Wed, Apr 15, 2009
"Pilot Givebacks Total Billions" -- Yet Execs Get
Millions?
On the same day American Airlines
parent company AMR Corp. announced a better-than-expected first
quarter loss of "only" $375 million, the pilots union at the
world's second largest airline questioned the "appropriateness" of
rewarding executives with over $6 million in bonuses for this
year.
"With this year’s bonuses of $6.5 million, American
Airlines management has collected more than $300 million in
stock-based bonuses during the past four years," reads a statement
issued Tuesday by the Allied Pilots Association. "We question the
appropriateness of these management bonuses, given the fact that
our pilots continue working under the concessionary contract that
we agreed to under duress six years ago. That concessionary
contract has since resulted in several billion dollars in
givebacks.
"In addition, today's pilot pay rates are virtually identical to
those of 16 years ago, which means our pilots have suffered a major
decline in purchasing power," the union writes.
Despite those cuts, American pilots are still near the top of
the pay scale among legacy carriers... as cockpit crews and other
airline workers throughout the industry saw their pay slashed in
the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks eight years ago. Most of those
workers saw their paychecks cut due to bankruptcy... but American's
pilots are somewhat unique in that regard. They took cuts early, to
stave off American having to file for Chapter 11.
The union says they gave until it hurt... but executives, led by
AMR CEO Gerard Arpey, have greatly benefitted.
"To say we are disappointed that American Airlines’
executives continue enriching themselves at the expense of
front-line workers would be a definite understatement," the union
asserts. "We are likewise concerned that management has taken steps
to make these stock-based bonuses more lucrative by significantly
increasing the number of shares that will be awarded in future
years.
"American Airlines would be better served if the executives
redirected their energies toward repairing fractured relations with
front-line employees, rather than devising new schemes to further
enrich themselves," APA concluded.
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