This year marks some important changes in labor negotiations as we now are in mediated contract talks with each of the unions representing AA employees.
Mediation is a tool available under the law to help the parties in contract negotiations gain momentum at the bargaining table and work towards agreement on issues they were unable to resolve in direct negotiations.
Under the Railway Labor Act, either side can file for assistance from the National Mediation Board – a request usually based on a belief that a mediator’s assistance is necessary to conclude contract talks.
In our case, we joined the requests for mediation with the three unions that represent AA employees only after union leaders made the decision to do so. We are committed participants. But we recognize that mediation is no panacea. It doesn’t guarantee an outcome better for either side than might have been achieved otherwise. In fact, mediation impacts both sides:
With a mediator on board, each side has less control over the process. The NMB decides the agenda and determines the timeline. That means that the schedule must take into account the availability of not two parties but three. Historically, mediated negotiations in the airline industry last 19 months after the mediator comes on board.
On the plus side, mediation promotes realism on the part of both sides. The mediator’s role is to promote good faith negotiation by both parties and to encourage each to make proposals that bring them towards a resolution. It is a thorough process, and that’s a good thing when you are talking about contracts that are important not only to the employees they cover but to the long-term health of the company. And agreements made on a voluntary basis during mediation tend to create an atmosphere of mutual respect and understanding that extends to the administration of the contract on a day-to-day basis.
We’ll continue to work to reach agreement with our unions on contracts that both strengthen the company and serve the long-term interests of all employees. We’re ready to move ahead with any proposal that makes good economic and operational sense. That has been our standard in direct negotiations and now that we are in mediation, it continues to be our standard going forward.
