American Airlines Group Inc. and one of its unions have reached tentative agreement on contracts covering more than 11,000 ground workers at US Airways Inc.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers said the deals with three IAM units would provide “substantial wage hikes, significant job security improvements and maintain industry-best health care benefits, among many other improvements.”
The units represent mechanics, fleet service agents and maintenance training specialists. Combined they are the largest group of employees at American or merger partner US Airways with an open contract.
The proposals must now be voted on by the work groups. If they approve the contracts, the next step would be for the airline, IAM and the Transport Workers Union, which represents comparable employees at American, to begin talks on a joint contract.
American chairman and chief executive Doug Parker said the airline was “very pleased” to have reach the agreements, and thanked IAM negotiators and the National Mediation Board, which assisted in the talks.
“We look forward to working together to reach joint collective bargaining agreements for all of the employees in these job classifications at American Airlines,” Parker said in the carrier’s announcement.
IAM officials also thanked its negotiators and the NMB and mediators for helping work out the deals. Presidents Rich Delaney of IAM District 141 and Tom Higginbotham of District 142 said the proposed deals “provide a solid starting point for joint collective bargaining with our Transport Workers Union brothers and sisters.”
IAM general vice president Sito Pantoja said the agreements “provide unprecedented job security provisions that will protect IAM members as the merger of US Airways and American Airlines proceeds.”
American and US Airways merged Dec. 9, but it will take time to get all the unions under the same collective bargaining agreements. The IAM contracts, if approved, will be a big step toward reaching that stage.
For over a year, IAM officials had urged the NMB to declare an impasse and release them from mediation. That would have started a 30-day cooling-off period, after which the union could have gone on strike.
On Saturday, the IAM told members in a negotiating update that four days of talks had brought progress.
Among the provisions agreed to are 3 percent pay increases for mechanics when the contract is signed, another 3 percent in September and 3 percent the following September. If the airline, IAM and TWU can’t agree to a joint contract, the IAM members will get 1.5 percent pay raises in 2016 and 2017.
In information provided members, the IAM said fleet service employees would also get pay raises at contract signing, in September 2014 and September 2015, but didn’t spell out the amounts.
IAM employees covered by the contracts also would get $1,500 signing bonuses.
The existing contracts became amendable on Dec. 31, 2011. Under the Railway Labor Act, which covers the airline industry, labor contracts stay in force until they are amended.
According to US Airways’ 2013 annual report, the carrier had 3,100 mechanics, stock clerks and related employees, 5,500 fleet service employees and 30 maintenance training instructors, for a total of 8,630. An American spokesman said Monday that the 11,000-plus number includes IAM members on leave, on other assignments or otherwise not actively in the work groups.
Follow Terry Maxon on Twitter at @tmaxon.
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