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It’s Time: Allied Pilots Association Presents Openers for Section 6 Negotiations with American Airlines

FORT WORTH, Texas (Jan. 24, 2019) — The Allied Pilots Association (APA), representing the 15,000 pilots of American Airlines, presented its openers today to American Airlines management pursuant to Section 6 of the Railway Labor Act.

“APA and American Airlines management have an historic opportunity in these negotiations,” said APA President Capt. Daniel F. Carey. “Since the merger with US Airways more than five years ago, American Airlines has been consistently profitable, and the overall U.S. economy is likewise healthy. Thanks to this favorable economic backdrop, we are well-positioned to craft an agreement that benefits our pilots, passengers, the airline, and other stakeholders.

“It’s time to move beyond a contract borne out of bankruptcy, properly reward our pilots, and improve the airline’s operational performance,” he said. “We won’t be satisfied until our pilots and American Airlines both lead the industry.”

In a November letter to American Airlines management regarding the upcoming negotiations, Carey enumerated “four simple, straightforward values that will facilitate the change we seek and enable American Airlines to become the carrier and pilot employer of first choice.” Those values are:

• Safety first;
• Respect;
• Fairness; and
• A commitment to collaboration.

“We look forward to good-faith bargaining and a mutual commitment to concluding these talks promptly for the benefit of all concerned,” he said.

APA’s openers center on a series of key priorities, including:

• Improve scheduling, company transparency and accountability, and quality of work life.
• Achieve industry-leading hourly pay rates and address gaps in compensation and benefits with peers.
• Undertake contract repair, with a focus on items that were modified in bankruptcy.

“These negotiations will give us our long-awaited opportunity to achieve improvements and address contractual gaps with our peers,” said APA Negotiating Committee Chairman Capt. John Karam, “and to repair contractual shortfalls accumulated through multiple bankruptcies.”

Founded in 1963, the Allied Pilots Association — the largest independent pilots union in the United States — is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. APA represents the 15,000 pilots of American Airlines, including several hundred pilots on full-time military leave of absence serving in the armed forces. The union’s website is AlliedPilots.org. American Airlines is the world’s largest passenger airline.