Published 01 Dec, 2011
Fears about not being able to provide shelter for their families along with the normal every day necessities are echoing among American Airline (AA) TWU members after AA filed for bankruptcy on Nov. 29, which has put contract talks on hold.
TWU members fear layoffs, reduced benefits and pays cuts, all things that will affect how they provide for themselves and their families. Their retirement funds and pensions are now at risk.
Two TWU members, Jack Bell, a fleet services employee with more than 20 years on the job and Debbie Spencer, a ramp crew chief with almost 25 years with American, shared their current concerns and previous losses from the 2003 contract concessions to keep American Airlines in business.
“Eleven-hundred dollars a month take home pay,” said Bell. “That’s tough.”
“It meant the loss of my marriage, the loss of my house, the loss of my car,” said Spencer. “The loss of my dignity when I had to file bankruptcy.”
Bell also had to file for bankruptcy.
These members are not the faces passengers see every day. They are the people who ensure your luggage gets on the exact plane you are on and gets to the exact location it is suppose to be.
Jack Bell and Debbie Spencer are just two of the 30,000 TWU members who sacrificed so much to keep American Airlines flying.
They are the people American Airlines cannot forget or ignore.