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CEO and Execs Take Nearly $200 Million and Workers Get Nothing

Target: Vice Presidents of American Airlines
Sponsored by: Transport Workers Union

American Airlines is announcing that this month top executives will split close to $200 million in stock bonuses while workers will get nothing. The entire profit for American Airlines last year was $231 million.

The greed of the company's managers is putting America's hardest working families in jeopardy. Top executives should not take millions when employees made personal sacrifices to save the company from bankruptcy and still have not had their wages and benefits restored.

CEO Gerald Arpey told workers in 2003 to pull together and that "we would share the pain and share in the gain." Since then, the 27,000 ground workers at American Airlines represented by the Transport Workers Union (TWU) have saved the company hundreds of millions of dollars by creating new efficiencies and workers brought in more than $100 million in new revenue from other airlines. Now foreign airlines are flying their planes to the U.S. for repairs at American's facilities! Other workers at American have contributed to similar gains.

Refusing to reward employees for a job well done is bad for the talented people who work for American Airlines - and for their communities. It's just plain bad business.

Sign the petition to send a letter to the vice presidents of American Airlines. Tell them to stop their corporate greed and support a more equitable workplace!

deadline: 4-13-2008
goal: 10,000

17,076
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Good news! These petition signatures were delivered in person at a recent American Airlines shareholder meeting. Congratulations! Keep up the good work!

Dear Senior Manager [Last name],

I am deeply concerned by the news that American Airlines' top executives will divide close to $200 million in stock bonuses this month while employees who have been living on reduced salaries since 2003 won't get one additional penny. Your company should live up to its promises "to share its gain" with the hard-working and talented people who have made American Airlines successful.

American Airlines would not be enjoying the increased share value it has today if ground workers represented by the Transport Workers Union (TWU) had not partnered on a redesign of the airline's repair facilities, boosting efficiency and drastically cutting costs. Through hard work and personal sacrifice, TWU members have generated hundreds of millions of dollars in recurring cost savings and more than $100 million in new revenue for your company. Other workers also have shared sacrifices and "pulled together."

The Transport Workers Union has given you a proposal suggesting ways in which workers could share in the company's return to profitability, but that proposal was rejected. Is it any surprise that Congress is looking into ways to limit executive compensation in public companies like yours?

It's not too late to right this wrong. Don't forget CEO Gerald Arpey's promise to American workers: "Pull together" and we will "share the pain and share in the gain." I'm certain that you can find a better way to share.

[Your comment here]

Please treat the American Airline workers with dignity and respect by rewarding them for a job well done.

Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Your comment]

We signed the “CEO and Execs Take Nearly $200 Million and Workers Get Nothing” petition!

# 17,097:

12:52 pm PDT, Jun 20, Jonathan Beatrice, New York
This petition is living proof that abuses like this do not go unnoticed by working people.

# 17,096:

6:23 am PDT, Jun 20, Jesus Cruz, Florida

# 17,095:

7:29 pm PDT, Jun 19, Jim Tate, Texas

# 17,094:

12:54 pm PDT, Jun 19, Artie Alfreds, New York

# 17,093:

12:30 pm PDT, Jun 19, Barbara Chasin, New Jersey

# 17,092:

9:03 am PDT, Jun 19, Cindy Morrison, Oregon
CORPORATE GREED AT ITS FINEST!

# 17,091:

6:48 pm PDT, Jun 18, Abbe Anderson, Maine

# 17,090:

4:13 pm PDT, Jun 18, Maureen Chase, Massachusetts

# 17,089:

2:32 am PDT, Jun 18, Sharon Riffle, Texas

# 17,088:

11:18 pm PDT, Jun 17, Name not displayed, Texas
if you don,t share we don,t care.low moral leads to poor productivity. and that leads to poor service which leads to lost revenue. without us you are nothing. what an insult to all of us in the working world. i am a true believer in the virgin mary , and i will pray that all you greedy ceo,s will be punished by the hand of our holy father and his mother. lets bring mr crandall back so we can get rid of the extra useless fat at american airlines.

