TWU Passes out Information at Stockholders meeting

Checking it Out

Veteran
Apr 3, 2003
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Thanks to the Members of Local 514 and the International this letter and flyer were passed out at the Shareholders meeting Wednesday Morning in Dallas.

Mr. Michael A. Miles, Chairman
AMR Compensation Committee
P.O. Box 619616
Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport, TX 75261

Dear Mr. Miles:

In your capacity as Chairman of the Compensation Committee of the AMR Board of Directors, I call upon you to adopt a policy of complete transparency on executive compensation and to issue a full report to shareholders and the public. Shareholders and employees need to know if there are any other undisclosed compensation arrangements for corporate executives.

As you are well aware, secret pension and bonus agreements that had been granted to senior executives were not revealed until after the Company’s unionized employees had agreed to $1.6 billion in concessions. The resulting scandal led to Donald J. Carty’s resignation as the company’s CEO last month. AMR needs to take extraordinary action in order to restore investor confidence and employee trust. This action must include adopting a comprehensive transparency policy on executive compensation.

We believe that the Compensation Committee has provided something far less than full disclosure of executive compensation. In the Company’s most recent proxy statement, for example, the Committee does not disclose the amount of the Company’s contribution to its supplemental executive retirement plan (SERP), nor the amount paid to top executives as “retention†bonuses. These contributions amounted to $41 million and up to twice the value of executives’ base salaries respectively. These amounts are substantial and clearly belong in the Compensation Committee’s report.

These executive compensation arrangements were disclosed in attachments to the Company’s 10-K filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC); however, the actual filing of the report was delayed for two weeks. It now seems clear that the delay was timed for release only after union employee voting had been completed. In any case, it is still unclear why these payments were not detailed in the proxy statement where shareholders first look for information about executive compensation.

The terms of Mr. Carty’s compensation were also the subject of a highly misleading “fact sheet†issued by the Company on April 16 (this “fact sheet†is still posted on the Company’s website). The sheet favorably compares Mr. Carty’s “total cash compensation†to that of CEOs of competing airlines but omits key information including additional raises that had been granted to Mr.Carty. Mr. Carty had just received a
substantial raise in the form of a deferred retention bonus, but the Company characterized the increase as non-cash compensation and did not include it in the equation. Also left out of the Company’s “fact sheet†comparison is any mention of Southwest Airlines, the airline with the largest market capitalization and – not coincidentally it seems – a company that granted a relatively modest package for its CEO.

We believe that this is not the first time that AMR has given less than full information on significant pay increases for senior executives. In the 2000 and 2001 proxies, for example, the Compensation Committee disclosed that it had granted Mr. Carty and other top executives unearned years of service credit in their pension packages. In the Compensation Committee report, these arrangements were inaccurately treated as a simple exchange whereby Mr. Carty and other senior executives received pension enhancements in lieu of discontinued benefits or pay increases.

Specifically, the 2001 proxy states that Mr. Carty received an additional .5 years of service credit for each year “in lieu of a pay increase for the year 2000â€. In fact, Mr. Carty’s salary had increased almost 2% between 1999 and 2002 and his overall compensation rose by 13%.

Mr. Carty and other executives were also granted an additional 1.5 years of service credit per year “to recognize the future loss of the annual cash performance return payment.†We believe this assertion is inaccurate in two aspects. First, one can not equate performance-based compensation and fixed compensation. Second, the expected value of the pension enhancement appears to be significantly higher than that of the forgone performance return payments.
These pension enhancements are not disclosed in the Company’s more recent proxy filings. In fact, most companies that grant unearned years of service to their executives formalize such agreements as exhibits to the company’s annual 10-K filings where shareholders have easier access. Again, AMR did not disclose these arrangements in either the proxy or the exhibits.

We believe that AMR needs to begin disclosing executive compensation in reports or format that is accessible and easily understood by shareholders and employees. Shareholders, including Company employees, need to know about all executive compensation agreements. We need to know what safeguards have been put in place to prevent future executive compensation abuses. We strongly urge that the Company submit all future executive compensation plans, including retirement benefits, to a vote by shareholders. Such compensations plans must be transparent – including dollar values on all forms of executive compensation and an explanation as to how the figures are derived.

Last month’s inexcusable failure to make a timely and full report on the retention bonuses and SERP nearly pulled this carrier into bankruptcy and gravely undermined the employee trust necessary for this carrier to survive. AMR cannot afford any further failures to level with employees and shareholders about executive compensation. We call upon the Compensation Committee to take action immediately to adopt these reforms and work to restore investor and employee trust.

Sincerely,
Sonny Hall, President
SH:cjw opeiu-153 afl-cio

Cc: David L. Boren
Edward A. Brennan
Armando M. Codina
Judith Rodin

Links:

http://twuatd.org/default.asp?id=93&ACT=5&content=315&mnu=93

A flyer was passed out at the door:

http://www.twuatd.org/aarestructure/shareh...r_leaflet_1.pdf

Representatives from the Flight Attendants and Pilots were also present.

TWU SOLIDARITY!
 
Yeah, that really got 'em.

Local 514 passed out flyers at the stock holders meetings. Hoorah, for the brave unionist.

WHAT ABOUT OUR PAY AND BENEFITS YOU MORON?

Try working on that which we pay two hours per month to keep and you wont have to go whimpering to the stock holders like dogs with tails between their legs.

