Tuesday November 12, 3:02 PM EST
By Jon Herskovitz
FORT WORTH, Texas, Nov 12 (Reuters) - The pilots' union at American Airlines
said on Tuesday it is looking at "a range of compensation issues" in contract
talks with the world's largest carrier that may help speed an agreement, but
will not hurt the financially strapped airline.
The move will likely invigorate talks for a new contract, which have been
muddling along for over a year and were recently joined by a federal mediator,
said Gregg Overman, spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association. The union
represents about 13,500 pilots at American Airlines, a division of AMR Corp.
(AMR).
"We want to make it clear that we live in the same world as everyone else. We
understand that the airline industry is going through some extremely tough
times right now," Overman said.
Along with the compensation issue, the union expressed a willingness to work
with American on a long-standing sticking point in negotiations - the status of
regional jets in AMR's fleet. Pilots for the company's regional jets, mostly in
AMR division American Eagle, belong to a different union and are typically paid
less than their colleagues at American.
"The type of mutually beneficial agreement sought would allow American Airlines
to expand in the small jet arena with a competitive cost structure while
eliminating outsourcing," the union said in a statement.
American said in a statement it welcomed the union's move. Top airline
executives have said AMR is not considering asking its unionized employees for
wage cuts, even though rival carriers, such as United, are hammering out
concession deals with their unions.
By Jon Herskovitz
FORT WORTH, Texas, Nov 12 (Reuters) - The pilots' union at American Airlines
said on Tuesday it is looking at "a range of compensation issues" in contract
talks with the world's largest carrier that may help speed an agreement, but
will not hurt the financially strapped airline.
The move will likely invigorate talks for a new contract, which have been
muddling along for over a year and were recently joined by a federal mediator,
said Gregg Overman, spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association. The union
represents about 13,500 pilots at American Airlines, a division of AMR Corp.
(AMR).
"We want to make it clear that we live in the same world as everyone else. We
understand that the airline industry is going through some extremely tough
times right now," Overman said.
Along with the compensation issue, the union expressed a willingness to work
with American on a long-standing sticking point in negotiations - the status of
regional jets in AMR's fleet. Pilots for the company's regional jets, mostly in
AMR division American Eagle, belong to a different union and are typically paid
less than their colleagues at American.
"The type of mutually beneficial agreement sought would allow American Airlines
to expand in the small jet arena with a competitive cost structure while
eliminating outsourcing," the union said in a statement.
American said in a statement it welcomed the union's move. Top airline
executives have said AMR is not considering asking its unionized employees for
wage cuts, even though rival carriers, such as United, are hammering out
concession deals with their unions.