This article from NYTimes.com has been sent to you by psa188@xxxxxxxxx American Pilots Offer Concession Plan March 30, 2003 By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Filed at 8:37 p.m. ET FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -- American Airlines kept negotiating with labor groups Sunday, and the pilots union said it had made an offer that meets the company's demand for cost reductions needed to avoid bankruptcy. Union officials say company executives indicated American would file for bankruptcy unless the company has tentative agreements with all major labor groups. The Allied Pilots Association said Sunday it had made a proposal for $660 million in savings by changing work rules and making across-the-board pay cuts. American has said $660 million is the pilots' share of necessary cost cuts. American spokesman Bruce Hicks said the company was reviewing the pilots' proposal. The union said it was confident its plan would allow American to compete with United Airlines and US Airways -- which have cut costs in bankruptcy -- and with low-cost carriers. ``We have done and are doing all we can do to try to squeak this thing out,'' said Steve Blankenship, a spokesman for the pilots union. ``We clearly understand the urgency.'' The union would not specify the pay cuts and possible layoffs in its proposal. Pilots will vote on the plan within the next two weeks. Last week, talks hit a snag when American said it would not count savings from nearly 1,000 pilot layoffs and retirements expected this year toward the $660 million cost-cutting goal. The union believes the cuts will save American, the world's largest carrier, up to $150 million. Blankenship said a member of the National Mediation Board was called in to help resolve the dispute. There were signs of slow progress in negotiations with American's workers. By late Saturday, the company had reached tentative agreements with seven groups of ground workers, totaling nearly one-fifth of American's 99,000 employees. Hicks said negotiations would continue around the clock with pilots, mechanics and flight attendants. Since Thursday, American has reached tentative agreements with 16,300 baggage handlers and six other groups that include about 2,500 ground workers. All are represented by the Transport Workers Union. 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. ------ On the Net: AMR: www.amrcorp.com http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/business/AP-American-Labor.html?ex=1050120215&ei=1&en=56578ccc371368c2 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