This is APA Communications member First Officer Scott Shankland with the APA Information Hotline for Wednesday, May 19.
AMR SHAREHOLDERS’ MEETING: AMR held its annual shareholders’ meeting today in New York. Management’s message and actions remain largely unchanged and were the focus of a press release issued by APA earlier in the day in which we highlighted the “leadership vacuum” that exists at AMR. An APA delegation attended the meeting in an observer capacity and to make contact with the news media representatives and industry analysts on hand.
APA President Captain Lloyd Hill stated in our press release that AA “no longer even appears able to execute the basics of the airline business to compete satisfactorily in the marketplace… We believe it’s time for American Airlines’ owners to demand accountability from the airline’s executives.”
The meeting, which was held in New York ostensibly to highlight AMR’s focus on JFK, was rather lightly attended compared to previous years. AMR executives also described their “cornerstone” strategy as focusing on DFW, LAX, ORD and MIA.
APFA STRIKE VOTE RESULTS: Concurrent with the AMR shareholders’ meeting, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA) released the results of their recent membership-wide strike balloting. About 90 percent of eligible members voted, with 96.8 percent of those votes cast in favor of authorizing a strike at the discretion of the APFA leadership.
APFA President Laura Glading stated that the overwhelming vote in favor shows that “flight attendants are strong, unified, and willing to do what is necessary to achieve an agreement that significantly improves our pay, benefits and work rules.”
APFA and AMR are engaged in federally mediated negotiations while the National Mediation Board considers a formal request by APFA for a declaration of an impasse and a release from negotiations into a 30-day cooling-off period. APFA made the request to the NMB in March. In April, the NMB instructed both parties to continue negotiating.
APA SPRING BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING: The APA Board of Directors reconvened this morning at 9 a.m. Central for this week’s regularly scheduled spring meeting at APA headquarters.
Government Affairs Chairman Captain Bob Coffman and member First Officer Mike Margiotta briefed the Board on the progress of APA’s grassroots lobbying program, noting that most of the participants in the first training class for the program have previous political and civic experience.
Jumpseat Committee Chairman First Officer Tim Knutson emphasized the importance of checking all prospective jumpseaters’ licenses, medical credentials and company IDs and likewise emphasized the need to keep your passport with you at all times while traveling. He also recommended the establishment of international jumpseat agreements. In a global industry such as ours, First Officer Knutson noted that it’s increasingly common for pilots to have cross-border family ties.
Information Technology Committee Chairman First Officer Paul Fitzgerald gave an overview of current IT trends, including the wide range of Web browsers and operating systems our members use and the resulting complexity in the union’s Web development efforts. He also noted that increasing numbers of our pilots are opting to use Apple products.
Director of Information Technology Andrea Duff cited the value of APA retaining a Web developer to accelerate development of a new alliedpilots.org Web site and enhance the union’s overall IT capabilities. Ms. Duff noted that APA’s IT Department is currently staffed at what she termed the “core level” required to maintain basic functionality.
Hotel Committee Chairman Captain Doug Lister informed the Board that management is reportedly considering outsourcing the airline’s hotel contracts function to a third-party hotel administrator in an effort to continue driving down layover hotel-related costs. He also noted that pilot feedback concerning the DFW Radisson South—the new training hotel for pilots in town for short-course training—has been positive. That hotel will shortly be renamed the Park Inn.
Various members of the National Communications Committee—including Strike Preparedness Deputy Chairman First Officer Todd Macleod, Family Awareness Chairman Captain Steve Hart, Strategic Planning Chairman Captain Dave Bates and I—then provided a series of briefings. The Board also spent a portion of the afternoon discussing and debating a series of resolutions.
The Board recessed at 5 p.m. and will reconvene at 9 a.m. on Tuesday. All members in good standing are welcome to attend any open portion of the meeting, which is slated to continue through Friday.
That’s all we have for today. Thanks for checking this message.
