American's Top Union Issues Statement On Executive Perks

The Allied Pilots Association (APA) Sunday released the following statement by President Captain John Darrah regarding the enhancements to executive compensation that were revealed in AMR Corp.'s year-end report to shareholders:

"As we emphasized with the announcement of the flight attendants' approval of their tentative agreement, the membership of all three unions met the cost-savings targets that management established at the onset of negotiations. We have sacrificed deeply to enable American Airlines to avoid an immediate bankruptcy filing. Unfortunately, it appears that management is not off to a very promising start at making the most of the reprieve the unionized employees have provided through our collective sacrifices.

"As part of its annual report to shareholders, AMR Corp. is required by the Securities and Exchange Commission to file additional, more detailed supporting documents. These documents reveal that the top six executives will be eligible to receive cash retention bonuses of twice their annual salaries, through a so-called 'Retention Award Agreement,' if they stay through January 2005. AMR also established a 'Supplemental Executive Retirement Program' for its 45 top executives that protects a portion of their retirement income in the event of a bankruptcy filing.

No Briefing, No Way

"An article in today's edition of The Wall Street Journal reports that management 'briefed union leaders before the voting' about these new executive perquisites. That is totally erroneous. We found out about these enhancements to executive compensation only after AMR made its year-end financial filing with the SEC.

"As we seek clarification from management about why we were not previously informed of these items, our pilots are justifiably irate at the latest revelations. For that matter, every employee on this property should rightfully question management's motives and judgment with regard to enhancing executive compensation. After all, the members of all three unions have just agreed to sacrifice a total of $1.62 billion a year for the next six years.

"From the very beginning of our discussions concerning cost savings, we stressed to management that both the sacrifices and the potential future upside must be shared between the employees and management. In light of the debate we had with management at the very end of negotiations concerning equity and upside sharing, we are particularly disturbed to see that both the sacrifices and upside potential appear utterly lopsided. That is unacceptable. "On April 10 at a meeting in Dallas/Fort Worth with a large group of American Airlines employees, CEO Don Carty stated that 'Shared sacrifice has to lead to shared success...' Management would be wise to take this statement to heart and consider the ramifications of their decisions during this critical time."

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