[vimeo 10981331]
Protesting another round of AMR executive bonuses. Members from several American Airlines, American Eagle and Southwest TWU locals joined the protest, which was organized by Local 513. Flight attendants and pilots from the Association of Professional Flight Attendants and Allied Pilots Association also joined the TWU in solidarity.
Tired of being thwarted at the negotiating table, and now stalled in mediation, TWU enthusiastically took their message to AMR’s customers at the airport. Local 513’s rally was held in conjunction with the TWU International text and advertising campaign, asking the public to text EXCESS to 30644 to fight against corporate greed.
“Management should have a clear message today, they have a lot of angry, upset employees,” said Local 513 President Darrin Pierce. “The energy and enthusiasm shown here today against corporate greed shows it has to stop!”
Pierce and the other protesters held signs that read “Employee Concessions + Passenger Fees = Executive Bonuses,” and chanted in unison “it’s our turn,” and “stop corporate greed.” The protests lasted all morning and afternoon; members jumped on the picket line before or after their shifts, or during their lunch breaks. A passenger even joined in after his flight was cancelled. He came out of the terminal, asked for a sign and said, “I have three hours to kill before I can get home,” and joined the welcoming line of protesters.
American employees rescued the company from bankruptcy in 2003 when they gave up $620 million a year in pay, benefits and other concessions. At that time, management promoted the message, “share the pain, share the gain.” But there has been no gain for TWU members, only for the top executives who have received millions in bonuses every year since workers made those concessions. The public is sharing the pain too; American has raised $346 million from checked bag fees alone. Even with this new income siphoned from the public’s pocket, the company has left workers with nothing, not even a contract.
American workers are feeling the pain, explained Angie Scarborough, a fleet service clerk. “Morale is the worst I’ve ever seen. They keep taking and taking, and asking us to do more and more with less,” Scarborough said at the rally, which she attended on her day off. “They take, take, take and we give, give, give –I’m sick of it.”
AMR and TWU representatives first opened contract talks to modify labor agreements covering 11 separate bargaining units in 2006. Contract talks have stalled because the company has stonewalled at the bargaining table, despite the years of effort by TWU members to boost workplace productivity and bring new revenue to the company.
On March 11, TWU petitioned the National Mediation Board, which overseas labor relations in the transport sector, for release from mediation – the first step towards a possible strike.
“Our goal, as always, is a fair settlement, because that’s the best result for our members, the flying public, and for the company,” said TWU Air Transport Division Director John Conley. “But our job at the bargaining table does not get any easier when AMR executives take care of themselves at the expense of our members and our passengers.”