APA Wins $23.3M Grievance

[80drvr]

APA/AX ARBITRATION RULING/AWARD: This morning we received Arbitrator Stephen Goldberg's decision regarding the remedial phase of the AX Code arbitration. This arbitration concerned the commuter freeze limitation that took effect on October 1, 2001, when furloughs of American Airlines pilots began, and management's use of the AX code on certain commuter flights by TransStates and Chatauqua between October 1, 2001 and March 31, 2003. Arbitrator Goldberg has awarded APA $23,248,364 as the remedy for "impermissible subcontracting" by management. The arbitrator ruled in APA's favor on the merits of the AX arbitration, agreeing with APA that management had an obligation to schedule commuter flying levels as of October 1, 2001 in good faith and in accordance with operational needs and passenger demand. The arbitrator also agreed with APA that flights carrying the AX Code counted toward the commuter freeze limitations, and that the AX Code was covered by the restrictions contained in Section 1, Recognition and Scope, of the APA-AA Collective Bargaining Agreement.

 

[General Lee]

So, since it is really late at night, can you take the "legal speak" out of it and tell me what it all means please?

Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[TCAS]

So, since it is really late at night, can you take the "legal speak" out of it and tell me what it all means please?

It means AMR's checkbook is going to be $23 million lighter and free pizza with ALL the toppings at the next APA Board of Directors meeting!

 

[Bill Nelson]

Where does that money go? Do you guys get free dues for $23M worth?

I'm curious, in typical AA fasion, did APA spend $25M to collect $23M? Trip on a dollar to save a dime?

 

[ALCOHOLIC]

I am sure not a dime will go to us furloughed pilots.

 

[TWA 2 ASA FO]

Alcoholic,

There you go thinking us ex-TWA pilots will ever be AA pilots. Come on now, listen to them, WE ARE NEVER GOING TO BE AS GOOD AS THEM. We are just lucky that we were able to let them take our jobs in STL. Actually, we also should give up our new jobs at ASA so some of the furloughed AA pilots can keep flying. It is not fair that we got jobs after furlough. They own us, we should give them our current paychecks to make up for their misfortune.

 

[General Lee]

twa to asa fo,

I bet you will be back eventually.

Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[TWA 2 ASA FO]

General,

I never said I won't be back, but not really looking forward to it. My experience with tons of AA pilots has been nothing but total unprofessional. My favorite story was Thanksgiving day 2001. I had a trip that ended in ATL with a deadhead back to STL. Crew scheduling released me and I ran to the AA gates to commute home to DFW. We were AA yet, so I couldn't ride jumpseat, but was able to get a seat in the back. Went to introduce myself to the Capt. I was coming home from a trip and was still in my TWA uniform. Introduced myself to the Capt with my usual (can I bum a ride home with you guys." Capt turned around, saw the TWA uniform and said "No". Figured he was kidding, so I jokingly said "You are kidding, right?" To which he answered you guy are S**T, get off my F*****G airplane."

Hmm, wonder why I might have a little hard feeling for AA types. Now, not wanting to hold a grudge, whenever an AA guy shows up for a jumpseat on ASA, I NEVER bring up that I am former TWA or anything. But one AA F/O was trying to come out of MOB and met the Capt at the gate. He asked for a ride, but then saw that we were ONLY RJ pilots. He went to great lengths to tell us that WE were the problem with the industry and how much better he was than us. Now the Capt was a great guy and we actually let him still ride. But my experiences with AA guys just haven't given me the hope that my career back there will be an enjoyable one. The only reason why I would go back is the pay.


Now, I am sure 85-90% of AA pilots are great guys, but I am just not running into any of them. Once again, I don't go out looking for anything from them, they just seem to come up throw it in my face.

 

[General Lee]

There are a lot of bad attitudes around, and I have never treated an RJ pilot poorly. We all have our own ideas on what is right and wrong with this industry, but blaming someone and not letting them on a jumpseat is wrong. I personally think the RJ proliferation is hurting our business when in reality we need more seats to combat the lower fares. But, I don't blame RJ pilots for that--I blame the Planning people. I think you will get back to AA eventually and you will have some good stories, and you will also remember how you were treated and hopefully you won't do the same thing to someone else.....I doubt you will.

Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[Shag]

23 million to be divided up between the upper 1/4 of the seniority list. They better because I don't see AA competing without APA giving up the "A" plan.

What am I thinking, They will just furlough a few more what the heck, it's a sacrifice you have to make after 14 years.

