APA News Digest

June 23, 2023

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In This Edition ...

What’s the Delay?

APA leadership sent the following message to all members on Thursday.

After a long pause in membership updates regarding our contract negotiations, many of you are rightly asking, “What’s the delay?” The simple answer: It’s the implementation schedule!

Our Negotiating Committee has worked tirelessly over the past several weeks to complete the drafting of full contract language in the proposed TA. That process was completed earlier this week. According to our governing documents, however, the Board cannot meet to consider the proposed TA until it is also presented with an agreed-upon implementation schedule. Despite their efforts to secure an implementation schedule that is reasonable and contains appropriate penalties in the event management fails to deliver on the deal it has negotiated, the Negotiating Committee has reported that management is simply unwilling to agree to be held accountable for the commitments it has made in the proposed TA.

We are all too familiar with Robert Isom’s management team not living up to their promises and not being held accountable. They sometimes don’t implement the agreed-upon provisions or simply pick and choose which ones they like.

Fresh in our memories are the 62 unimplemented contractual items they somehow couldn’t get around to implementing MORE THAN A DECADE AFTER the last exit-from-bankruptcy agreement. Many of these unimplemented provisions have caused financial and quality-of-life harm to us. Management simply couldn’t find “the time” or the “programming resources,” or chose not to spend the money required to implement those items. Sometimes, they didn’t even bother to give us a reason for their failure to comply.

Ironically, one of the principles that Robert Isom mentions most often when discussing his vision for his tenure as CEO is “accountability.” That’s right, “accountability.” That isn’t a typo. Well, we plan on holding him accountable this time.

The implementation schedule is a core component of our contract. Non-compliance penalties for management are something that you, the membership, have rightfully demanded.

At this point, management continues to push back against any penalties for not implementing contractual enhancements, causing a delay in the closeout of these negotiations, and leading us to question whether they ever intended to grant those enhancements in the first place. None of us can afford to assume that this time will be any different than the last time.

You know the old saying: “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”

Due to the lack of progress on this issue, we will be making it clear to Robert Isom, his investors, and the traveling public that the blame for American Airlines not removing uncertainty, securing future flying, fully utilizing its current aircraft, unclogging its training pipeline, and thus improving the airline’s revenue stream falls squarely on his shoulders. A special APA Board of Directors meeting will be scheduled soon to chart a path forward.

Thank you for standing by for further updates.

In Unity,

CA Ed Sicher, APA President
CA Chris Torres, APA Vice President
FO Patrick Clark, APA Secretary-Treasurer

CA Paul McFarland, BOS Domicile Chair
CA Gemma Meehan, BOS Domicile Vice Chair

CA Doug Hancock, CLT Domicile Chair
FO Erik DeWinne, CLT Domicile Vice Chair

CA Joe Collins, DCA Domicile Chair
CA Tim Doreen Jr., DCA Domicile Vice Chair

CA Jon Sherrell, DFW Domicile Chair
FO Jason Gustin, DFW Domicile Vice Chair

CA Bill Evans, LAX Domicile Chair
CA Tim Dick, LAX Domicile Vice Chair

CA Lawrence Cutler, LGA Domicile Chair
CA Jim Scanlan, LGA Domicile Vice Chair

CA Thomas Copeland, MIA Domicile Chair
CA Anne Witcher, MIA Domicile Vice Chair

CA Wes Smith, ORD Domicile Chair
FO Paul Meyers, ORD Domicile Vice Chair

FO Paul DiOrio, PHL Domicile Chair
CA Kevin Wilkes, PHL Domicile Vice Chair

CA David Duncan, PHX Domicile Chair
FO Brian Ellis, PHX Domicile Vice Chair

Multi-Union Picketing Planned for June 28 at DFW

This is a new message from the APA Strike and Tactical Operations Planning Committee.

We’re obviously fed up with American management’s tactics, but that does not make us unique among the airline’s work groups. A coalition of labor unions – including the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, the Communications Workers of America, the Service Employees International Union, and the Transport Workers Union of America – plans to conduct informational picketing at DFW on June 28, in advance of the Fourth of July holiday weekend. The event will be at C14 from 1045 to 1145. If you can stand with us that day, email STOP-Chair@alliedpilots.org.

Do You Back the PAC?

