AMR bankruptcy: Statement of TWU's James C. Little on TWU's seat on AMR Creditors' Committee

N E W S  R E L E A S E

For immediate release

December 5, 2011

Contact:  Jamie Horwitz, 202/549-4921,

jhdcpr@starpower.net

Statement by

TWU International President James C. Little

(TWU Represents the Majority of AMR Employees)

on

TWU’s Seat on the Creditors’ Committee

for the AMR Bankruptcy Case

The U.S. Bankruptcy Trustee made the right call.    Thirty thousand TWU members are critical to the current and future operations of American Airlines and American Eagle.  AMR, the parent company of both airlines, has substantial short-term and long-term obligations to TWU members.  We have earned a seat on the creditors’ committee as the company goes through a Chapter 11 restructuring.

While we strongly believe that a company with $4 billion dollars in the bank had other options besides a bankruptcy filing, we’re going to deal with the facts on the ground.  We’re going to do our job as a union, to fight like hell so that front line workers don’t pay an unfair price for management’s failings.

We also recognize our responsibility as members of the creditors’ committee to balance the needs of all unsecured creditors.  “Balance” means that no one group – certainly not hard-working employees who have already made voluntary concessions – should have to meet an unfair share of the costs of AMR management’s decision to file for bankruptcy.

This will be a long and difficult process.  Our goal is to see American and American Eagle emerge as successful carriers, with a competitive cost structure that provides fair treatment of retirees and fair compensation for the active workers who keep planes in the air, on time, providing safe travel for millions of passengers.

Transport Workers Union of America (TWU) represents 200,000 workers and retirees, primarily in commercial aviation, public transportation and passenger railroads. The union is an affiliate of the AFL-CIO.

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