SOURCE: By Terry Maxon/Reporter
The National Mediation Board wants to talk to American Airlines and its three unions – the Allied Pilots Association, Association of Professional Flight Attendants and Transport Workers Union – about the state of their negotiations.
We learn this from the APFA’s hotline update Tuesday, which said that “the NMB has requested that APA, APFA, TWU and the company meet for a negotiations status conference” on Thursday.
The TWU told its members Monday that it will meet with NMB board member Harry Hoglander and Larry Gibbons, the NMB’s director of mediation services, at American’s offices Thursday morning. They’ll discuss the status of talks with four of TWU’s units: fleet service clerks, stock clerks, technicians and mechanics and related employees.
On Wednesday afternoon, TWU and American Eagle officials will meet with Hoglander, Gibbons, senior mediator Patricia Sims and mediator John Livingood for a status update on two sets of talks with American Eagle employees represented by the TWU.
“The NMB asked to meet for an update on our status and, as always, we are happy to cooperate with the board,” American spokeswoman Missy Cousino said Tuesday.
Except for a few small TWU units, American and its unions have failed to work out new contracts in talks that began with pilots in September 2006, with the big TWU units in November 2007 and with the flight attendants in June 2008.
On Nov. 29, American, parent AMR, American Eagle and various subsidiaries filed bankruptcy papers. Now, the labor talks fall under Section 1113 of the federal bankruptcy code. However, that doesn’t mean the NMB won’t continue to assist in reaching agreements, if possible.
The TWU, Association of Professional Flight Attendants and APA have all gotten seats on the committee of unsecured creditors.
American hasn’t stated publicly what changes it will seek in labor talks, but made it pretty clear in pre-Chapter 11 talks what it wanted to do – reduce retirement costs (pensions and medical insurance); get more hours each month from pilots and flight attendants; have employees pay a greater share of medical costs; farm out less-skilled ground jobs like cabin cleaning; use commuter carriers for more flying; and other changes that it thought would make it more competitive with other major carriers that have already gone through bankruptcy proceedings.