This is an updated message from the APA Government Affairs Committee.

Members of Congress have offered amendments to the FAA reauthorization bills that would raise the mandatory retirement age for pilots and lower the number of flight hours needed to obtain an Airline Transport Pilot transport certificate. Your Government Affairs Committee is working hard to convince lawmakers that these measures are unnecessary, unwise, and dangerous. We are able to have direct access to members of Congress thanks to your voluntary contributions to the APA Poltical Action Committee.

Last month, 5,598 pilots contributed to the APA PAC. That number represented 36.8 percent of APA’s active members. Click the image below for a closer look at each domicile’s PAC contribution rates in March, April, and May.

Our Political Action Committee would be extremely well-funded if every APA member contributed as if his or her career depended on it – because it does.

Click here to back the PAC.

New Hotel Survey Updates

This is a new message from the APA Hotel Committee.

We appreciate the feedback from our pilots and everyone’s participation in the quick hotel survey on the APA Mobile app. While we know it seems longer, the additional data is extremely helpful in improving hotels and transportation. Pilots have said once they have completed a few surveys and are more proficient it only takes them 30 to 45 seconds to complete.

Simply put, we have outgrown the limited amount of data the old survey provided. To keep the new survey as simple as possible, we collect feedback without using any drop-down menus or endless question looping. Pages 1-2, if applicable, just slide to poor or great, Page 3 is only “if applicable,” and Pages 4-5 require selection of one answer for transportation.

These surveys are vital to improving the layover experience. The Hotel Committee uses the data to find out where our problem hotels are and to push to get out of them. It gives us a big picture of how the membership feels about each of our hotels. Additionally, when we review a market, we use the data from the incumbent hotels to determine if the pilots would like to keep or leave the property.

Surveys are not automatically popping up until the release of Mobile 2.0. Currently, you can access all surveys in your APA Mobile app inbox. They will soon pop up automatically like they did in the past.

We appreciate your patience and your continued participation. Please know your time investment is helpful and very useful for us to gain a FL350 view of all layovers.

For more information, see the QRH – Quick Reference Hotels document, which should answer 99 percent of all hotel and transportation questions while providing helpful solutions. Suggestion: Download this QRH document to your AA iPad for easy access in the future.

Can a Reserve Pilot Get Sit RIG?

This is the latest in a series of Q&As from the APA Contract Compliance Committee.

Q: Is a Reserve pilot who flies an OG or PR sequence entitled to Sit RIG, as prescribed in Section 15.E.4?

A: Yes, the pay should be annotated as Above Guarantee. If you do not see the entries on your HI1 or HI2, please submit a Direct Connect to PayComp.

Section 15.C.4.a
Reserve pilots can be assigned flying up to eighty-five (85) hours. Reserve pilots may elect to fly on days off at Company option and will be paid above guarantee.

Section 15.E.4
1:2 Pay For Scheduled Sit Times over 2 Hours
Duty periods with scheduled sit times greater than two (2) hours shall receive one (1) minute of pay for every two (2) minutes of sit time in excess of two (2) hours. This provision applies to scheduled sit-times only (i.e. as allocated), the time is not credited and the pay only applies to the time above the first two (2) hours and will be paid in addition to any other pay earned in accordance with Section 15.E., F. or G.

Pigs of the Week

APA commends American Airlines’ hardworking aircraft maintenance technicians for their outstanding work. We believe they are the best in the business. When repetitive problems do arise, they’re often due to managerial decisions that fail to properly prioritize tasks and to management’s decision to outsource a significant portion of the airline’s maintenance to offshore, third-party repair stations.

  • In the last month, the right engine thrust reverser on A319 aircraft 716 has been written up seven times, been on MEL four times, and been out of service three times. At the time of this writing, it remained on MEL.
  • B737 aircraft 3BY has experienced five SOF (smoke-odor-fume) events in the last two weeks, with the most recent one happening on June 20. At the time of this writing, there was a TAC restricting it to Class 1 maintenance stations.
  • In the last two months, the APU on B737 aircraft 3RV has been written up 15 times, been on MEL five times, and been out of service four times. At the time of this writing, it was out of service and had a TAC restricting it to Class 1 or 2 maintenance stations.
  • UPDATE: Since February, B787 aircraft 8AJ has been written up 26 times for R1 door air leak/noise and has been out of service six times. This was most recently signed off on June 22.

