American Airlines and its pilots' union should get back to the bargaining table this week and work out a new labor contract.
Easier said than done, of course, but there are no better choices available to either side.American and the 10,000-member Allied Pilots Association have been in contract talks for more than five years. The negotiating pace intensified this year and in recent weeks has escalated even more. Wall Street has speculated about imminent bankruptcy for American's parent AMR Corp. if the airline cannot bring its labor costs more in line with those of its competitors.American is also in contract talks with other union groups, including flight attendants and mechanics, but in past bargaining the pilot contract has proven to be the toughest nut to crack.The bankruptcy threat is real. Some of American's strongest competitors have used bankruptcy as a tool to escape equipment leases, sever pension obligations and bring down costs to a point that will be difficult for American to reach even with favorable labor agreements.Pilot negotiators and representatives of other employee groups have reason to believe that their own backs are against the wall. American's workers gave up $1.6 billion a year in contract concessions to help the airline stave off bankruptcy in 2003.For pilots and flight attendants most notably, there are factions within the unions that adamantly oppose any contract provisions this year that would appear concessionary. Still, union leaders know they cannot escape economic reality.So there have been years of talks that have amounted to little more than a slow dance, with union and company negotiators circling and staring into each others eyes, all determined not to blink.Recent weeks have seen progress in the pilot negotiations, finally pushing beyond less-controversial work rule changes and broaching what always is the final and most crucial engagement over pay and productivity issues.It is a mistake for any outsider to try to judge the talks from afar. These are major-league contract negotiations, and no one who is not directly involved can understand the dynamic interplay of issues and proposals.It would be naive to expect that either side is pure from posturing for the sake of advantage at the bargaining table. But at this point, the deal is what matters to them, much more than public opinion.At the same time, anyone with a spectator's knowledge of labor negotiations can draw some conclusions:On Nov. 14, American's leaders described themselves as frustrated with the intransigence of union negotiators and published online their proposals for a "comprehensive agreement." The most obvious purpose of this step would be to instill dissension in the pilots' ranks, an end run around the union's leadership.If that was the intent, there's no obvious sign that it worked. In fact, union leaders parried the angry thrust with eloquence. They sent a letter to American CEO Gerard Arpey calmly rejecting the "comprehensive agreement" and saying the union is "committed to reaching a mutually beneficial agreement through good-faith bargaining at the earliest opportunity."American can't be the party that walks away from the bargaining table. The clock may be ticking toward bankruptcy, but company executives have not yet raised an alarm. Until time completely runs out, the company must continue negotiating.The pilots' union can't afford to be the party that held out too long and pushed the company into bankruptcy, with the likely loss in jobs and pension benefits that would surely follow.By far the best available option is bargaining that leads to an agreement. American and its pilots must take it while they can.Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
