HOLD ON -- HANGING CHAD...
WSJ: AMR/Attendants-2: Terms Changed, But Votes Couldn't
15 Apr 15:13
By Scott McCartney
Of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
DALLAS (Dow Jones)--The flight attendants' union at AMR Corp.'s (AMR)
American Airlines narrowly rejected $340 million worth of contract concessions
by only a few hundred votes, people familiar with the situation said, but the
company and union are discussing whether to hold a new vote because of problems
in balloting.
(This report and related background will be available at the Journal's Web
site, WSJ.com.)
The board of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants is meeting to
discuss the results. People familiar with the matter say there have been
discussions between the union and AMR management on the possibility of allowing
a new vote, perhaps in as short a time as 24 hours, because flight attendants
weren't allowed to change their vote even as contract terms changed last week.
Unions representing pilots and ground workers approved concessions earlier
Tuesday. Without ratification by all three unions of the plan to slash $1.8
billion in annual labor costs, American has said it will file for bankruptcy
reorganization.
Late Monday, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants asked senior
executives at American for an extension on the company's self-imposed noon EDT
deadline today because of "problems with the balloting process, including the
delay in the delivery of the contract language to the APFA membership."
American rejected that request, but people familiar with the matter said the
company left open the possibility that if the vote was close, and only the
flight attendants union rejected the deal, another vote would be allowed. Such
a move would have to be approved by the union board, which last week had made
the decision not to allow members to change their votes.
Leaders of both the Allied Pilots Association and the Transport Workers Union
allowed their members to change votes in the Internet and telephone balloting
supervised by the American Arbitration Association. That proved critical when
American agreed to several contract enhancements late last week, including
shortening the duration of concessionary contracts for pilots and flight
attendants by four months and adding a wage bonus plan of up to 4.5% annually
if AMR regains an investment-grade credit rating.
The flight attendants' union, however, didn't allow members to change votes
because of a requirement in the union's constitution. Many flight attendants
voted early, union officials said earlier, when anger over the contract cuts
was running deep and the company's offer to sweeten the pot wasn't yet known.
-Scott McCartney, The Wall Street Journal; 1-214-951-7104
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
04-15-03 1513ET |
