Heres a perfect example of one reason why the public is "shy" of buying stocks.
Yet another example of the good ole boy insiders giving themselves perks. Caught with their hands in the cookie jar. They even have more shame than Intels insiders...!
The Unions out of bitterness now may well bankrupt the company. Shareholders would be toast.
American Airlines deal in jeopardy after key union urges new vote
WASHINGTON (AFP) - A labor-management deal designed to save the world's largest airline from bankruptcy appeared in jeopardy, after the leader of a key union, angered by the disclosure of new executive perks, called for a new vote on the cost-cutting package.
John Ward, president of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA), said he had sent American chairman and chief executive officer Don Carty a letter "notifying him that APFA intends to reballot the membership on the restructuring participation agreement."
The announcement, made late Friday, came amid a growing outcry among American Airlines union members over a new executive compensation package that came to light just after the unions voted to accept 1.8 billion dollars in annual salary cuts to save the struggling company from going belly up.
<<< The package, revealed in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (news - web sites) (SEC), included hefty retention bonuses for six top airline executives and a special trust to protect the pensions of 45 top company officials in the event of bankruptcy.>>>
<<<Carty said the purpose of the package was to give top managers an incentive to stay with the company in the difficult post-September 11 environment "when many were being offered more generous packages to go elsewhere.>>>
My comment: Oh sure, ROTFLMAO
But faced with anger among American employees, he issued his apologies and said the company was cancelling the retention plan.
Ward, however, said he was not impressed.
"No doubt, this cancellation is only a result of the fact that they were caught with their hands in the cookie jar," he said in a statement.
He stressed the flight attendants' union remained committed to doing everything possible to enable the company to avoid bankruptcy but was also determined to protect the best interests of its membership.
"That necessitates that our members be given a fresh opportunity to vote on the proposed terms in an untainted environment," Ward argued.
He did not say when a new vote might take place. But industry analysts believe a new ballot could easily scuttle the cost-cutting plan, to which the flight attendants gave only narrow approval last week -- and only on a second second try.
Wednesday's membership vote was 10,761 in favor of salary and benefit cuts and 9,652 against.
APFA represents about a quarter of American Airlines' total workforce of about 100,000.
Ward became the second union leader to question his continued commitment to the labor-management deal since the new executive perks came to light.
James Little, an official of the Transport Workers Union, threatened Friday to abandoned the agreement as well.
"We have signed no new agreement," he said, "and in light of the disclosure of American Airlines' SEC filing, we must reconsider whether we will sign off, even if the consequence is bankruptcy."
Like most other US airlines, American has been hemorrhaging cash since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks when the fear of new hijackings turned thousands of passengers away from air travel. |
