2.09.01- (LAA) – Mediated Contract Talks Resume, Strike Authorizatioin Ballot,Presidential Emergency Board, Merger and Acquisition Committee Researches Issues Raised by Possible Acquisition of TWA

Special Hotline Update Wednesday, February 14, 2001

This is Leslie Mayo, National Communications Coordinator, with an updated hotline for February 14, 2001.

Mediated contract talks between the APFA and American Airlines will resume in March. The following dates have been announced: March 2nd and 3rd in Chicago, March 12th through the 14th in Washington, D.C. Future dates or events will be posted to this hotline as soon as the information becomes available. Please stay on the line for the rest of the APFA HotLine.

Hello, this is Art Cline, member of the APFA Negotiating Committee and this is the negotiations portion of the Hotline for Friday February 9, 2001.

Hopefully, most of you have sent in your Strike Authorization Ballot. If you have not voted, vote today. If you have not received a ballot, contact the National Ballot Committee at APFA Headquarters immediately. The number is 800-395-APFA ext 8311. The Negotiating team spent this week in Dallas preparing for our return to the bargaining table. We met both internally and with Mediator Linda Puchala to review the open issues and work out the dates and location of our next bargaining sessions. We will announce those dates once they are confirmed.

The team is returning to the table with renewed confidence instilled by your support at the Strike Ballot Briefings. We are returning with renewed determination to achieve the items that you continue to tell need to be in place to ratify an agreement. But we also need to return with the “power” of a strong “yes” vote. Please continue to remind co-workers to return their ballot.

We hope a contract can be achieved without further escalation of this conflict. We hope the time is now. You need only to pick up a newspaper in any city, on any day to be absolutely certain that the Company has the resources to close this deal. But as we have stated before, they will only really bargain if they have to. It is time for you to tell them that they have to. We will not splinter and we will not settle.

During this past week, there has been some discussion in the press regarding possible Presidential involvement in airline negotiations. A few facts are in order.

1) The president has the ability to establish a Presidential Emergency Board, Typically termed as a PEB, after mediation ends, if he determines that a strike will substantially disrupt the air transportation system. PEB’s have rarely been utilized in the airline industry to stop strikes, whether Democrats or Republicans have been in the White House.

2) As recently as 1998, the Northwest Airline’s pilots stuck for 14 days and no PEB was established.

3) Even is a PEB is established, it only delays a strike. After the PEB process is over, a strike can resume. Thank you for your support. Please stay unified and informed. And now stay on the line for more APFA and industry news.

This is Leslie Mayo, National Communications Coordinator, with more HotLine News for the week ending February 9, 2001.

The Post Office has reported a huge turnout so far in the number of Strike Ballots received, and we still have over two weeks before the last ballot is accepted. The ballots will be counted on February 21st so be sure to make yours count. Remember that in marking your ballot, pencil is preferred, however, ink is readable by the machines with the exception of the color red. If it is not readable, but the ballot is valid, the ballot WILL be counted manually.

Have you received any negotiations related mailings from AA? If so, instead of throwing it away, mark “RETURN TO SENDER, MY NEGOTIATING TEAM SPEAKS FOR ME” and drop it in a Post Office or boardmail, attn: AA NEGOTIATING TEAM. Let the Company know that you will not allow them to bargain directly with their membership. The APFA Negotiating Committee is the voice for all of us, and they have the support of 23,000 with the Power of Yes.

PhoneWatch is open Monday thru Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Any questions related to Negotiations or the Strike Ballot should be directed to this toll-free number: 866-ASK-APFA. Volunteers are working daily to ensure that all members concerns are addressed.

The Merger and Acquisition Committee continues to research the issues raised by the possible acquisition of TWA. This week, the Committee met briefly with Company representatives from American and gave the Company a list of questions regarding the proposed acquisition. The M&A Committee is also hoping to meet with representatives of APA and TWU in the near future. The role of the Committee is to investigate the issues involved in this acquisition and to make a report to the APFA Board of Directors. The Committee thanks each of you who have taken the time to write or call with your views on this problem. Absolutely no decisions have been made regarding the seniority issue so please do not listen to rumors saying otherwise. The Committee is still in the “information gathering” stage and will be for quite sometime. If you have any questions or comments, please direct them to the M&A Committee at APFA Headquarters, ext. 8751 or you can e-mail them at [email protected]

While on the subject of the TWA acquisition, a private group of independent investors by the name of Jet Acquisitions Group, Inc. made a bid offering to preserve TWA as an independent airline.

Don’t forget to wear your Union Pin, Wings and APFA bagtag and if you haven’t already, turn it around to 4,3,2,1… Thanks for calling the APFA Hotline.