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American Airlines staff say executive bonuses `obscene`
Washington, Apr 18: American Airlines staff who accepted wage cuts to help keep the world`s biggest carrier airborne reacted angrily after executives secured their own bonuses and other perks.
Washington, Apr 18: American Airlines staff who accepted wage cuts to help keep the world's biggest carrier airborne reacted angrily after executives secured their own bonuses and other perks.
American established a special trust to protect the pensions of 45 top officials in the event of bankruptcy, and to grant six of them bonuses amounting to twice their base salary if they agreed to stay with the company until January 2005.
The airline announced the measures in a document submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday, just after employees voted to accept 1.8 billion dollars in annual salary cuts.
John ward, president of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, yesterday charged that the measures were designed "to line the pockets of a few top executives."
"It's the equivalent of an obscene gesture from management to employees," and requires workers to "drastically change their lives to keep this company out of bankruptcy," he said in a statement.
"The only responsible course of action for the company to take at this time - if it has any sense of decency and any hope of restoring any level of trust from flight attendants - is for this money-grab to be rescinded, immediately," Ward said.
James Little, one of the transport workers union's directors, went a step further, threatening not to sign the accords enacting the pay cuts.
Bureau Report
The airline announced the measures in a document submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday, just after employees voted to accept 1.8 billion dollars in annual salary cuts.
John ward, president of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, yesterday charged that the measures were designed "to line the pockets of a few top executives."
"It's the equivalent of an obscene gesture from management to employees," and requires workers to "drastically change their lives to keep this company out of bankruptcy," he said in a statement.
"The only responsible course of action for the company to take at this time - if it has any sense of decency and any hope of restoring any level of trust from flight attendants - is for this money-grab to be rescinded, immediately," Ward said.
James Little, one of the transport workers union's directors, went a step further, threatening not to sign the accords enacting the pay cuts.
Bureau Report