU start formal Section 6 negotiations as outlined in the Railway Labor Act, which governs the collective bargaining process

Oct. 29, 2007
The Company and TWU 542 (Dispatch) negotiating teams met today to discuss a variety of issues, including reviewing the metrics and associated costs for fuel conservation efforts. The teams also discussed and resolved additional outstanding non-bargaining related items. The negotiating teams will meet again on Dec. 18-20, 2007.

Sept. 7, 2007
The Company and TWU 542 (Dispatch) negotiating committees met for three days to discuss potential performance metrics, including reviewing productivity, lost time, fuel planning and customer service, which may become the foundation for further discussions for a pay-for-performance structure. The discussions were robust and interactive with many ideas and suggestions given due consideration. The next meeting will primarily focus on exploring those potential pay-for-performance plans, and is scheduled for Oct. 1-2.

Aug. 28, 2007
The TWU serves the company with official notice that they intend to exercise the early opener provision of the current collective bargaining agreement. The letter received today is simply the official notification required by the Railway Labor Act, which governs the collective bargaining process. The collective bargaining agreements contain an early opener provision that allow either party to begin discussion in the two-year window before the contract becomes amendable on May 1, 2008.

August 9, 2007
The Company and TWU 542 (Dispatch) negotiating committees spent several hours in constructive conversation this afternoon. Several elements of the TWU’s previous proposal were clarified and the balance of the discussion was focused on moving things forward. As a result of the discussion, the parties agreed to begin focusing on developing a possible pay-for-performance component and signed a letter of intent to begin the process. The next meeting will focus on exploring potential performance payout schemes and funding strategies, and is scheduled for Sept 4-6, 2007.

August 1, 2007
American and the TWU negotiating committees tentatively scheduled bargaining sessions for August 9 and September 4, 5 and 6, 2007.

July 24, 2007
During today’s negotiating session American provided a response to the TWU’s last proposal. It is apparent that, based on our discussion, our interests and expectations vary significantly. In an effort to bridge this gap American proposed that we retain an experienced facilitator to assist the parties in making progress toward a new agreement. The TWU showed little interest in facilitated discussions. The next bargaining session has not been scheduled.

June 29, 2007
AA and the TWU met in session at FSU. The company provided a formal proposal to the TWU committee. The TWU asked for clarification on several of the components of the proposal and then prepared a response. The Company received the response late in the afternoon from the TWU and after reviewing it and asking clarification questions, the parties decided to adjourn for the day and scheduled the next session for July 24, 2007.

June 15, 2007
AA and the TWU met in session at FSU. The TWU provided a comprehensive proposal which included an additional option for wage improvement. The company asked numerous questions to better understand the proposal and committed to provide a response at the next session, which is scheduled for June 29, 2007.

May 30, 2007
AA and the TWU met in session at FSU. The company provided a formal proposal to the TWU committee, which included a work schedule and wage modification. The parties discussed the proposal at length so as to better understand the content. The TWU committed to provide a response at our next session, which is scheduled for June 15, 2007.

May 1 - 2, 2007
American and TWU negotiating committees met Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss the possibility of exploring options for variable compensation and methods to fund compensation increases to the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

January 18, 2007
After a review of the TWU’s last proposal, American suggested that the parties meet in a couple of months.

December 20, 2006
The TWU presented a modified comprehensive proposal to American at the Air Transport Division office in Hurst, TX.

December 19, 2006
American provided TWU with a summary of the company’s financial analysis on the cost of TWU’s proposal.

December 6, 2006
American presented TWU with a modified proposal; TWU requested a summary of the financial analysis that established the cost of the TWU’s proposal.

September 22, 2006
Negotiations continued at Flagship University.

September 20, 2006
American presented TWU with its opening proposal, including a bargaining protocol agreement proposal.

August 9-10, 2006
Joint American/TWU problem-solving training with the National Mediation Board was conducted in Washington, D.C.

June 28, 2006
American met with the TWU at Flagship University to review airline industry comparative data. American proposed joint training with the National Mediation Board, which was accepted by the TWU.

June 12, 2006
American and TWU met at the Air Transport Division office in Hurst, TX. The TWU presented its comprehensive opening proposal.

May 18, 2006
American responded to TWU‘s Section 6 opener notice, acknowledging its receipt and agreeing to meet on May 30, 2006.

May 11, 2006
The TWU notified American that it would like to exercise its option to begin negotiations under the Early Opener provision.