American Airlines’ unions compare AA management bonuses to AIG’s

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.star-telegram.com/business/story/1271233.html

Posted on Fri, Mar. 20, 2009

By TREBOR BANSTETTER
[e-mail]

When it comes to corporate greed, union leaders at American Airlines say "AMR" sounds a lot like "AIG."

Labor officials are criticizing executives with American Airlines parent AMR Corp., comparing a slate of upcoming executive bonuses to payouts distributed by the bailed-out insurance giant American International Group. The AIG bonuses, paid after the company received $170 billion in federal funds, have enraged taxpayers and been condemned by President Barack Obama and members of Congress.

The comparison to the poster child for corporate gluttony may be a difficult one. Despite its financial troubles, American hasn’t received taxpayer money. And the airline’s executive bonuses will be far less lucrative than the $165 million in retention payments to top AIG managers.

Still, leaders with the airline’s unions say employees feel the same resentment borne by taxpayers.

"If you compare us to AIG, American’s executives took bailout money from the employees in 2003, and they’ve rewarded themselves with millions of dollars in bonuses ever since," said Scott Shankland, an American pilot and spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association. "And in the meantime, the airline is doing terrible."

The airline’s bonuses, based on AMR’s stock performance during the past three years, will be much smaller than previous payouts. AMR’s shares have fallen steeply during the past year and performed worse than those of several rival carriers.

If it was awarded this week, Gerard Arpey, AMR’s chief executive, would likely receive a bonus valued at roughly $225,000 under the program, according to some estimates. That’s down from about $1.7 million last year and $7.5 million in 2007.

FULL story at link.

[FormerDittoHead]

1. The AIG is just the tip of a much bigger iceberg

That AA didn't receive gov't money is a degree of difference, but it's not night and day.

In case you didn't know, if you shares in almost any mutual fund, you own stock in a large swath of stocks.

I HATE this Republican attitude, an extension of 'I've got mine, now screw you', that just because a publicly traded (that's a significant distinction) company is "private" it doesn't mean that the general public, of whom the government is our representative, doesn't have an interest in it.

The fact is that Fidelity, Vanguard, etc., who own, WITH YOUR MONEY, large chunks of these businesses and yet take no active role in those companies management.

With that said, the AIG compensation scandal only shows how much ALL these corporate executives are compensated VIA THEIR CRONIES, *WITH OUR MONEY*.

[Occam Bandage]

2. I've never seen such unanimous, deep-seated hostility between management and labor,

and between different unions within a single corporation, and between factions within those unions, as I have when I worked for an airline.

As for this? Well, the comparison isn't very good, but I don't care. Airline executives haven't especially mismanaged their industry; unlike AIG, airlines are generally victims of the market and not problems within the market. But either way, executive compensation is still exorbitant, and regardless of circumstances, it's entirely inappropriate for a company mired in failure with no plan for recovery: as Pittsburgh Pirates manager Branch Rickey once told an All-Star player requesting a raise, "we finished last with you and we can finish last without you." The more workers complain about executive compensation, the better off we'll all be.

[spartan61]

3. My daughter is a flight attendant with American Airlines.

In 2003 she, along with the FA work group, had to take a 33% salary reduction, loss of 1/3rd of earned vacation time, and changed work rules that were horrific. The contract for the FA union was abrogated and they are still working under this changed contract. All this time management has been given bonuses while AA is still losing money and furloughing flight attendants. Is it any wonder that labor has such resentment toward management? Management had come up with some silly slogan, "Pull Together, Win Together" or something like that. So much for pulling together to bring this airline back. This just goes to show that there is greed in almost every corporation. Disgusting!!