American Airlines' pilots suspend talks with airline, contemplate new proposal

Wednesday 02/08/2017 - Source: Travel Industry View

American Airlines' pilots have temporarily suspended contract talks with the airline, while union leaders retool their negotiations strategy.

Lloyd Hill, an American captain who is the new president of the Allied Pilots Association, told union board members last week that he plans to conduct a survey of members about their goals for the new contract. Hill, a Miami-based pilot, was elected after promising to take a more aggressive posture with airline management.

"Suspending the bargaining process to briefly retool, while painful for some, is necessary," he told board members. His comments were distributed to pilots. Once the polling is completed, he said, "we will rebuild our bargaining positions, where necessary, to accurately reflect current membership desire."

During their meeting, board members added three new members to the union's negotiating committee. American spokeswoman Sue Gordon said a meeting was scheduled to meet the new members, but no sessions are planned beyond that.

"From the company's perspective, we stand ready to negotiate," she said. "We're prepared to sit down at the table and have a meaningful conversation about the issues."

Union spokesman Gregg Overman said it is too early to say when talks will resume. "We're still working through that question," he said.

Pilots are pushing for improvements to wages and benefits, which were slashed in 2013 when American was on the brink of bankruptcy. Airline management, meanwhile, is determined to keep labor costs under control, and recently proposed looking at improving pilot productivity.

The union's previous president, Ralph Hunter, had proposed a 30 percent wage hike as well as a signing bonus. But most expect the new leadership to come up with their own proposal, which could differ substantially from Hunter's.

Although talks began last year, the pilots' contract isn't open for changes until next April. Negotiations could stretch far beyond that date.