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Hopeful

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Dec 21, 2002
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The TWU didn't argue this one either!


04/04/2003 - Updated 10:30 AM ET

American Airlines defends smaller pay cuts for management

The airline exec pay debate

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American defends smaller pay cuts for management
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FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — American Airlines officials are defending job and salary cuts for executives that are less severe than those faced by pilots, flight attendants and mechanics.

About $100 million would be trimmed from management costs by eliminating 5% of the 12,000 jobs and slashing salaries by 4% to 15%.

Pay for pilots, however, would drop 23% on May 1, and flight attendants' pay would fall 15.6%. Wages of mechanics and baggage handlers would be slashed 16% and 15.6%, respectively.

A company spokesman defended the more-modest cuts for management employees, noting that they have gone without raises and bonuses for the past two years.

Pay for American's management employees lagged industry averages while the company's flight attendants and ground workers have been at the top of industry pay scales and pilots have been near the top, said spokesman Bruce Hicks.

"We have always kept at the industry average, very lean and very efficient ... but this puts management even further below average," Hicks said Thursday.

The Fort Worth-based airline has already reduced management by 22% since the Sept. 2001 terrorist attacks, he said.

The first $30,000 of their salaries will be reduced by 4%, the next $30,000 by 7%, the next $30,000 by 10% and for amounts over $90,000, 13.5%. Chairman Donald J. Carty said this week he would take a 33% cut from his $585,813 salary, and officers' pay would be cut 17%.

American and its three major unions reached tentative agreements Monday on deals to cut more than $1.6 billion in annual labor costs, the bulk of an estimated $1.8 billion reduction in overall labor spending. Airline officials said they would have to file for bankruptcy without the deals.

Union officials defended the deals, warning of even deeper pay cuts and more layoffs if American went into bankruptcy.

Under the tentative agreements, about 2,500 pilots, 2,400 flight attendants and 1,100 to 1,400 ground workers likely will lose their jobs. Remaining employees will work longer hours and get less vacation.

The deals call for $660 million in cuts from pilots, $620 million from ground workers and $340 from flight attendants.

Union employees have until mid-April to approve the plans, which also would give workers stock options worth a 24.3% equity stake in the airline, plus profit sharing once the company reaches profit targets.

A group called Pilots Defending the Profession has started an organized campaign against the deal, saying it might not keep American out of bankruptcy.

The group said in a Web site posting Thursday that the pilots union gave up too much without getting partial ownership of American or seats on its board of directors.

As devastating as the cuts are, the airline has said it would lay off a total of 3,900 flight attendants — 1,500 more than what is proposed in the concessions plan — if it files for bankruptcy, said Association of Professional Flight Attendants spokesman George Price.

In that case, the company has said it would use Latin American flight attendants who are paid much less than their U.S. counterparts, Price said.

"That means we could lose American jobs to foreign nationals," he said.


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Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 
Hopeful said:
The TWU didn't argue this one either!


04/04/2003 - Updated 10:30 AM ET

American Airlines defends smaller pay cuts for management


Pay for pilots, however, would drop 23% on May 1, and flight attendants' pay would fall 15.6%. Wages of mechanics and baggage handlers would be slashed 16% and 15.6%, respectively.
I have heard the pilots have had much of their pay restored. Anyone got any exact numbers?
 
Pilot's got back 7% earlier this year. It was part of their agreement.

Out agreement called for us to get back 7 1/2% over 5 years. We should be coming up on that first whopping 1 1/2% increase on our base pay. Should come out to about $.30 an hour give or take a few pennies.

The TWU drives a hard bargain!
 
Hopeful said:
Pilot's got back 7% earlier this year. It was part of their agreement.

Out agreement called for us to get back 7 1/2% over 5 years. We should be coming up on that first whopping 1 1/2% increase on our base pay. Should come out to about $.30 an hour give or take a few pennies.

The TWU drives a hard bargain!
Pilots will get back 6% plus 1.5% May 1st. There are many of us that lost closer to 50% due to falling back to the right seat. The 23% cut was effective 5/1/04.
 
Are you kidding me? Living in the past? Everytime I look at my paycheck, I'm reminded of the past. Everytime I take my vacation minus one week, I'm reminded of the past. Everytime I call in sick, I'm reminded of the past when the first two days are only at half pay.

What an asinine statement!

Hey, LiveInAHotel, are you willing to forget about the invasion of Irag and the 529 or so US troops killed and NOT LIVE IN THE PAST????????????????
 
AAviator:
I'm sorry. I forgot how many pilots got knocked to the right seat or even a smaller aircraft. The interesting thing is when Carty demanded concessions from the unions, the figures did not include layoffs. AA got far more than they wanted if you consider the layoffs!
 
Hopeful said:
What an asinine statement!

Hey, LiveInAHotel, are you willing to forget about the invasion of Irag and the 529 or so US troops killed and NOT LIVE IN THE PAST????????????????
1) No, your topic is asinine! That story is almost a year old.

2) No, I will never forget the troops, especially because my husband is in Afghanistan defending our FREEDOM!!
 
Hopeful said:
Are you kidding me? Living in the past? Everytime I look at my paycheck, I'm reminded of the past. Everytime I take my vacation minus one week, I'm reminded of the past. Everytime I call in sick, I'm reminded of the past when the first two days are only at half pay.

What an asinine statement!

Hey, LiveInAHotel, are you willing to forget about the invasion of Irag and the 529 or so US troops killed and NOT LIVE IN THE PAST????????????????
You're kidding me right? These statements are all that I hear anymore....What about us that gave the ultimate sacrafice....OUR JOBS......Again, let me say it again in plain English..... IF YOU DON'T LIKE THE CURRENT SITUATION THEN FIND A NEW JOB SO THOSE OF US THAT WOULD LIKE TO BE BACK AT AA CAN COME BACK! :angry: Was that too loud?







What Unity?
 
Hopeful said:
The interesting thing is when Carty demanded concessions from the unions, the figures did not include layoffs. AA got far more than they wanted if you consider the layoffs!
I'm still wondering how our respective unions got snookered on that point. I don't know about the pilots, but I was told that the flight attendants were specifically prohibited from counting previous f/a furloughs in their contribution calculation.

Yet, if you will remember, the company got to the management contribution numbers by counting layoffs and other cuts that had already been made .
 
jimntx said:
I'm still wondering how our respective unions got snookered on that point.
Jim,

Thanks to John Ward's superior negotiating skills, the flight attendants received credit for only $340 million in return for concessions valued at well over $400 million.
 
The TWU layoffs were not counted in their concession package.

Hey LIVEINAHOTEL:
Next time you're in DC, stop off at the Vietnam Wall and tell those people visiting their loved ones to "stop living in the past!"

You are the docile type that would take anything thrown at you for the sake of having a job. I feel sorry for people like you who have no self respect!
 
Hopeful said:
The TWU layoffs were not counted in their concession package.

Hey LIVEINAHOTEL:
Next time you're in DC, stop off at the Vietnam Wall and tell those people visiting their loved ones to "stop living in the past!"

You are the docile type that would take anything thrown at you for the sake of having a job. I feel sorry for people like you who have no self respect!
The topic is a story you posted from almost 1 year ago. Now, you have brought in things regarding our troops, when some of us have a husband or a wife fighting for our freedom. Why dont you join the military and see what it's truly like to fight for our country?

It seems you like to beat around the bush and avoid the questions that are thrown at you. This topic has nothning to do with our troops, until you threw in a curve and changed it.