# 17,087:

3:24 pm PDT, Jun 17, Jill M Manske, Michigan

# 17,086:

11:05 am PDT, Jun 17, Name not displayed, Connecticut

# 17,085:

7:30 am PDT, Jun 17, Jenna Creveling, Pennsylvania
Workers need to be respected and not treated like dirt. Protect workers that made you millionaires!

# 17,084:

2:45 pm PDT, Jun 16, ROBERT SHEEHAN, Nevada
RESPECT BEGINS AT THE BOTTOM. WITHOUT THE WORKERS, THERE WOULD NOT BE AN AMERICAN AIRLINES.

# 17,083:

9:36 am PDT, Jun 16, Dennis Dylewski, Missouri
It is customary in today�s business world to hire management with the social conscience of a crack cocaine salesman in a schoolyard to hire individuals to do a job no one else wants for comical compensation: their salaries although exorbitant are far less than an across the board raise and therefore tolerated by a greed motivated board. As employees you must encourage your union rep.s to do more than polish a desk chair with their butts and include this type of wording in your next contract even if that requires a special contribution of additional dues to accomplish. You can�t run a company if no one shows up and replacement employees can be banned in contract provisions as well. Sign our petition http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/712648177.

# 17,082:

9:18 am PDT, Jun 16, Name not displayed, Wisconsin
How can each of you execs look in the mirror and not flinch at the person you see there? Where is your integrity?

# 17,081:

11:19 pm PDT, Jun 15, Van Cauwenberghe Benoit, Belgium

# 17,080:

12:48 pm PDT, Jun 15, Cris Colombi, Argentina

# 17,079:

10:04 am PDT, Jun 15, Vincent Scrima, Illinois

# 17,078:

12:25 am PDT, Jun 15, Michael Summers, Utah
It's too bad the execs' at AA don't give a crap about the employees. They are just full of greed. How do they expect to succeed if they can't take care of their employees?

# 17,077:

7:25 pm PDT, Jun 13, Tammy Laws, California
Pull together win together was a great concept until it became pull together, pays the top management. We would be pulling together if we all got the same pay raise in porportion to our respective pay and/or pay cut we recieved.

# 17,076:

4:32 pm PDT, Jun 13, George Toney, Illinois
Their hard work and dedication deserves a reward. It is not a good moral or business decision to deny a reward to employees that is well deserved. It would be fair and sound judgement to give to those who are just asking for what is due to them.

# 17,075:

3:35 pm PDT, Jun 13, Laura Mccabe, New Jersey

# 17,074:

9:51 pm PDT, Jun 12, Suzanna Smith, Oklahoma
Every day these men and women keep your planes in the air, on time, and in perfect shape. The value of their dedication is priceless. All were working to keep American in business - not just the executives.

# 17,073:

12:29 pm PDT, Jun 12, Martha Leahy, Massachusetts

# 17,072:

10:05 am PDT, Jun 12, Douglas Dietz, Connecticut

# 17,071:

4:13 pm PDT, Jun 11, Dave Davis, Oklahoma
I feel that we gave much of ourselves, and our families resources to help bring this company back from the brink of disaster, brought about by "the decisions of those in charge." We were told that we would all share in the rewards if we could avoid bankruptcy.We gave much to help the company, and they rewarded us by giving those who suddenly made the right decisions most of our first profitable year's money, to do with as they please! I feel that the flying public needs to see that all of the "feel good fluff" advertising that they are being fed, is untrue and see the greed of corporate "management" for what it really is. Thank you for your Truthfullness, and Integrity Mr. Arpey, and Co.

