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Allied Pilots Association Questions Appropriateness of Management Bonuses: ‘Pilot Givebacks Total Billions’

Dépèche transmise le 15 avril 2009 par Business Wire

Allied Pilots Association Questions Appropriateness of Management Bonuses: ‘Pilot Givebacks Total Billions’

FORT WORTH, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Allied Pilots Association (APA), certified collective bargaining agent for the 11,500 pilots of American Airlines (NYSE: AMR), issued the following statement concerning the stock-based bonuses American Airlines’ executives received today:

“With this year’s bonuses of $6.5 million, American Airlines management has collected more than $300 million in stock-based bonuses during the past four years. We question the appropriateness of these management bonuses, given the fact that our pilots continue working under the concessionary contract that we agreed to under duress six years ago. That concessionary contract has since resulted in several billion dollars in givebacks. In addition, today’s pilot pay rates are virtually identical to those of 16 years ago, which means our pilots have suffered a major decline in purchasing power.

“To say we are disappointed that American Airlines’ executives continue enriching themselves at the expense of front-line workers would be a definite understatement. We are likewise concerned that management has taken steps to make these stock-based bonuses more lucrative by significantly increasing the number of shares that will be awarded in future years.

“American Airlines would be better served if the executives redirected their energies toward repairing fractured relations with front-line employees, rather than devising new schemes to further enrich themselves.”

That is the full text of APA’s statement.

Founded in 1963, the Allied Pilots Association—the largest independent pilot union in the U.S.—is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. APA represents the 11,500 pilots of American Airlines, including 1,969 pilots on furlough. The furloughs began shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks. Also, several hundred American Airlines pilots are on full-time military leave of absence serving in the armed forces. The union’s Web site address is www.alliedpilots.org. American Airlines is the nation’s second-largest passenger carrier and fifth-largest cargo carrier.