BY JANET POST
MIAMI - As we go to press, pilots at American Airlines are less than two days away from a possible strike, at 12:01 a.m. February 15. The Allied Pilots Association [APA], representing the 9,300 pilots at American, has warned for the last several weeks that pilots would "leave their cockpits and strike" at the end of the 30-day "cooling-off period," if no agreement is reached. Federally mediated contract talks are expected to continue in Washington, D.C., until that time.

On February 12 U.S. president William Clinton declared he was following the developments at American "very closely," and ordered his administration to study the potential economic disruptions of a strike. This is a potential prelude to acting under the Labor Railway Act to bar a work stoppage.

American is the second largest airline in the United States, carrying more than 200,000 passengers a day - 20 percent of domestic air travelers - and employing 90,000 workers.

On February 11, American Airlines chairman Robert Crandall referred to the possible strike as "the coming unpleasantness." He said that in this period "labor unions have absolute power," and claimed the pilots' demands would make the company unprofitable.

The main issues for the APA members are job security and wages. One central issue is whether APA pilots will fly 67 new jets ordered for American Eagle, the commuter affiliate of American. The airline, like all the other major carriers, plans to fly hundreds of these jets as commuter flights -with lower pay and worse working conditions - in the future. Jay Thomas, deputy coordinator for Miami strike operations, told the Militant, "If they outsource the pilots' jobs, then mechanics and flight attendants won't be needed either. It means less wages and benefits, and jobs will be lost."

Rick Walker, a ramp worker at American and member of the Transport Workers Union in Miami, said, "Several of my co- workers support the efforts of the pilots and understand why it is not in our interests to allow the company to divide us."

Janet Post is a member of the International Association of Machinists at Local 368 at United Airlines in Miami.  
 
 
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