May 15, 2007
For immediate release
M E D I A  A D V I S O R Y

For further information contact:
Jamie Horwitz, 202/549-4921
jhdcpr@starpower.net

DALLAS –The Transport Workers Union (TWU) will present AMR board members with a petition at Wednesday’s board meeting calling for the company to reward ground workers who have generated $700 million in cost savings and hundreds of millions more in new revenue rather than solely providing bonuses to executives. In the past four weeks, nearly 17,000 concerned citizens and airline employees have signed the online petition and commented about AMR’s compensation practices. The top 30 AMR executives also have received over 500,000 protest emails after company leaders split $160 million in executive compensation last month.  A link to the petition can be found at http://go.care2.com/9425295 .

“American Airlines has lost its way,” said TWU International President James C. Little. “Company executives have done a very good job rallying workers. We did pull together. And, together the company and TWU were able to generate hundreds of millions in cost savings and new revenue that boosted share value. But, the company has only paid lip service to its claim of ‘sharing the gain.’ Workers feel betrayed. Executives have chosen their own personal gain over the company’s long-term goals.

Through its partnership with the company, TWU members have generated over $700 million dollars in recurring cost savings and more than $100 million in new revenue since 2003.  South American airlines and competing U.S. carriers are now flying their planes to American’s U.S. facilities for repairs. Projections for new revenue related to the partnership are $100 million in 2007 and $175 million in 2008. Ground workers were promised that they would share in the gains if the company was successful in generating new revenues through the partnership. The company has so far failed to reward frontline workers but has provided millions of dollars to its executives.

The union sent a proposal March 15 to the company asking it to award its “partners” with stock or provide compensation for dilution of shares already held due to the large management reward distributed on April 18 when company executives split $160 million in stock bonuses. The annual profit for American Airlines in 2006 was $231 million. The company formally rejected the TWU proposal and refused to discuss any alternatives.

The AMR shareholders’ meeting is scheduled for May 16, 8 a.m., at the American Airlines training and conference facility in Fort Worth, Texas.

Transport Workers Union of America (TWU) represents 130,000 workers, primarily in commercial aviation, public transportation and passenger railroads. More than half the union’s membership works for commercial airlines. The union is an affiliate of the AFL-CIO.