We dont need someone passing out flyers at the stock holders meetings after signing off on labor agreements without credible ratification.

We need someone to stand for the working man's standard of living instead of dues assessment.

AMFA NOW
 
CIO;
How about some Transparency and Accountability from you?

I agree that we need to stop these six figure earning robber barons from ripping off the workers. These people who say that we must sacrifice while they do not. These people that make sure that they are well rewarded while telling us we must work for less. Who are these people? Lets start here;
Sonny Hall-$201,000
(not bad for a bus driver, I'll bet his apartment is a lot nicer than Ralph Cramdens)
John Kerrigan- $195,000
(worked for Pan Am, for those of you not old enough to remember Pan Am was an airline many years ago)
James Little- $141,000
(baggage handler)
Gary Yingst- $130,000
(unknown origin, perhaps extra terrestrial, recently from Tulsa area, pa-ting!)

Apparently they are better at negotiating their own wages than ours!
 


The AFL-CIO and the TWU represents Hundred of thousands of Members and Millions of the Working class People of the US. And you are posting their contractual pay! What is your Point?

amfa represents 15,000 members and declining fast and they are making the same amount. Lets not forget McCormick who collects almost Half Million dollars every year from these few Members!

What about our pay? I voted on the agreement and so did the Majority who choose to vote and take the effort to make sure they could vote!

Anyway, Local 514 had 18 representatives go and further the betterment of the TWU and because of their efforts Arpy agreed to;

A. Not to endorse the Baseball style Arbitration.

B. Brennan came out and put a hold on Cartys pay Package.

C. Brennan and Arpy agreed to not take pay Increases.

D. Arpy agreed to not let are work go overseas and work at keeping as much work as possible in-house.

Thanks to these Individuals the TWU Let know to the Stockholders and Management we are watching! It was obvious we made a very impressive showing and all who showed up should be praised for the fine job Representing the TWU!

TWU SOLIDARITY!
 
Construction unions have tried this in the midwest - they hire minimum wage (not skilled labor) flunkies to hand out flyers to bother, err, I mean, "Educate" customers at large big-box retailers complaining that Wal-Mart or Meijer or whoever didn''t use union labor to build the building. Hello?!? Like anyone cares?
 
And Checking it Out apparently "trust" managements word.

Why not negotiate strong language that assures those items? Are you for real? Oh yeah, I trust them at their word. Did you get these agreements in writing? Can you post the signed agreements for us to read and grieve when they fail to comply?

Man, if we can trust management just because we handed out flyers at an annual stock holders meetings, why bother with a union to begin with? We could just all go down, hand out flyers, wait for them to give us verbal promises and leave feeling secure and in control.

We need a new union really bad. These guys were just lied to, and now they already trust and believe them again!
 
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On 5/23/2003 10:39:13 AM Checking it Out wrote:




The AFL-CIO and the TWU represents Hundred of thousands of Members and Millions of the Working class People of the US. And you are posting their contractual pay! What is your Point?

Who mentioned the AFL-CIO? Well anyway the TWU has around 100K members. Sonny Hall makes $200k while the President of SEIU, with over 1 million members, or more than ten times the twu makes $190 K. Sonny Hall took $2 from each and every member and put it in his pocket while lowering their standards of living. Stern took less than 6 cents from each member while taking agressive actions to improve member living standards. If the TWU is going to ask for accountability and Transparency they should be willing to do the same. If they tell their members that they must sacrifice then why dont they lead by example? Thats what they are requesting the executives to do.
The point is that TWU leaders are becoming rich off member dues while selling out their members!

amfa represents 15,000 members and declining fast and they are making the same amount. Lets not forget McCormick who collects almost Half Million dollars every year from these few Members!

Declining fast? Well lets see what happens at UAL. If they win there they will represent more mechanics than any other union. How much did Luby's firm collect from the TWU?

What about our pay? I voted on the agreement and so did the Majority who choose to vote and take the effort to make sure they could vote!

What about the 3000 that were not sent ballots? What extrordinary efforts should dues paying members have to make in order to vote? Shouldnt everyone be given the same opportunity?

Anyway, Local 514 had 18 representatives go and further the betterment of the TWU and because of their efforts Arpy agreed to;

A. Not to endorse the Baseball style Arbitration.
Why would they when they have TWU style negotiations? How much do you want, $620 million for 5 years? OK you got it.

B. Brennan came out and put a hold on Cartys pay Package.
Who cares? What difference does it make? Let me know how I can put a hold on Little and Yingsts pay packages.

C. Brennan and Arpy agreed to not take pay Increases.
Again big deal. Little and Yingst insist that management share the pain while they dont. Whatever Brennan and Arpey dont take now they will get later.

D. Arpy agreed to not let are (our)work go overseas and work at keeping as much work as possible in-house.
(with the amount you are paid you should know the difference between are and our)
Why go overseas when they have you peons here?

Thanks to these Individuals the TWU Let know to the Stockholders and Management we are watching! It was obvious we made a very impressive showing and all who showed up should be praised for the fine job Representing the TWU!

How will that change our paycheck? We saw how the TWU performed when it really counted-$620 million in concessions, over $3 billion from our pockets into the shareholders & managements pockets over the next five years. You are watching them take our (or is it are?) money. Big deal.

TWU SOLIDARITY!





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