Report: Contract concessions running into resistance DALLAS (AP) =97 Leaders of unions representing American Airlines pilots,=20 flight attendants and ground workers are running into resistance from their= =20 members over tentative contract concessions geared to help keep the airline= =20 out of bankruptcy, according to a published report. The Wall Street Journal= =20 reported in its Tuesday editions that union leaders are going back to=20 management to ask for changes. The newspaper said that complaints involve=20 the six-year length of the contracts and the minimal pay raises of 1.5%=20 that would begin next year. "The sense I am getting is that this (tentative= =20 agreement) will not pass unless the six-year duration is shortened" and a=20 provision to revisit pay rates before the contract runs out is added, Capt.= =20 Tom Frazer, chairman of the Allied Pilots Association's Miami base, said in= =20 an e-mail to pilots Sunday. "It's not pretty. But it does represent perhaps= =20 the best chance we have at this time for keeping American Airlines out of=20 bankruptcy," John Ward, president of the Association of Professional Flight= =20 Attendants, told his members, the newspaper reported. American spokesman Bruce Hicks said the company wasn't discussing where=20 things are in the process. "The process is under way," he told The=20 Associated Press. "They're in the process of meeting with their membership= =20 in a series of presentations. The process continues. The ratification vote= =20 is due early next week." Hicks said the company needs all three unions to=20 ratify the tentative agreements. Under the tentative agreements, about=20 2,500 pilots, 2,400 flight attendants and 1,100 to 1,400 ground workers=20 likely will lose their jobs. Remaining employees will work longer hours and= =20 get less vacation. The deals call for $660 million in cuts from pilots,=20 $620 million from ground workers and $340 from flight attendants.=20 Management and nonunion employees also would take pay cuts totaling $180=20 million of the $1.8 billion in annual savings. Fort Worth, Texas-based AMR,= =20 American's parent company, has lost nearly $5.3 billion in the past two=20 years and has faced increasing competition from low-fare carriers. *************************************************** 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.carstt.com TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************