American pilots join two other unions in balking at pay cut vote FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) =97 American Airlines pilots are threatening to join= =20 other unions in balking at wage and benefit cuts they already approved to=20 keep the airline solvent. Although the Allied Pilots Association said=20 Tuesday it won't call for a new vote on the measure, a spokesman said union= =20 directors were considering telling their president, John Darrah, not to=20 sign the ratification papers. Two other unions, the Transport Workers Union= =20 and the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, have both called for= =20 another vote, increasing the possibility that the deal will be rejected.=20 The unions reacted angrily when they learned after consenting to the=20 concessions that American had approved bonuses and pension payments =97=20 executive perks that would be protected in bankruptcy =97 but asked=20 rank-and-file workers to take deep pay cuts. American Airline chairman and= =20 chief executive Donald Carty has apologized for not telling workers sooner= =20 about the perks. The company has canceled the bonuses but not the $41=20 million in pension funding. "The question has been whether we were going to= =20 have a revote, and our board has determined there is no need for one=20 because it's in our bylaws and also explicit in the agreement itself that=20 it does not take effect until our president signs it," said Andy Sizemore,= =20 a spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association. Sizemore said the decision=20 on whether Darrah would sign the agreement depends on what is "in the best= =20 interests of our pilots and American Airlines." Also Tuesday, Association=20 of Professional Flight Attendants spokesman George Price said their new=20 vote will involve a 30-day paper ballot. He said details on when the revote= =20 would begin were being worked out. Some American employees, while angry=20 about the management benefits, still fear deeper wage cuts and more layoffs= =20 if fallout from the perks causes the concession deals to fail, prompting=20 American to file for bankruptcy. Airlines have been reeling for months,=20 hurt by the sluggish economy, fallout from the Sept. 11 attacks, fears over= =20 the SARS virus and the war in Iraq. United Airlines is already in= bankruptcy. *************************************************** 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.pscutt.com TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************