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August 24, 2012

AE TWU Maintenance and Related and Fleet 1113 Contract Ratification Results

Fleet Results

M&R Results

August 22, 2012

American Airlines – Court Update

Today, the debtors (American Airlines) filed a motion seeking court approval and authorization of the recently ratified new collective bargaining agreements (CBA’s) with the TWU Mechanic & Related and Stores employee groups.

The agreements reached, came about after an extensive proceeding under section 1113 of the Bankruptcy Code, a lot of hard work by the TWU negotiating committees, during protracted negotiations with American that were extremely hard fought, and at times contentious.

August 20, 2012

Associated Press
 
The CEO at the parent of American Airlines parent said that the airline has made "much progress" in rebuilding itself under bankruptcy protection and suggested that the company would continue to explore its strategic options.
 
Thomas Horton, the president of AMR Corp., made the comments in a letter to employees Monday, a day after flight attendants ratified a contract that includes concessions but also buyouts designed to avoid about 2,000 layoffs.

August 17, 2012

Perhaps some pilots at bankrupt AMR (AAMRQ.PK) see Wednesday's bankruptcy court ruling as a victory, but the flight attendants union is reading it differently.

In a hotline message to members, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants calls Judge Sean Lane's ruling "a blistering indictment of the labor unions on American Airlines' property" because the ruling rejected the majority of the arguments made by the Allied Pilots Association.

In his surprising ruling, Lane rejected AMR's bid to reject its existing contract on two points: AMR wants unrestricted ability to furlough pilots and to engage in code-sharing. The APA says this is a victory. AMR says it will rewrite its motion and resubmit it on Friday.

August 16, 2012

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

I am sure by now that most of you are aware of Judge Lane’s recent ruling on August 15, 2012 as to the issue of whether or not he should rule in favor of AMR’s motion to abrogate the collective bargaining agreement of the Allied Pilots Association.

Since his ruling was made denying the Corporation’s motion based on a couple of technical matters, specifically restricted to the issues of Code Sharing and Pilot furloughs, within minutes of the decision being released, all of a sudden, there was an avalanche of emails that were sent out to hundreds of our members, our offices and the offices of many of our Local Presidents. These emails were offensive in nature and highly critical of the bankruptcy experts the TWU retained in order to provide our members with the best legal and professional representation to assist all of us in navigating through the arduous tasks associated with the bankruptcy process.

August 16, 2012

American Eagle

TWU/American Eagle Fleet Service and Maintenance & Related Members

Yesterday’s ruling by Judge Lane denying AA’s 1113 motion to reject the APA CBA has raised many questions regarding our pending votes on the TWU Maintenance and Related and Fleet Contracts at American Eagle. Here are few important points about the ruling:

  • Judge Lane temporarily ruled that AA went too far on the pilots’ contract by trying to impose terms removing all restrictions on furloughing pilots and outsourcing flying. He invited AA to fix this quickly.
  • Unlike the pilot’s terms, the Fleet and M&R tentative agreements preserve our current language regarding both furloughing and outsourcing.
  • This is not the final ruling. The judge made clear that this denial is temporary so long as these two issues are adjusted by American. AA intends to revise its 1113 APA proposal from before the 1113 trial quickly and submit it to the court.
  • This ruling has nothing to do with our pending votes at American Eagle, or the terms that we will work under at AE. These issues are legally and factually unrelated.
August 15, 2012

American Indicates That It Intends To Correct These Technicalities Immediately And Seek A Further Ruling
 
The court denied American’s 1113 motion as to APA but made clear that this denial is temporary so long as the two issues identified in the court’s opinion are adjusted by American. American intends to revise its APA 1113 proposal quickly and submit it to the court. The judge’s ruling is 111 pages, is very technical and requires a very careful read. Be careful not to rely just on headlines.
 
The court found that American’s1113 pilot proposal went beyond that which was “necessary" in asking for an unrestricted use of pilot furlough and codesharing. Neither American’s own business plan nor American’s competitors go this far in the treatment of pilots.
 
So while the court denied the motion temporarily, the court gave American a clear instruction on how to “fix" the issue by linking  codesharing and the ability to furlough pilots to its business plan and the practices of other airlines. We await the judges next ruling.

Garry Drummonds Letter to AA Members

August 10, 2012

Watch this short interview with TWU advisor Peter Kaufman President of the Gordian Group. He explains TWU’s optionality benefit - a result of TWU member’s recent ratification of two more labor agreements with AA.  TWU members are well positioned now rather than risking an uncertain future with the judge’s ruling. 

Kaufman and his team continue to advise TWU during the AMR bankruptcy proceedings and Kaufman has been profiled by The Deal, where he is consistently ranked as one of the 10 leading national investment bankers in financial restructurings. 
 

August 08, 2012

Dear Brothers and Sisters:

As I stated in our press release, there is legitimate frustration associated with this entire bankruptcy process, which is designed to facilitate concessions and to ensure the reorganization of the debtor, rather than advance the interests of working people. That is how it has worked in every airline bankruptcy. Our goal has been to lessen the impact on our members, and these agreements have succeeded in mitigating the severity. Make no mistake, nobody is happy with a concessionary agreement, but the ratification of these agreements is better than what our members would have faced with a court-imposed solution.

AMR Bankruptcy Update for Aug. 3, 2012
August 03, 2012

American Eagle

Today we posted the full text language for Maintenance and Related and Fleet Service work groups at American Eagle on the website. The posted attachments are listed below and cover the specific details for each group, as well as comparisons to the company’s “ask.” A question and answer information sheet is included.

Voting will begin August 13, 2012 and run through August 24, when polls will close at noon CDT.

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This site is not meant to constitute a legal opinion or legal advice, and does not replace independent consultation with your own attorney as each employer and employee's situation is unique.