Pilots Go It Alone in Asking Feds to Mediate Talks

By Trebor Banstetter, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas

Jan. 15–In the latest bargaining rift between American Airlines and its pilots, the airline has refused to join pilots in a request for federal mediation that could help speed up stalled contract talks.

The airline and the pilots union have been negotiating a new contract since 2006, but little progress has been made. Officials with the Allied Pilots Association said last week that they would ask the National Mediation Board to step in and oversee the talks.

Union leaders asked the airline to file a joint request for mediation, but American executives said Monday that they feared losing control of the talks and suggested that it is too early for federal officials to get involved.

“What’s really key here is that in remaining in control of the negotiating schedule, both the [union] and American are the ones in the driver’s seat,” said airline spokeswoman Sue Gordon.

Union officials accused the Fort Worth-based airline of stalling.

“They just want to delay; they’re clearly not interested in bargaining in good faith,” said union spokesman Karl Schricker. “They know this contract is going to cost them money, so delaying it means more money in their pocket.”

Schricker said the union submitted an individual request for assistance to the mediation board Monday after receiving American’s response.

In a letter to union officials, American said that union elections and issues such as the change in pilot retirement age had slowed talks, but that progress has been made in recent months. The letter also said that the airline would soon respond to union proposals on operations and quality-of-life issues.

If a mediator takes over, it could speed the talks toward a resolution. But it would also bring the pilots closer to a job action, such as a strike, if the two sides can’t forge a deal.

Under federal regulations that govern airline contract talks, workers can only strike after mediation fails. Even then, the law requires a 30-day “cooling off” period before job actions are allowed, and the president of the United States can halt a strike for 30 days or more while a committee investigates the issues involved.

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