American to talk with unions for attendants, ground workers DALLAS (AP) =97 The chief executive of cash-strapped American Airlines wants= =20 to keep the world's largest carrier from sinking more deeply into financial= =20 distress. Representatives of the carrier were expected Monday to begin=20 formal meetings with two unions representing flight attendants, ground=20 workers and mechanics. For the first time, according to the Fort=20 Worth-based airline, it would be working with all three of its major unions= =20 in an attempt to cut labor costs and avoid federal bankruptcy court. "We still have the opportunity to fix our structural problems and make=20 ourselves into a formidable competitor," Don Carty said in a weekend=20 message to airline employees. "Make no mistake, there's still a lot to do,= =20 but we're generating some very good momentum now." Executives of AMR Corp.,= =20 American's parent company, have said that they must lower costs by $4=20 billion a year, including $1.8 billion in labor concessions, to stay in the= =20 air. That includes getting $340 million in concessions from the Association= =20 of Professional Flight Attendants. Leaders of the flight attendants' union, which represents 26,000 workers,=20 has directed negotiators to take "whatever actions deemed necessary to=20 reach a consensual agreement" during talks with management on wage and=20 benefit reductions. "APFA intends to reach agreement with management that=20 will be sent to the membership for ratification," union president John Ward= =20 told The Dallas Morning News in Monday's online edition. "Stay strong.=20 Together we can do this and avoid bankruptcy." In advance of meetings=20 scheduled Monday with the Transport Workers Union, which represents about=20 34,500 ground workers and mechanics, American has said it needs to cut=20 about $620 million from pay and benefits. In earlier talks with the Allied= =20 Pilots Association, airline officials asked the union and its 13,500=20 members to shoulder $660 million of the burden, or about 30 percent of pay= =20 and benefits. Talks since the beginning of March have focused on changes in= =20 flight rules that would save American money as well as health care and=20 pension costs. "We haven't reached agreement on any one issue, but we've covered a lot of= =20 ground," said pilots' union spokesman Gregg Overman. "These are very=20 sweeping and wide-ranging discussions covering the gamut." Union officials= =20 have said they can have a deal in hand and ratified within 60 days. "We=20 understand the timetables associated with this process," Overman said. "Our= =20 aim is to have something we can evaluate in a period that can be measured=20 in weeks." Company executives say they have already grounded planes,=20 reduced and simplified their flight schedule and eliminated about 14,700=20 jobs in a continued travel slump. Transport workers two weeks ago rejected= =20 a concession plan presented by American, saying the carrier hadn't proved=20 that it needed to cut out that much. But since then, American's stock was=20 delisted from the Standard & Poor's 500 index after losing more than 90=20 percent of its value in the last year and the company has reportedly hired= =20 a team of bankruptcy lawyers. "During the coming days, we will deal in full= =20 good faith with the company. That does not mean we will agree to the=20 proposal," ," the union told its members in a letter last week. "In the=20 end, though, it is clearly in our members' interest to avoid a bankruptcy,= =20 and we will do our best to accomplish this." *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@xxxxxxxxx Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Site of the Week: http://www.thehummingbirdonline.com TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************