 

[Neubyfly]

Associated Press
American to Pay Pilots' Union Millions
Friday April 16, 4:58 pm ET
By David Koenig, AP Business Writer
Arbitrator Orders American Airlines to Pay $23 Million to Pilots' Union in Dispute Over Flights


FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -- An arbitrator has ordered American Airlines to pay $23.2 million to its pilots' union in a dispute over shifting flights to commuter subsidiaries, another setback to the world's largest carrier, which is trying to recover from three years of mounting losses.
American's pilots have long tried to block the company's efforts to save money by adding flights on its regional commuter subsidiaries, which use lower-paid pilots.

The financial impact of the decision was unclear, however. A spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association said the union was considering ways of settling the case without cash changing hands.

The ruling is the latest to result from a series of confrontations between American and its unions. A federal judge ordered the pilots' union to pay a $45.5 million penalty to the airline after an illegal sickout in 1999.

In the current case, an arbitrator ruled that American had improperly subcontracted regional flights to two commuter carriers that it acquired with the purchase of bankrupt Trans World Airlines in 2001.

The Allied Pilots Association complained that Fort Worth-based American was trying to circumvent a provision in a 1997 labor contract designed to protects its members' jobs. The union said the provision let the company use commuter airlines to feed passengers to American but not as a substitute for American flights that use APA pilots.

"This is significant -- it means jobs," said Gregg Overman, a spokesman for the pilots union. "There's a real interest that the commuter side doesn't grow at the expense of the mainline."

Overman said union leaders were discussing what form the settlement -- slightly more than $2,200 for each of the union's 10,500 active members -- would take.

"I don't think we're going to take it in cash," he said. The union may instead ask American to make up the difference by relaxing contract restrictions imposed last year, when the company cut pay and benefits sharply to avoid bankruptcy.

American on Friday defended its actions but said it would not appeal the arbitrator's ruling.

"We made business decisions that we believed fully complied with (the contract) at a critical time in our history," said Sonja Whitemon, an airline spokeswoman.

Whitemon said the issue was resolved in negotiations last year, when American's unions agreed to huge wage and benefit concessions rather than force the carrier into bankruptcy. She said the airline doesn't believe that a cash award is warranted but would try to "improve our relationship with the APA."

The dispute between American and its pilots centered on the way the company labeled flights operated by two regional carriers, Trans States Airlines and Chautauqua Airlines, that flew from TWA's old hub in St. Louis.

Instead of flying under American's code, the two began using a different code in 2002, which meant those flights didn't count toward the limited number of flights that American could operate on its American Eagle commuter airline.

The union said the maneuver let American boost the number of flights on its commuter carriers, which reduced the number of American flights and led to additional pilot layoffs at the big airline.

American stopped the practice last year.

The arbitrator, Stephen B. Goldberg, also agreed with a separate union complaint that American falsely inflated the number of commuter flights after the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The union said American added commuter flights because it knew that the number of those flights would be frozen when the company began laying off American Airlines pilots in October 2001.

Goldberg ruled that the airline owed pilots the amount of money they would have been paid for the flying that was improperly diverted to the commuter carriers.

The arbitrator reached his findings in October but ordered both sides to keep the ruling confidential until he determined American's penalty, which he did Thursday. The award was reported in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Shares of American's parent, AMR Corp., fell 2 cents, to close at $12.38, Friday on the New York Stock Exchange.

 

[80drvr]

So, since it is really late at night, can you take the "legal speak" out of it and tell me what it all means please?

Bye Bye--General Lee

In a nutshell, when AA started furloughing 1 Oct 01, Commuter ASM's were supposed to be capped at the level existing the day of the furlough. AMR did two things: they artificially boosted Eagle's ASM's and outsourced additional flying to Trans States & Chautaucaua using a "reverse code share". The arbitrator ruled that this was wrong.

 

[eagleatr]

Maybe APA can use the money to offset the what they still owe from the sickout...

 

[Skygod]

>> Maybe APA can use the money to offset the
>> what they still owe from the sickout...

Nothing is owed. The $46 million fine was paid in full. What remained of the balance was 'paid' during the last contract changes by pay cuts and work rule changes.

APA is no doubt looking at the court fine $ value placed on those work rule changes, and looking to apply rollbacks in the near future so AMR can also pay in full.

QUOTE:

"If you would look up bad labor relations in the dictionary, you would have an American Airlines logo beside it."

— U.S. District Judge Joe Kendall, issuing a restraining order against an American Airlines pilot union sick out, 10 Feb 1999.


p.s. I was working for Eagle the week AA started the furloughs. Boy oh boy did AMR do everything they could to bring Eagle's ASM's up for a couple of days. Extra sections, schoolhouse and management staff out flying, etc. But now, even with a 23,248,326.00 fine AA is not admitting nothing! AAmazing. What a mess. Where's the honour, trust or love? Soooo glad I am not an AMR worker unit any more.

 

[jetexas]

I wonder when the stockholders are gonna get fed up and force a change? The wretched labor/management relations are very detrimental to the operation of the company.