Pilot's Union Blasts AA Management

Last week the management of American Airlines found out how unhappy the ground workers' union was when they broke off tentative negotiations. Now we learn that the pilots' union has blasted AA management in a September 18th letter to AA CEO Arpey.

The pilots showed their anger with American Airlines last July, when they overwhelmingly elected a new slate of union officers that promised to take a tougher stance with the company. The new leadership showed they intend to keep their promise with the letter to Arpey.

The letter basically accused management of failing to keep promises made to the union and accuses them of using "union busting " tactics. It accuses the company of going behind the union's back with a memo to members while meetings were going on. It condemns the recent executive bonuses while the company ignored promises to reward workers who sacrificed to save the airline, and threatens a strike against the airline.

The letter also accused the company of sick leave policies that are causing pilot suicides, and forcing other pilots to discontinue their medication for mental problems to return to work.

Union leaders said the company's answer to customer service problems was to continually keep hiring more vice-presidents and creating more committees, while the problems went on unsolved.

It even accused Arpey and his cohorts of being worse leaders than previous management with past CEO Crandall. That's a pretty serious charge when you consider that Crandall was generally hated by the union.

The letter finishes by saying, "Enjoy your blood money and your union-busting meeting. We'll see you in court, in the newspapers, and on the picket line."

I've actually been pretty mild in my description of the letter. The letter itself is much harsher. You can read the full letter by clicking here.

The airline has created serious problems for itself by the way it has been treating its workers. It wouldn't surprise me to see the pilots and ground workers to both go on strike, followed by the flight attendents' union ( who will soon be showing their displeasure with the company).

I won't be flying American until they learn to treat their employees much better, and I urge you to do the same. American Airlines, and other corporations, must learn that their employees are just as important (if not more important) than their management.