Second American
union to vote againFORT WORTH, Texas >> A second major union at American Airlines said yesterday its members would vote again on a pay-cut package designed to keep the carrier from bankruptcy. The airline's chief apologizes
for granting executive bonusesBy David Koenig
Associated PressThe decision by the transport workers union came in response to an executive bonus and pension plan that has riled labor relations at the beleaguered airline.
American's chairman and chief executive, Donald J. Carty, repeated his apologies from last week about the perks, which were revealed after the airline's three main unions agreed to $1.8 billion in annual concessions.
"I made a mistake, and of course it was a big one," Carty said at a news conference.
The transport workers union said yesterday on its Web site that it would have a new vote. Late Friday, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants announced that its members would reconsider their $340 million share of the wage and benefit cuts American has said it needs to avoid bankruptcy.
The labor unrest prompted investors to sell shares of AMR Corp., American Airlines' parent, down 23 percent yesterday on the New York Stock Exchange. AMR shares fell $1.15 to close at $3.85. The shares jumped 52 percent last week, as American edged back from the brink of bankruptcy.
Some experts in labor law said the union could have valid cause for conducting a new election because the company did not disclose bonuses and payments to a pension trust for top executives while it negotiated with unions for pay and benefit cuts.
The bonuses were rescinded, but the company won't try to recover the undisclosed amount it paid to fund the pensions for 45 top executives.
A spokesman for the flight attendants union said members were just as upset yesterday as they were when they learned of the executive perks last week.
"The fact that we're re-balloting has really helped," said the union spokesman, George Price. "They did feel as though they were duped by the company, and now they feel they can make a fully informed decision."
The union at first rejected the concessions but reversed itself after voting was extended by a day, which the union blamed on technological glitches in the voting process. In the end, 52.7 percent of flight attendants who voted approved the concessions, fearing that bankruptcy would lead to even deeper wage and benefit cuts.
But company officials say they have a ratified contract with the union that takes effect May 1 and have declined further comment on the subject.
Some labor-law experts, however, say the unions could have legal grounds to challenge the election.
Charles Craver, a professor of labor law at The George Washington University, said unions have wide latitude in conducting ratification votes.
American Airlines