Negotiating Committee Update

Initial Bargaining Sessions and NMB Visit

Over the last few weeks, the Negotiating Committee met with the Company for multiple sessions and traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with the National Mediation Board (NMB).

Sessions with the Company included the first formal Section 6 discussions as well as ongoing meetings regarding Aggressive Pick-up. While Section 6 bargaining is the primary focus, your Negotiating Committee continues to address and work through emergent issues and provide support to APA and its multiple committees and departments, including supporting APA Board priorities, grievances, and negotiating independent letters of agreement (LOA).

Section 6 Negotiations: First Steps

One of the first items to be finalized will be a Section 6 negotiations protocol agreement. This is an agreement between the parties that governs various parameters of the bargaining process, such as the frequency of meetings, how information and data sharing will be handled, notetaking rules, and other process-related items. The Negotiating Committee and the Company are nearing an agreement on this crucial first step of the Section 6 process. APA has also asked the Company for a strategic brief on American’s vision. Understanding the strategic direction of our Company by sharing relevant data and information improves the bargaining process and allows both parties to craft proposals that will benefit the pilot group and our airline.

Aggressive Pick-up, Blocked Trips, and LCP

The Association – including at the National Officer, Board of Directors, and negotiating team levels – has been engaged for several months to develop a path forward on Aggressive Pick-up (APU). Last week, we provided the Company with a proposal that would mitigate the technical shortcomings of APU. Our proposal addresses message delivery latency, introduces a seniority component, and would add prioritization of in-base over out-of-base pilots into the APU process. The Company’s position is that any agreement to make changes to APU outside of Section 6 negotiations would require adjustments to PBS AE qualification bidding requirements for the A321XLR. The Company has also expressed desires for additional items as part of an agreement to change Aggressive Pick-up.

Our proposal recognizes both APA’s desired fixes to Aggressive Pick-up as well as the Company’s requested relief for AE qualifications on the A321XLR (e.g., tailored PBS bidding limitations and training qualification flexibility that incorporates seniority into the training plan). We will continue to provide updates during the APU negotiating process.

We also met with the Company regarding blocked trips, training, and the Line Check Pilot (LCP) program. Previous discussions regarding blocked trips, which took place as a part of Post-Ratification Discussions, identified issues we are using to advance Section 6 bargaining. Discussions surrounding blocked trips will inevitably include the topic of LCPs. And while APA is grieving the Company’s decision not to implement the LCP language from the 2023 CBA, developing options to reduce the blocked trip effect on pilot schedules includes exploring training and LCPs.

Negotiating Team: Prepared and Ready

This week, members of the negotiating team attended training at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. The Negotiating Committee and Department are required by APA policy to attend negotiations training on an annual basis, and this is the latest continuing education effort, following previous training at Rutgers, Harvard, and Cornell.

The trip to Washington served a dual purpose. On Wednesday, APA President CA Nick Silva, APA Vice President CA Chris Torres, the Negotiating Committee and Department, and APA General Counsel Jim Clark met with Christopher Beebe, Director of Meditation Services at the NMB. We informed the NMB that we are now officially and formally in Section 6 bargaining, explained the potential for a joint petition of meditation services in one year in accordance with LOA 23-004, and walked through the philosophy behind APA’s Opener document. Director Beebe provided us with an update regarding available NMB services along with a discussion of the agency’s philosophical approach to closing out complex negotiations.

Interpretation Agreement Reached with AA Management

Lastly, the Negotiating Committee and the Company recently reached agreement on an interpretative clarifications document for a handful of topics. The clarifications do not impact particular actions that a pilot must take; however, they do provide clarity and alignment on interpretive issues that have occurred following the implementation of Recovery Obligation. Many of these clarifications more clearly define “original Sequence Footprint” for the purpose of Recovery Obligation and Reassignments, when reassignment Premium is or is not triggered, and when the levels of Reassignment Premium (50% or 100%) are triggered.

The Negotiating Committee will continue to provide regular updates during the Section 6 bargaining process. While discussions with the Company occur on a regular basis, there may not be as many initial updates regarding specific provisions. As the process continues and unfolds, we remain committed to keeping you informed; updates will be provided in regular intervals, ensuring the membership is apprised of any developments related to negotiations, and that we are representing the interests of the pilots as determined by our Board of Directors.

In Unity,

Your Negotiating Committee
CA Adam Rutherford, Chair
CA BJ West, Deputy Chair
CA Zach Blackburn
CA Alice Novatnak
CA Matthew Stanley
CA Patrick Zeller