# 17,070:

1:45 pm PDT, Jun 11, Ronald Rodrigues, Oklahoma
Not only is the sharing of profits by the executives a slap in the face to the front line workers! It is also worthy to note that us front line workers could save/earn the company more millions of dollars. Instead of lining their pockets.Management could invest in the infrastructure of the maintenace/ground handling equipment and tooling, for us to do or be a "World class MRO". Shoestring repairs of outdated facilities and equipment leads to longer repair times and unhappy customers!

# 17,069:

3:39 pm PDT, Jun 10, Benjamin Stanley, North Carolina

# 17,068:

12:10 pm PDT, Jun 10, Name not displayed, Arizona

# 17,067:

12:20 am PDT, Jun 10, Ana Richkarday-Ramos, California
When you were on the verge of bankruptcy, you asked your employees to take pay cuts and make sacrifices. To show your appreciation, these same employees should be the first to be rewarded for their efforts. Without them you would not continue to exist. (Even if you had the best CEO and Execs)! The employees are the backbone; without support, the whole body collapses.

# 17,066:

9:33 pm PDT, Jun 9, Neeve Willows, Washington

# 17,065:

6:39 pm PDT, Jun 9, Heath Ashli Taranowski, Washington

# 17,064:

5:53 pm PDT, Jun 9, Michael Glynn, Massachusetts
Yes you do deserve some,let's be fair about it.AA MEANS TEAM WORK

# 17,063:

11:42 pm PDT, Jun 8, Juliana Farah, Lebanon

# 17,062:

7:51 pm PDT, Jun 8, Bill Murphy, Massachusetts
The cost of living here in Boston is extremely high. My wife an I are struggling to raise our children. The pay cuts in 2003 really hit us hard. It is time for all american workers to get a raise. American Airlines executives have no problem paying for just one gallon of gas, but my wife and I do.

# 17,061:

8:57 am PDT, Jun 8, Edward Lambert, Ohio
American Airlines has closed my station in Cleveland, OH, which means that I have to drive 2 and a half hours to work. Furthermore, I took a very significant decrease in pay and benefits in order to help sustain life for American Airlines. I am now living below my means for the good of the company and for the greed of the corporate executives.

# 17,060:

9:17 am PDT, Jun 7, Debra Metcalf, Pennsylvania
Read James Lardner's review of The Disposable American, The Great American Jobs Scam, and The Battle for the Soul of Capitalism in the June 14 New York Review of Books. It says it all.

# 17,059:

8:29 am PDT, Jun 7, Needia Monnett, Florida
My daughter works 15-17 hour days and is Very, Very devoted to her job and to your company. It is a shame when you think you are working so hard to help the company,only to find out the top brass is reaping all the profits. It is very discouraging and makes you feel that you shouldn't kill yourself when it is not appreciated. I sometimes worry about my daughter working so hard, it would be nice for her to know that her efforts are appreciated. Thank you.

# 17,058:

6:18 am PDT, Jun 7, Name not displayed, Florida

# 17,057:

5:51 am PDT, Jun 7, Debbie Kolodey, Florida
I am out of a job since Jan. 19, 2007 after 30yrs of dedicated service (25 with TWA)due to "outsourcing and automation". What a slap in the face. You all disgust me.

# 17,056:

11:14 pm PDT, Jun 6, Ned Overton, New York

# 17,055:

6:44 am PDT, Jun 6, Kyle Vaughan, Maryland

# 17,054:

2:49 pm PDT, Jun 5, Susan Edelstein, North Carolina

# 17,053:

8:45 am PDT, Jun 5, Victoria L. Schroeder, Illinois

# 17,052:

7:13 am PDT, Jun 5, Name not displayed, Ohio
The employees were made a promise that they would share in the gain. They've done their part, now it's time to diffy up!!!

# 17,051:

1:33 am PDT, Jun 5, George Ishizaki, Japan
Shame on AA's corporate management--they should open their eyes. Greed kills. What would it take to spread the wealth a little, to share in the gain, especially if it meant more satisfied workers, in particular, the ones who do the actual "legwork" of the company?

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