John M. Conley, Director of the TWU Air Transport Division onToday’s Announcement of the MCI (Kansas City) Maintenance Base Closing and Cuts in Other Cities Served by American Airlines
Announcements of base closings and job losses are always difficult to accept, these deep cuts are especially painful. AMR’s maintenance operations in Kansas City, Detroit, the Twin Cities and San Jose will be completely discontinued.
We know that this decision is completely unrelated to the quality, skill, work ethic and professional behavior exhibited by those affected – performance is not the question.
The factors leading to these cutbacks are not state secrets. The ongoing and unrelenting pressure created by economic uncertainty, instability, unpredictable revenue streams and overcapacity have contributed to an overall industry contraction. Add this to the lingering effect of frequent mismanagement and a deregulated environment combined with cutthroat domestic and international competition and you have turmoil.
TWU and AMR have worked closely in recent years to keep maintenance in-house, to market our facilities to other airlines and to find new ways to boost productivity. However, our efforts to save jobs, at MCI in particular, which started before the recent recession, have been hindered by the decline in travel over the past year. We’re still hopeful that before the Kansas City facility closes late next year that industry conditions will improve and allow many of our members to find work elsewhere in the company.
Transport Workers Union of America (TWU) represents 200,000 workers and retirees, primarily in commercial aviation, public transportation and passenger railroads, including 26,000 workers at AMR. The union is an affiliate of the AFL-CIO. For more information visit www.twu.org