This article from NYTimes.com has been sent to you by psa188@xxxxxxxxx American, Labor Groups Reach Agreements March 30, 2003 By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Filed at 3:32 a.m. ET DALLAS (AP) -- American Airlines reached tentative agreements with several small labor groups to reduce wages Saturday as a key union leader warned workers that the cuts will be deeper if the world's largest airline fails to avoid bankruptcy. Groups representing about 2,250 employees reached tentative agreement on cuts Saturday, but talks were continuing with the three most powerful employee groups -- pilots, flight attendants and mechanics, about 39,000 in all. The Transport Workers Union said tentative agreements were reached Saturday between the airline and its stock clerks, maintenance specialists, dispatchers, meteorologists and flight-simulator instructors. About 16,000 baggage handlers reached an agreement Thursday. ``We are pleased with these additional tentative agreements and the TWU's intent and seriousness,'' airline spokesman Bruce Hicks said. He declined to discuss the ongoing negotiations other than to say that ``progress is being made.'' American, which has about 99,000 employees, says it must cut its labor costs by $1.8 billion per year to avoid bankruptcy. If it fails to do so, bankruptcy lenders would demand an additional $500 million in labor concessions, said James Little, director of the TWU's airline division, which represents about one-third of American's employees. Parent company AMR Corp., based in Fort Worth, has lost nearly $5.3 billion in the past two years, and the war in Iraq is putting additional pressure on the airline by leading to sharp declines in international travel, which accounts for more than one-fourth of American's business. http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/business/AP-American-Labor.html?ex=1050035987&ei=1&en=28f028767e00c3b2 HOW TO ADVERTISE --------------------------------- For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters or other creative advertising opportunities with The New York Times on the Web, please contact onlinesales@xxxxxxxxxxx or visit our online media kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@xxxxxxxxxxxx Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company