6.22.12 – (LAA) – AA Bankruptcy Update

 

This is Leslie Mayo, National Communications Coordinator, with the APFA Hotline for Friday, June 22, 2012.

AA Bankruptcy Update
Late yesterday afternoon, Judge Lane agreed to delay the announcing of his decision on AA’s 1113 motion to abrogate our contracts until next Friday, June 29th. The reason for this delay is attributed to a potential Tentative Agreement between AA and APA. Yes, they initially voted it down 11 yes/5 against on Wednesday night. But this situation is fluid and it is obviously uncharted territory. The good news is, our contract remains intact for another week along with APA’s and the two remaining TWU unions who did not ratify their T/A’s last month. To read the details of AA’s last best offer to the pilots, click here.

APFA is carefully assessing the situation and the issues raised by these recent developments. Here is what we know:

— The APA Board is continuing to meet to consider AA’s proposal. APA has stated that the additional time is necessary to provide the Board members a full explanation of the proposed changes.

— It has been reported that the APA Board will decide no later than Wednesday whether to send AA’s proposal to the Pilots for a ratification vote.

— AA has reduced its demand for Pilots’ concessions from a 20% cut to their contract to a 17% cut. AA has stated that this reduction will be applied to the non-contract employees and the TWU-represented employees who are covered by agreements that were ratified last month. It has not said whether this change would be offered to the Flight Attendants or the other TWU workers but did say that it is still interested in reaching consensual agreements with APFA and TWU.

Our immediate task in the days ahead is to get as complete an understanding of AA’s proposal to APA as possible. Of course, this won’t be possible until APA’s Board has received all the information it needs to decide whether a T/A will be submitted to the membership for ratification.

Also, the Company still has not indicated when it will consider strategic alternatives to it’s Standalone Plan and provide interested third parties like US Airways with the data it needs to make an informed offer.

Finally, in assessing and determining the best path forward we cannot forget that our primary focus is on the long-term future of American Airlines and our careers. Immediate wage increases and the like are important. They may, however, be of little lasting value if AA doesn’t survive on its standalone business plan.

Please remember that by doing anything to interrupt AA’s operations, it is unlawful and will only serve to distract from our goal. APFA has every reason to believe that this time will be no different than any other time – the Flight Attendants always come out on top. Stay unified and stay informed.