American Airlines Will Propose ‘Draconian’ Contract in Bankruptcy Court, Pilots Say

• Joe Wertz
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  Joe Wertz was a reporter and managing editor for StateImpact Oklahoma from 2011-2019. He reported on energy and environment issues for national NPR audiences and other national outlets. He previously worked as a managing editor, assistant editor and staff reporter at several major Oklahoma newspapers and studied journalism at the University of Central Oklahoma.

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It’s been almost 11 weeks since the bankrupt parent company of American Airlines started negotiating a restructured labor agreement with its pilots.

But AMR Corp. executives haven’t budged from contract terms they presented on Feb. 1 or offered any counter-proposals, the Tulsa World reports.

“Throughout our restructuring negotiations with AMR management, one thing has become clear: AMR has been just going through the motions and checking off the squares,” Allied Pilots Association President Dave Bates wrote in an email to union members, reports the paper’s D.R. Stewart.

AMR and its three labor unions — the APA, the Transport Workers Union and the Association of Professional Flight Attendants — will meet in U.S. Bankruptcy Court on Monday for a hearing on the company’s motion to sever its collective bargaining agreements.

On Wednesday, the Fort Worth, Texas-based company also announced plans to cut 1,200 airport baggage and cargo jobs and close and Arizona reservations center, Bloomberg News reports.

AMR wants to cut $1.25 billion from its annual labor costs. Here’s the World’s breakdown:

• $390 million from its mechanics
• $370 million from the pilots
• $230 million from flight attendants
• $165 million from management and support staff
• $95 million from non-union employees

AMR also wants to cut 13,000 employees, including 2,100 from Tulsa’s Maintenance & Engineering Center.