FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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First Officer Tom Hoban
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Gregg Overman
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ALLIED PILOTS ASSOCIATION APPLAUDS U.S. REP. ROBERT E. ANDREWS FOR AIRLINE PENSION FAIRNESS ACT
Fort Worth, Texas (May 23, 2012)—The Allied Pilots Association (APA), certified collective bargaining agent for the 10,000 pilots of American Airlines, praised U.S. Representative Robert E. Andrews (D-NJ) for sponsoring the Airline Pension Fairness Act of 2012 (H.R. 5715), which calls for extending special pension funding rules for commercial airlines.
“We are pleased that Representative Andrews has taken this step on behalf of the hard-working men and women of our nation’s commercial airlines,” said APA President Captain Dave Bates. “Our industry has faced a series of unprecedented challenges during the past decade, which have in turn placed severe pressure on the retirement security of tens of thousands of airline employees.”
The Airline Pension Fairness Act of 2012 would amend the Pension Protection Act of 2006 by extending special funding rules for certain retirement plans maintained by commercial airlines. The Pension Protection Act of 2006 was designed to encourage carriers to continue honoring their pension obligations to employees. That legislation gave pension plan sponsors more time to make required pension contributions while making it more costly for them to terminate pension plans.
“We would like to thank Representative Andrews for taking this important step and we encourage Congress to promptly adopt the Airline Pension Fairness Act of 2012,” Bates said.
Founded in 1963, the Allied Pilots Association—the largest independent pilot union in the United States—is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. APA represents the 10,000 pilots of American Airlines, including 649 pilots not yet offered recall from furlough. The furloughs began shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Also, several hundred American Airlines pilots are on full-time military leave of absence serving in the armed forces. The union’s Web site address is www.alliedpilots.org. American Airlines is the nation’s largest international passenger carrier and fifth-largest cargo carrier.