By TIM TALLEY

OKLAHOMA CITY

The salaries and benefits of workers at the American Airlines maintenance facility in Tulsa could be at risk now that the airline’s parent company is seeking bankruptcy protection, officials of the workers’ union said Tuesday.

Rick Mullings, international organizer for the Transport Workers Union of America Local 514, said he was not surprised that Fort Worth, Texas-based AMR Corp. filed for bankruptcy but is concerned about the impact it will have on the airline’s union workforce.

“In bankruptcy court, everything is in jeopardy,” Mullings said. “The bankruptcy process is hard on workers. They’re going to be looking at pay and benefits.”

Mike McDonald, vice president of TWU Local 514, said many of the 5,600 union members at the Tulsa maintenance operation had become increasingly concerned over the past few months that AMR, which owns American, might file for bankruptcy as it sought help with debt brought on by high fuel costs and labor contracts. The speculation grew as labor negotiations with pilots and others workers slowed.

“It’s not that we didn’t expect it. But we certainly didn’t expect it this soon,” McDonald said. “We woke up to this surprised. We’re still reeling from the news.”

AMR sought bankruptcy protection on Tuesday in a filing in New York that said it had $29.6 billion in debt and $24.7 billion in assets. But Mullings said union members, pilots and flight attendants have already given back $1 billion a year in salaries and benefits to help the company deal with its debt.

“We’ve got 5,600 members we’ve got to take care of,” he said. “It’s going to be up to us to protect our members as best as we can.”

McDonald said Tulsa workers are concerned about what bankruptcy will do to the union’s labor agreement with American. Other airlines have used bankruptcy to terminate pension plans, and the company said it is spending $600 million more a year than other airlines because of labor contract rules.

“Bankruptcy has never been good to the worker,” McDonald said. “Details are sketchy at this point. We don’t know ourselves any details.”

Company officials have said American’s flight schedule could be reduced as the airline reorganizes, resulting in the loss of jobs. American employs about 78,000 people and serves around 240,000 passengers per day.

McDonald said union officials may consider calling an emergency meeting of local union members once details of the bankruptcy filing become clear. In the meantime, he said union officials are encouraging members to go about their jobs as usual.

“Just focus on the job they have in front of them,” McDonald said.