'There has been no concerted effort on management's behalf to reach out to workers in a positive way.” 'I'm reminded of the lyrics from a Who song, ‘Meet the new boss, same as the old boss,'” said Gary Santos, an aircraft maintenance crew chief at New York's John F. The CEO acknowledged the need for manager training and said more will occur this year. Parker's plan has been hobbled by the absence of programs to help middle managers implement changes, according to the Allied Pilots Association. And flight attendants in March received a wage bump sooner than planned. In November, the airline provided average 22 percent increases to mechanics, bag handlers and other airport ground workers because talks on a new accord were taking longer than expected. This year it will begin profit-sharing, over Parker's initial objections, although at a rate below major competitors. American has promised workers that in each new contract negotiation, it will provide pay three percent above that at rivals. One component of Parker's program is compensation. While there will be ups and downs, carriers no longer will see the huge earnings swings, bankruptcies, mergers and employee layoffs of the past, he said. The push for a culture change is part of a broader effort that Parker calls a 'leap of faith.” He contends that consolidation in the airline industry has ended the boom-and-bust cycle that saw combined losses of $53 billion from 2001 through 2011. Parker acknowledges that workers still don't trust managers. At the same time, it was revealed that top executives had received bonuses and pension protection.Īfter the company filed for Chapter 11 in 2011, unions accepted a second round of givebacks. In 2003, workers agreed to $1.8 billion in concessions to save the carrier from bankruptcy. Parker, 55, inherited a legacy of corrosive labor-management relations. You will begin to receive our Daily Business News updates. 'It's an enormous effort at a really big airline with a history so different than what we're trying to build.” 'I wish we were further along, but we're also realistic about what we're trying to do here,” Parker said in an interview. co-founder Herb Kelleher's message that happy employees take care of customers and happy passengers take care of shareholders by choosing to fly on the airline again.ĭelta already has this advantage, and new CEO Oscar Munoz is gaining it at United, Parker said. Right now, we're just the largest.”Īmerican Airlines flies into The Eastern Iowa Airport.Ī transformed culture at the Fort Worth, Texas-based carrier would have enormous value, according to Parker. It was a great opportunity for us to be the largest and be the best. 'They had the opportunity and they don't seem to be doing anything to really effect the change they said they were going to do. 'The honeymoon is over,” said Michael Schwarz, a captain at American. It also marks a reversal from the 2013 triumph that gave him his current job, when as CEO of US Airways he relied on support from those same labor groups to engineer a merger with American.
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