Former flight attendants picket American Airlines

By Tim Logan
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
04/18/2007

Fuming flight attendants took to the terminal at Lambert Field Tuesday,
throwing up pickets against American Airlines.

Their beef?

More than $160 million in stock bonuses that 874 American executives are
set to receive today, even as thousands of laid-off former TWA employees
remain on furlough and active American employees work longer hours at
lower wages than they did four years ago.

"We've shared all of the pain, and got none of the gain," said Dixie
Daniels, chair of the St. Louis base of the Association of Professional
Flight Attendants, which organized pickets at 17 airports nationwide.

American defended the bonuses, part of a performance-based incentive plan
set up in 2003 by parent company AMR Corp. In 2006, the company turned its
first profit in seven years, and it's now among the country's healthiest
major airlines.

"We have made tremendous progress working together under the turnaround
plan," said American spokeswoman Mary Frances Fagan. "We're committed to
staying the course."

But for rank-and-file workers, seeing that kind of cash go to executives
is hard to swallow. They point to the $1.6 billion in concessions unions
agreed to in 2003 to help keep American out of bankruptcy, and say they
now should share in the company's profits.

"We got through the worst of times," said Carol Thomeczek, a 19-year
American employee. "Now it just seems like the executives are going to
step on us again."

For many of the picketers at Lambert Tuesday, it was just the latest blow
from American.

Most of the picketers were former TWA flight attendants, who were among
thousands laid off from 2001 through 2003 after American bought the
company. They dusted off their old uniforms and argued the airline should
use some of its profits to extend their rights to be re-hired if American
adds flight attendants. Those rights expire after five years and will run
out for everyone in July 2008.

But recall rights are part of American's contract with the APFA, Fagan
said, and any change would have to be negotiated in that context. There's
been little progress on that front. And that had some ex-TWA workers
holding a separate protest Tuesday inside Lambert's main terminal.

One of them was Bob Applegate, a laid-off TWA attendant from Granite City
who said his former colleagues are falling by the wayside as their recall
rights expire.

"There are a lot of veteran flight attendants who are ready, eager and
able to go back to work," said Applegate, who now works as a truck driver.
"We're being ignored."

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