In April, the APA leadership and US Airways
management along with the leaders of the
Association of Professional Flight Attendants
and Transport Workers Union jointly announced
their support for merging the two carriers. The
unions also announced that they had negotiated
conditional labor agreements with US Airways
management.
Meanwhile, APA and AMR management have been
engaged in negotiations throughout the
restructuring process, with the APA board of
directors voting to approve a tentative
agreement with management on June 27. That
tentative agreement is now subject to a
ratification vote by the APA membership. The
tentative agreement includes a 13.5 percent
equity stake in the restructured airline.
“The 13.5 percent equity stake is intended to
compensate APA as an unsecured creditor on
behalf of the pilots we represent,” Captain
Bates said. “If our members approve the
tentative agreement, this equity stake would
give APA significant influence over strategic
decisions that will be made in the weeks and
months to come concerning American Airlines,
including the makeup of the new board of
directors and management team.”
The results of the APA membership ratification
vote will be announced on August 8. Founded in
1963, Allied Pilots Association is the largest
independent pilot union in the United States.
APA represents the 10,000 pilots of American
Airlines, including 649 pilots not yet offered
recall from furlough. The furloughs began
shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Also,
several hundred American Airlines pilots are on
full-time military leave of absence serving in
the armed forces. American Airlines is the
nation’s largest international passenger carrier
and fifth-largest cargo carrier.
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