A diplomatic warning from pilots at American Airlines should be taken very seriously by upper management.
As of January 1, 2020, AA pilot contracts became amendable. This means that the existing contract is still in force, but can now be modified. With AA profitable, pilots are expecting healthy pay raises and other benefit increases.
A year ago, American Airlines CEO Doug Parker said, “[S]hame on us if we can’t figure out, over the course of a year, how to get a contract done before the amendable date.”
Well, here we are. And in a well-articulated, well-argued, diplomatic note, Captain Eric Ferguson, the President of the Allied Pilots Association, laid out the arguments for why a new contract not only makes sense for pilots, but makes sense for AA.
Notice the veiled threat in the first paragraph:
“No question, we’re disappointed by management’s failure to make good on Mr. Parker’s stated goal, but all is not lost. At least not yet.”
Ferguson goes on to note the delta between AA and the competition:
“We’re sick of scheduling practices that are based on coercion, instead of the incentives our most successful competitors use.”
What AA Pilots Want
He calls for a new contract that will:
- Improve scheduling, company transparency and accountability, and quality of work life
- Achieve industry-leading hourly pay rates and address gaps in compensation and benefits with peers
- Undertake contract repair, with a focus on items that were lost in bankruptcy
Ferguson argues these practices will make American Airlines more profitable:
“Our proposals address our pilots’ needs and also take into account the needs of American Airlines, its passengers, and its investors. They’re designed to create efficiencies and rid our operations of wasteful scheduling practices that degrade operational integrity and our pilots’ quality of life. They will help repair American Airlines’ reliability issues, with particular focus on provisions for swift recovery performance during IROPS.”
Let’s PlAAy Nice
Rather than attack Parker, Ferguson goes out of his way to praise him:
“I give Mr. Parker due credit for being a prime mover behind the U.S. airline industry’s transformation into a stable and profitable industry through consolidation. He had a vision and the tenacity to see it through. Nonetheless, during the six years since the merger, it appears he and his team have fallen short in day-to-day execution and in their ability to bargain with employees.”
But ends with a veiled threat:
“While there’s still time remaining, it’s far from infinite — and neither is our patience.”
You can read the entire letter here.
I found myself nodding in agreement throughout my reading of the letter. Yes, there are some threats. Yes, I don’t think pilots should use operational reliability as a weapon of warfare, like the mechanics did. But Ferguson’s arguments make a lot of sense. Just like “happy wife, happy life” it is clear that engaged, dedicated, passionate employees help to make a business flourish. That has a cost.
CONCLUSION
I predict this sober-minded note will lead to a better outcome than threats of the “bloodiest, ugliest battle that the United States labor movement ever saw.” Still, negotiations will be tense and both sides should expect to compromise. But AA cannot dismiss the gist of this note, namely that pilots are reasonable in expecting a pay raise and that the health of American Airlines is tied to their own financial security.
> Read More: Meanwhile, Disaster Awaits American Airlines
image: American Airlines
I can’t imagine a pilot’s job is very exciting or glamorous. All those midnight trans pacific flights which after take off, and auto pilot on, you stare into nothingness for hours together.
A reasonable threat???…doesn’t work that way – a threat is a threat…nothing reasonable about it.
Perhaps the pilot’s can bring you in on a freelance basis to do spin for them. They send a letter with multiple “veiled” threats, accusations of coercion (at least twice) and the typical union bluster of how paying them more money for less work will actually save the airline…and you label it reasonable, diplomatic, well-articulated. Stick around Matthew Huckabee Sanders…you’ve got a bright future in today’s media jungle!
How about a company that 9/11 threatened the employees with “we are on steps of the courthouse to file bankruptcy unless the employees help us out with consessions ” Well the employees did help out and do you know what i gave up to help out? I gave up 20% of my pay,a weeks vacation, 5 holdays, work rules plus other things and to this day while the company is making billions and management is getting stock awards and cashing out in the millions none of what i gave up has be returned to me. Oh and by the way a few years later the company still filed for bankruptcy with 4 billion in the bank. So for all those of you who don’t work for American you should know what you are talking about before you comment.
Don’t you mean amendable not amenable?
Correct. Thanks!
the contracts are ridiculously complex. yes, they should reach or get close on those many goals of the AAL pilots, but that is far far far easier typed than done.
The Mechanics that work on your Jets are still waiting for a contract….
It’s pretty funny you are negotiating your second contract and three years later we still don’t have one.
You might as well start writing we are here to help out….
So they want an airline that went through bankruptcy and is marginally profitable only through its mileage program to become unprofitable by raising pay and benefits for pilots who already earn an exorbitant amount. Seems fair.
They have to give; they won’t win without giving. So they should just avoid the wasted time and mediation fees and agree to something reasonable quickly. It’s not like the idiotic leadership team is going to give another unsolicited raise, like after the merger (which of course provided zero ROI).
So does that mean aircraft mechanics will be considered skilled labor?
Wow you think pilots make an exorbitant amount already? How long have you been working in the industry may I ask. It seems fair that they get more as it is owed back to them. Before the company went into bankruptcy, most employees had to give up something or company threaten they would have to file bankruptcy and people would be out of work. Pilots gave up a lot in good faith to do what they could to keep things moving. To make this comment was completely uneducated!
As a mechanic we did not mess with operational reliability. If you could have stepped in my shoes working the line you would understand.
Captain calls MTX for a broken seat on a full flight, our system shows we have 1!!! part in stock that should fix it, we scavenge the warehouse (While pax are on board waiting and blogging about how we the mechanics suck) looking for it and it does not turn up. We end up having to take that broken seat out of service and by the time we sign the book the pilots usually go illegal because management does not put enough buffer for things like this in their flight time.
On the other hand, if we refuse to attempt to fix the seat (Defer it for later when there are parts in “stock”) to get the flight out, management also retaliates against us.
This whole thing is on management not stocking parts and literally flying the wings off the aircraft by trying to defer every single item that breaks on board until they decide to catch up and fix it.
The sad part is that Pilots (Who are hard workers and the blood of our company) will most likely have their contract before my 30,000 brothers and sisters who still work under the concessionary 9/11 wages and benefits. We can’t start over anywhere else at this point due to our tenure with AA.
Like the mechanics did?
Another industry blogging hack.
Ive worked for AA for 30 yrs , and its as worst as ive ever seen ,16 hour duty days ,constant reassignments, days off mean nothing!!! I feel AA is going to have a major ACCIDENT this year ,because of overworked and tired PILOTS, You heard it from an AA pilot!! Dont fly AA if U want a safe and rested pilot!! GOD BLESS!!!!!