1. APA, APFA update: A lot more information came out this week about both groups and their attempts to get new joint agreements.While both have similar agreements to reach new agreements they are seemingly being treated differently. There was plenty of back and forth chatter between the company and the Allied Pilots Association while the deadline for them to reach a deal has passed. Almost a week after their mutual agreement to submit for binding arbitration they continue to talk. At the same time the Flight Attendants are past the deadline and scheduled for arbitration Dec 3rd. C.E.O. Parker has been abundantly clear on his thoughts in regards to the status of reaching a new deal with the Flight Attendants. The path to an agreement is quite different from their Pilot counterparts. Please click on the links below for more information.
2. Open mouth, insert foot: Earlier this week C.E.O. Doug Parker. when discussing profit sharing, said “It’s just not the right way to pay 100,000 employees that don’t have that much impact on the daily profits.” He later backtracked and said that's not what he really meant to say. While he has been very outspoken about his belief on profit sharing, this kind of comment hurts his credibility with his employees at a time he should be reaching out to form better relationships with all the employees that have sacrificed so much to see this company return to profitability. It seems that color of the suits may change but their views and opinions about their employees don't. Please click on the link below for more details.
3. Envoy losing more planes: It was announced this week more regional jets are being moved away from Envoy and to other regional carriers. Please click on the link below for more details.
4. Ambitious AE Drivers: We continue to hear stories, random as they may be, the some AE drivers want to help themselves to bags coming off AA planes or wish to give AA crews direction as to how they would like the AE bags off loaded. The procedure is clear. They are only to pick up AE bags when they are left in a cart at the back of the arriving aircraft. I've attached the policies to this email for your reference.
5. Contract Preparation Survey: Earlier this month, the President's from all the T.W.U. Locals that represent employees at AA were called to Washington D.C for a special President's Council. One of the items discussed was the need for input from their members on what they wanted to see when joint negotiations start with the I.A.M. for the first joint contract at the new AA. This survey is the first step in determining the issues that you deem as the most important. It is a starting point and will continue to be a work in progress. Please fill out the survey completely and return it to the UnionOffice no later than 12:00 on Friday Dec. 5, 2014. The survey is in the DOWNLOADS section of our website under SURVEY. If you have any questions, please call the office and speak to an Officer.
This week is sure to be busier than normal and Mother Nature will probably throw some weather events our way too. While a successful airline is important for all of us, it should never come in lieu of safety. There were numerous accidents last week and a healthy company is not nearly as important as a healthy workforce. Please work smart and stay safe.