"[L]arge numbers of the traveling public are likely to be deprived of transportation services, causing serious and substantial damage to the public interest” if union workers don’t perform their normal operations, Judge
The TWU-IAM Association—comprised of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers and Airline Mechanic and Related Employee Association—is the last major union at American still without a unified contract following the airline’s merger with US Airways in 2013.
Contract talks between American and the association broke down in April. Since then, union members “have dramatically expanded their illegal slowdown activities,” American said in its injunction request, filed just hours before the judge issued his order.
The airline said in a statement that it was pleased with the temporary restraining order forcing the union to comply with its legal obligations.
“American Airlines relies on its Tech Ops team and the thousands of highly-skilled mechanics who maintain our aircraft, and we look forward to working with them to get back to running the most efficient operation for our customers,” the company said.
The union instructed its employees in advisories June 14 and June 17 to read the court order and abide by it. “No employee should engage in any concerted refusal to perform normal operations,” the union said.
American CEO Doug Parker said during a June 12 shareholders’ meeting that the company is offering the mechanics a contract “that is superior to any contract that any other airline has in place.” It doesn’t take many mechanics “to get to the point where we don’t have enough airplanes ready to fly in the morning.”
John Samuelsen, president of the Transport Workers Union, sees things differently.
There is no illegal slowdown action, he said, attributing problems with planes to “gross mismanagement” by the airline. But there could be a strike against the airline if it keeps on its current path, he said. Samuelsen acknowledged that there are procedural barriers to a strike under federal law that means it won’t happen anytime soon.
“We would rather settle the contract now but American Airlines isn’t negotiating” on the issue of keeping mechanics’ work in the U.S., Samuelsen said the day before the injunction was issued.
“At a minimum, the unions believe that employees should keep the work they had prior to the merger,” the TWU-IAM Association said in its response to the airline’s original complaint. The company’s “last proposal if accepted could eliminate 2200 maintenance jobs almost immediately,” the union said.
American declined to comment on the negotiations ahead of Judge McBryde’s order, instead referring Bloomberg Law to Parker’s remarks at the shareholders’ meeting.
Union Must Show Action
McBryde’s order also called on the union association to show by June 18 the actions it is taking to comply with the court’s ruling.
In response, the association issued to members a notice of the court order, calling for “immediate compliance.”
Members must not “refuse to accept overtime,” “fail to complete maintenance repairs,” “slow down performance,” or “take any other action intended to cause aircraft to be out of service,” the association said in its notice.
The association also directed members to post the notice on all bulletin boards.
‘They Have Tightly Staffed Us’
American is bargaining not only with its mechanics but also with unions representing its 28,000 flight attendants and its 15,000 pilots, all at the same time.
The airline mechanics union isn’t the only one with a beef against American. Its pilots’ union says the airline is dragging its heels in labor talks and not providing information about its specific proposals, and its flight attendants union wants staffing changes.
“They have tightly staffed us. It’s just the bare minimum under FAA regulations,” said Lori Bassani, president of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, referring to the Federal Aviation Administration.
This can cause disruptions for passengers if there are weather problems or if a flight attendant is ill and misses a shift, Bassani said.
Dennis Tajer, a spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association, says the pilots are focused on improving their profit-sharing deal, along with scheduling, pay, and benefits. Parker during his presentation acknowledged profit sharing is an issue.
American pays its pilots “very close to the highest pay rates in the industry” and provides “fantastic” benefits, but “other airlines have allocated more profit sharing to their pilot workforce than we currently do,” Parker said. The airline will address this issue in the talks with the pilots, he said.
The airline is aiming to wrap up talks with the pilots and flight attendants by the end of the year, Parker said at the meeting. Bassani and Tajer in separate interviews said they were skeptical of this claim.
The case is American Airlines Inc v. Transport Workers Union of America, AFL-CIO, N.D. Tex., No. 4:19-cv-00414, Temporary Restraining Order Granted 6/14/19.
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