Unions, locked in stalled wage talks, blast increased compensation for American Airlines CEO
David Koenig, AP Airlines Writer, On Friday April 22, 2011, 6:48 pm EDT
DALLAS (AP) -- Unions locked in wage negotiations with American Airlines accused the CEO of greed on Friday because he got an 11 percent boost in compensation, to $5.2 million, while the company was losing money.
Garry Drummond, director of the airline division at the Transport Workers Union, said CEO Gerard Arpey's increase was "almost beyond belief and certainly shameless."
The airline's other two unions also attacked the CEO's compensation. "Whatever happened to pay for actual performance?" said flight attendants' president Laura Glading.
Labor unions said their members haven't gotten raises since at least 2008. All three are in contract negotiations.
"This is the type of rhetoric expected around contract talks and is aimed at putting public pressure on the company," American spokeswoman Missy Cousino said in response to the union comments.
Cousino said employees at American, which still has pension plans and retiree medical benefits, are better off than workers at many other airlines.
American has resisted wage increases, saying its labor costs are already too high. Two of the unions have asked federal officials for permission to start a countdown toward strikes, but the requests have not been granted.
In a regulatory filing Thursday, parent company AMR Corp. disclosed that Arpey received compensation valued at more than $5.2 million in 2010, when AMR was the only major U.S. airline operator to lose money. That was up from $4.7 million in 2009 because the value of Arpey's 2010 stock grants and options was higher than similar grants the year before.
The company said Arpey was paid below the median of CEOs at similarly sized companies.