APA Welcomes Captains’ Leadership Class

This is a new message from the APA Membership Committee.

Click the image for a closer look.

On June 21, the APA Membership Committee hosted a casual dinner for the following pilots who were in Fort Worth for American Airlines’ Professionalism, Leadership, and Mentoring class: Mark Ackerman, Wesley Baucom, Ryan Baughman, Neal Baylor, Phillip Beall, Mikael Boge, Matthew Bourg, Scott Brunet, Mark Covell, Joshua Crowley, Neil Delaney, Eric Faraday, Jonathan Fowler, Alex Golembiewski, Brandon Hargrove, Aubrey Harris III, David Izard, Aleksandr Kozyrev, Collin Lachapelle, Rodney Lewis, David Lynch, Nick Maywand, Mehran Mushtaq, Matthew Nemecek, Marc Patane, Travis Prime, Alexander Richards, Reginald Roberts, Casey Roddy, Brian Slipke, Jeffrey Smith, Robert Tomlinson, Edward Topper, Donald Wiley, Jack Williams, Kevin Wilson, Kurt Wohldmann, and Rocco Zavaglia.

Domicile Events

Get more details about these upcoming events at AlliedPilots.org/Calendar:

  • BOS: Boston Red Sox game on June 28
  • DCA: Domicile Meeting on July 14; Baltimore Orioles game on July 17
  • PHX: Concourse Conversations on July 20; Arizona Diamondbacks game on July 24

Domicile Elections

PHL and PHX pilots will elect a Chair and a Vice Chair to represent each domicile on the APA Board of Directors for a two-year term starting on Nov. 1.

The electronic submission for nomination process is now open, and it will close at 0001 Central on June 30. Pilots whose names have been submitted have until 0001 Central on July 7 to complete the Willingness to Serve and Conflict of Interest forms. The results of the electronic submissions will be certified at 1000 Central on July 7.

If you have any questions regarding the nomination process, please call the APA Elections Department at 817-302-2175.

Are You Willing to Serve?

Each of these national committees or subcommittees has the indicated number of vacancies:

  • Aeromedical Committee (1)
    • Critical Incident Response Program (1)
    • Disabled Pilot Awareness Subcommittee (3)
    • Human Intervention Motivation Study Subcommittee (3)
    • Pilot Occupational Health Subcommittee (2)
    • Project Wingman Subcommittee (4)
  • Captain’s Authority Committee (4)
  • Communications Committee (0)
    • National Communications Network (6)
  • Compass Project (6)
  • Grey Eagles Liaison Committee (1)
  • Hotel Committee (2)
  • Jumpseat/Non-Rev Committee (4)
  • Professional Standards Committee (1)
  • Retirement & Benefits Committee (2)
  • Safety Committee (0)
    • Air Traffic and Procedures Subcommittee (3)
    • Environmental Sustainability in Aviation Subcommittee (2)
  • Scheduling Committee (8)
  • Training Committee (2)
    • Checkmate (2 on 777 and 1 on 320)
  • Uniform (1 female)

If you would like to serve on one or more of these committees, visit the National Committee Volunteer Portal.

Professional Standards FAQs

What types of issues will Professional Standards accept?
Almost any issue that would benefit from the peer-to-peer method of resolution is acceptable, such as individual conflicts, ineffective operating methods/techniques, problems of a professional or ethical nature, conduct that could lead to discipline, and recognizing exceptional performance.

To read all of the FAQs, click here.

Professional Standards’ 24/7 hotline: 817-402-2181

If You’re 50, Join The Grey Eagles

Are you a pilot for American Airlines, at least age 50, active or retired? Please join The Grey Eagles for food, fun, and fellowship. We offer cruises, conventions, monthly luncheons, retirement dinners, professional mentoring, and assistance to surviving spouses – all for a one-time lifetime fee.

Pilot Job Fairs and Future Pilot Seminars

Future & Active Pilot Advisors’ next Pilot Job Fairs and Future Pilot Seminars are scheduled for July 15 at ORD followed by Aug. 19 at IAD. Click here for more information.

Industry News

For more about what’s happening in the industry, be sure to visit the Industry News page on AlliedPilots.org.

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