fireman0174

Pilot union at American Airlines censures top 2 officers in midst of negotiations
* Joshua Freed, AP Airlines Writer
* Friday March 20, 2009, 3:54 pm EDT

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- The pilots union at American Airlines has censured its two top officers, a rare public dispute that comes in the middle of negotiations over a new contract.

The resolution censured Allied Pilots Association President Captain Lloyd Hill and Vice President Captain Tom Westbrook for "frequently failing to adhere to the policies, directives, and resolutions of the Board of Directors."

What did they mean by that? The union wasn't saying.

"Bottom line, the Board and National Officer relationship has been strained. While the needs and goals of the membership have been met, the process can be done in a much better way," Jason Boles, chairman of the San Francisco-based pilots, wrote in an update on Friday. Boles was one of four directors on the 18-member board who voted against the censure on Thursday.

Director Stephen Bacon wrote to the Boston pilots he represents that the problem was that the board is supposed to set policy and the president and vice president are supposed to carry it out.

"It was felt that that was not being accomplished, or that the letter of the directive was being carried out, but not always the spirit," he wrote. He called the censure "only a mid course adjustment, and a rededication to our goals."

American Capt. Glenn Schafer and First Officer Phil Plummer, who represent pilots based at New York-LaGuardia, wrote that the board "has attempted to privately resolve these issues on multiple occasions" without success. "It is better to handle these issues now, then to have them come to a head later, when the pressure will be magnified," they wrote.

The Allied Pilots Association has been negotiating changes to its 2003 contract with American for 30 months. In 2007 the union asked for pay raises of more than 50 percent to return their pay to 1992 levels. The company has said that's not affordable.

Hill and Westbrook didn't return a phone message left with their secretary. Westbrook told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, which first reported the censure, "This is internal politics, basically, so it probably wouldn't be appropriate for me to comment."