Cites Membership Mandate, Dramatic Increase In Management Compensation

They're not backing down. The Allied Pilots Association (APA), representing 12,000 pilots of American Airlines, presented a pay proposal Tuesday to the carrier’s management, designed to restore the pilots' lost purchasing power.

Current American Airlines pilot pay rates are slightly lower than what they were in 1992, according to the union, as inflation eroded the pilots’ purchasing power by more than 33 percent since that time. APA says its proposal calls for adjusting current pay rates to account for post-1992 annual inflation, as reflected by the Consumer Price Index.

American Airlines management rejected an earlier pay proposal APA’s previous leadership made in May. Shortly thereafter, the membership elected its current national officers by the widest margin and with the largest voter turnout in APA history.

Upon taking office, the newly elected leadership commissioned a survey of the membership regarding the ongoing contract negotiations with American Airlines management.As ANN reported, those leaders also took the fight for a new contract straight to AMR Corp. CEO Gerard Arpey's mailbox, with a blistering letter comparing Arpey -- unfavorably -- to former, and much despised, CEO Bob Crandall.

"Our pilots were unequivocal in our recently concluded membership survey—it’s time to restore their purchasing power," said APA President Captain Lloyd Hill on Tuesday. "Moreover, that erosion accelerated dramatically for our pilots and their families with the deep concessions we made beginning in 2003."

Hill pointed out the majority of American Airlines’ pilots have been with the airline since the early 1990s, which means that pilots have endured an ongoing decline in their standard of living for much of their careers with the carrier.

"In sharp contrast to what our pilots have endured, American Airlines management has given itself what amounts to an exponential increase in compensation over the same period. What we are seeking for our pilots doesn’t even begin to approach management’s gains," Hill said.

APA states American Airlines’ five "Named Executive Officers" -- as identified in documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission -- have experienced an increase of 469 percent in their total compensation since 1992.

For the CEO, the increase has been even more dramatic. In 1992, Crandall's total compensation was $1,013,471. Current CEO Gerard Arpey’s total compensation for 2007 will be $8,344,971 -- an increase of 723 percent, representing a 560 percent increase in purchasing power when adjusted for inflation, accoridng to the union.

"It is well past time to restore our pilots’ purchasing power," Hill said. "After all, management compensation has done much more than simply keep pace with inflation. By any measure, the past 15 years have been extremely lucrative for our airline’s senior executives."

FMI: www.apanegotiations.com, www.aa.com