"We'll See You In Court, In The Newspapers, And On The Picket Line"

Well, if you can't say anything nice... then write a letter. Lloyd Hill -- president of the Allied Pilots Association, the union representing pilots at American Airlines -- ripped into CEO Gerard Arpey in a blistering missive sent last month, and recently obtained by the Fort Worth (TX) Star-Telegram.

According to the paper, Hill's letter includes disparaging comments about Arpey's leadership... as well as assertions the airline's sick leave policies have led to pilot suicides. It also condemns American for the lucrative bonuses several AAL execs, including Arpey, recently received.

The letter also ends with a clear warning to Arpey. "Enjoy your blood money and your union-busting meeting," Hill writes. "We'll see you in court, in the newspapers, and on the picket line."

Hill -- along with newly elected union VP Tom Westbrook, and APA secretary-treasurer Bill Haug --  sent the September 18 letter in response to a PowerPoint presentation from airline executives, touting cooperative efforts between labor groups and airline management. The three men were elected in July, after campaigning on the promise to take a harder-line with American management in ongoing contract talks.

It looks like that promise wasn't an idle one. Union spokesman Gregg Overman notes Hill "doesn't mince words, and that's pretty clear from the letter. It's very direct."

"AMR executives love to listen to labor's ideas for solving "their" problems, but have nothing to say in response to our bitter complaints of being cut out of the rewards while management counts the gold," Hill writes, according to the letter published on the Star-Telegram website. "In our view, the [Joint Leadership Team] has been a cruel hoax perpetrated upon AA employees. We were promised regular meetings to discuss and improve our gain-sharing programs, yet after 47 months we are still waiting for this promise to be kept."

Hill also slams Arpey (shown at right) for American's poor customer service ratings, stating "your solution always seems to involve hiring another (vice president) or forming another 'team.'" And he asserts American's drive to slash costs wherever possible -- including allegations the airline puts pressure on sick pilots to return to work -- have led to "unprecedented suicide rates" among the ranks.

"One pilot caught in this drive to reduce costs was forced to come off his medications to try to" return to flying, Hill wrote. "His reaction to this cessation of treatment was to leave his wife and children behind, we are trying to reel him in before *he* kills himself."

And, in perhaps the most damning comment... Hill says Arpey makes the reign of former CEO Bob Crandall look "more and more like the peak of leadership in AMR's arc of history." The union president notes Crandall -- by no means a favorite of labor groups, either -- at least "did not enjoy big bonus payments unless employees received profit sharing."

As ANN reported earlier this year, executives at American received bonuses in April amounting to roughly $218 million. In January, former APA President Ralph Hunter noted, "It is particularly egregious to pay large bonuses when our airline has been experiencing such serious operational problems. Aren't bonuses normally paid for a job well done?"

Despite the ominous tone of Hill's letter, it is unlikely APA could strike American Airlines any time soon... as several federally-mandated milestones need to be reached before a strike becomes an option.

And even if a strike were to happen, the president of the United States can always order pilots back to work... as President Bill Clinton did in 1997, when he ordered American pilots back to work after a seven-minute labor action.

FMI: www.alliedpilots.org, www.aa.com