American pilots extend voting deadline FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) =97 American Airlines' pilots union said it is=20 extending voting on labor concessions for one day, until Tuesday morning.=20 The Allied Pilots Association said the extension was requested by the=20 American Arbitration Association, which is handling the vote tabulation for= =20 American's three major labor unions. The flight attendants and ground=20 workers unions already were set to end Tuesday morning. The three unions=20 are voting on tentative agreements to cover nearly all of the $1.8 billion= =20 in annual labor cost savings that American says it needs to avoid=20 bankruptcy. The concessions include layoffs, pay cuts and reduced benefits.= =20 American, the world's largest airline, has set a deadline of noon ET=20 Tuesday for all the unions to turn in results of the elections, which are=20 being conducted by phone and over the Internet. If any of the unions reject= =20 the givebacks, American said it will quickly file for bankruptcy=20 protection. The pilots union said it would announce the results of their=20 vote an hour before that deadline. A group of pilots went to federal court= =20 in Fort Worth to further extend or delay the ratification vote. The judge=20 said he would issue a ruling Tuesday afternoon. Voting will also end=20 Tuesday morning for the Association of Professional Flight Attendants and=20 the Transport Workers Union, which represents baggage handlers and= mechanics. Leaders of the three unions have urged members to approve the concessions=20 packages, saying that they are less painful than changes that American=20 could make if it files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. American is=20 seeking $660 million in concessions from its 12,000 pilots, $620 million=20 from 34,000 ground workers and $340 million from 24,000 flight attendants.= =20 The agreements include layoffs for 2,500 pilots, about 2,000 flight=20 attendants and up to 1,400 ground workers. Some employees say they oppose=20 the concessions deals because they would last nearly six years and provide= =20 only small raises and a one-time bonus in later years, even if the=20 airline's performance improves dramatically. American's prospects for=20 winning ratification may have been improved last week when pilots at United= =20 Airlines approved a new contract that is less generous than the one facing= =20 American pilots. American chairman and chief executive Donald J. Carty=20 warned that if American goes into bankruptcy, it will seek $500 million in= =20 additional labor concessions. *************************************************** 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 *********************************************************