ALPA Blasts 'Regressive' Move On The Part Of The Airline

Indications are that AMR Corp. will file a motion in its bankruptcy proceedings by the end of the month to reject union contracts at its American Eagle regional carrier, according to a message circulated by ALPA.

The union said that a proposed contract submitted by the airline Friday was "virtually indistinguishable' from one presented to the carrier's pilots in March, according to a report in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The hotline message sent to the union members said that negotiators were told if an agreement was not made soon, the airline would file the most recent proposal as a Section 1113 motion in the bankruptcy proceedings.

The union called the proposal "regressive," in that some items previously offered had been removed, though they did not elaborate on those changes. The union also said that AMR had not made the same concessions on cost savings targets for American Eagle as it had for American Airlines.

In the March contract proposal AMR had sought $43 million in savings, including pay and vacation cuts, as well as a reduction in the company's contribution to the pilots' 401(k) plans. It had also asked for talks on pay for pilots to move to larger airplanes.

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