American Airlines Pilots' Show Of Support Over Contract Changes
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – American Airlines pilots chose Labor Day to send a message to management to not to alter their contracts.
Monday afternoon members of the Allied Pilots Association in uniform walked the non-secure side of Terminal E in a show of support.
On Tuesday, American Airlines Management will be asking a New York Court to disregard the pilot's current contract, which the pilot's associations said has 70 years of collective bargaining agreements. The airline's management maintains some changes are necessary for them to emerge from bankruptcy. The move comes as American Airlines and US Airways take another step toward a merger.
Last Friday the two companies signed document which will allow them to confidentially exchange information legally.
US Airways CEO Doug Parker has been pushing for the merger since November 29th, 2011 when American's parent company AMR Corp. entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
American, which has a major hub at Miami International Airport, currently has 3,400 flights a day to 250 cities in 40 countries. US Airways has 3,200 flights a day to 200 destinations in 28 countries.
It's unclear how a merger would affect the airlines' hubs where they over lap in certain cities.
