AMERICAN AIRLINES
Pilots defy court order
By Molly
Charboneau
Defying a federal back-to-work order, American Airlines
pilots carried out a rock-solid sick-out the week before the
Presidents Day weekend to prevent outsourcing of their work to
lower-paid pilots. Nearly one in four American pilots--over
2,400 out of 9,200--called in sick during the pre-holiday
week.
Their militant job action, which appears to have ended by
Feb. 16, forced American to cancel close to 5,000 flights.
The action has reportedly cost the airline over $50 million,
twice sent the company running to the courts for relief--and it
forced the second-largest U.S. carrier back to the bargaining
table.
American pilots are angry over serious contract violations
stemming from the Dec. 23 takeover of Reno Air by American's
parent company, AMR. The union contract requires Reno, or any
other newly-acquired airline, to be operated by American
pilots.
The union proposed that the 300 Reno pilots, who are paid
half the American pilot rate, be immediately covered by the
American pilot contract. That would guarantee the Reno pilots
better pay, benefits and work rules.
The company refused. American bosses said it would cost too
much and required an 18-month phase-in period. The pilots
decided to take action.
"It's not fair to shortchange Reno Air pilots like that, and
it's an institutional issue for us," said Captain Rich LaVoy,
president of the Allied Pilots Association. "We are expected to
abide by the terms of the contract we signed, and we are asking
management to do the same."
`No' to B-scale inequality
American pilots are particularly sensitive about Reno Air.
In 1992, when American pulled out of some Western markets and
furloughed pilots, Reno started flying the old American
routes.
American then subsidized Reno Air in various ways. The big
carrier provided management services and awarded American
frequent flier miles to Reno passengers.
Pilots' concerns were further heightened when American
floated the concept of a low-cost "airline within an airline"
during 1997 negotiations. The union rejected this notion.
"There is considerable concern among our pilots that the
Reno Air acquisition could represent another effort by
management to establish a two-tier wage scale at American
Airlines," LaVoy said. "We have no interest in repeating the
B-scale whereby one pilot was paid less than another for the
exact same job."
The B-scale was forced on airline unions in the 1980s. It
resulted in billions of dollars in profits for the
carriers.
Former American Airlines Chief Executive Officer Robert
Crandall initiated the B-scale. The struggle to overcome the
B-scale legacy and re-establish solidarity has fueled the
militancy of pilots, flight attendants, mechanics and other
workers at American.
One pilot noted, "He [Crandall] was such a tough person to
deal with, he created his counterpart in the union."
Contempt order shows contempt for workers
The big-business media were full of stories about thousands
of passengers inconvenienced by the sick-out and how pilots
should be happy they're so "high paid."
But little was said about the billions of dollars in
American Airlines' coffers--which makes the pilots' pay look
like peanuts--or the fact that the company caused the job
action by violating the union contract.
When the pilots defied the temporary restraining order and
continued their heroic job action, American ran quickly to U.S.
District Judge Joe Kendall. The airline bosses cried about
financial losses and demanded a "coercive fine" to stop the
pilots.
Kendall was more than happy to oblige.
On Feb. 13, Kendall issued a viciously worded contempt order
against the union. The order included a $10 million fine to
cover the airline's estimated losses.
The fine amounts to about one-quarter of the union's net
worth. Kendall threatened that "all the assets of the union"
would fit into "the overhead bin of a Piper Cub"--a
single-engine plan--if the job action continued.
In addition, President Bill Clinton issued a statement
calling on American and the pilots to "set aside differences
and work together to resolve the issues." That was another form
of pressure to end the job action.
The courts, the president and the Congress, as tools of the
super-rich, are always ready to step in on the side of the
bosses when workers undertake a successful struggle.
Kendall's contempt order--available in full at
http://www.alliedpilots.org--is worth reading for a lesson in
the contempt the ruling class shows toward the workers'
struggles.
Among other things, Kendall called the pilots "liars" for
calling in sick. He accused them of a "shakedown" of American,
likening them to gangsters. And he said it was "crystal clear
that the company is not responsible for the canceled flights,
passenger inconvenience and monetary damages passengers have
suffered."
No wonder American said it was "gratified" by the judge's
ruling. The pilots hope to appeal the order.
What is really crystal clear is that American Airlines
pilots have badly shaken one of the biggest, richest companies
in the United States and the world. Their struggle against
two-tier wages and outsourcing tactics--being used by bosses in
industries large and small to lower wages and undercut workers'
gains--deserves the support and solidarity of the entire
working class.
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011
Email: ww@workers.org
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