American Airlines unions file grievance against Annual Incentive Program

Airline Industry Information, Jan 25, 2006

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The three unions of American Airlines - the Allied Pilots Association, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants and the Transport Workers Union - have filed presidential grievances over the bonuses that approximately 1,000 management employees are set to receive in April.

The bonuses will be paid under the airline's management Performance Unit Plan. As part of the 2003 restructuring negotiations that enabled American Airlines to avoid filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, labour and management agreed to an Annual Incentive Program, or AIP, in which all US-based employees participate. The three unions' collective bargaining agreements contain identical language governing the AIP, which was structured to align the interests of management and other employees, and the grievance filings cite the scheduled cash bonuses as a violation of the terms of the AIP.

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