Pilots at American Airlines plan strike vote

Leaders ofthe pilots' union at American Airlines raised the threat of a strike and alsomet Wednesday with the CEO of US Airways, which is pursuing a labor-backedmerger with American.
The Allied Pilots Association said that it would hold a strike-authorizationvote as soon as American tries to use the bankruptcy process to throw out itscontract with pilots and impose new pay and work rules.
The airline said that a strike would be illegal.
A hearing on American's request to cancel the pilots' contract is scheduled forSept. 4 before a federal bankruptcy judge in New York.
Federal law makes it difficult for airline unions to legally strike. In 2007, afederal appeals court blocked a planned strike by flight attendants atNorthwest Airlines after the airline threw out the union's contract as part ofits bankruptcy case.
Union spokesman Gregg Overman said pilots would strike only if they had legalpermission from the National Mediation Board, but Wednesday's declarationshowed labor's resolve.
The standoff between the union and AMR comes as US Airways, based in Tempe, Arizona,continued to press for a merger that would put US Airways executives in chargeof a bigger, combined airline.
Chairman and CEO Doug Parker and two other top US Airways Group Inc. executivesflew to Dallas-Fort Worth on Wednesday to meet the new acting president of thepilots' union, Keith Wilson. Overman, the union spokesman, said they had awide-ranging discussion "about the potential for further industryconsolidation."
AMR CEO Thomas Horton was dismissive of US Airways' overtures for several months,preferring that AMR emerge from bankruptcy protection on its own. Underpressure from creditors, however, AMR has started exploring merger options,including with US Airways, that creditors could compare to an independent AMR.
American is trying to slash annual labor costs by about $1 billion and returnAMR to profitability after it lost more than $10 billion since 2001. Americanwon concessions in new contracts covering about 40,000 ground workers andflight attendants.
But American's 8,000 active pilots risked even deeper cost-cutting measures byrejecting a company offer this month. American's first attempt to nullify thepilots' contract was denied by the judge on two narrow issues. The companychanged those items and has again asked the judge for permission to throw outthe pilots' contract.
Bankruptcy law lets companies escape union contracts if they convince a judgethat it's necessary for their success. That's what Northwest did with flightattendants, who responded by threatening to strike. A federal appeals court inNew York ruled that the flight attendants were "intransigent" despiteNorthwest's need to cut costs and that the airline had a right under bankruptcylaw to throw out the contract.
American's pilots last went on strike in 1997. President Bill Clinton orderedthem back to work within minutes and appointed a special board to study thedispute.

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com