OREANDA-NEWS. American Airlines (Nasdaq:AAL) and the TWU-IAM Association today announced they have reached an interim agreement to provide significant pay increases to the 30,000 maintenance, fleet service and other related employees represented by the TWU-IAM Association. The pay increases will go into place immediately while the negotiating committees continue working toward a joint collective bargaining agreement for the represented groups. The TWU-IAM Association is an alliance between the Transport Workers Union (TWU) and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM).

“We are pleased to reach this innovative and unprecedented agreement with the Association, which will provide immediate and significant pay increases for 30,000 of American’s more than 100,000 team members,” said Robert Isom, Chief Operating Officer for American. “With 12 diverse workgroups represented by the Association, reaching a single agreement for this specific set of co-workers is taking longer than any of us anticipated. Today’s interim agreement is unique, and thanks to the experienced leadership of Association Chair Sito Pantoja, Association Vice Chair Harry Lombardo, and two extremely motivated and capable negotiating committees, we have joined together to put the interests of our co-workers and Association members first. We will continue to work toward a single agreement that accommodates the unique needs of each of these diverse groups, and remain committed to reaching that single agreement as quickly as we can.”

The interim agreement provides average pay increases ranging from 15 to 36 percent for maintenance and related employees, 24 percent for fleet service employees, 31 percent for tower planners and 55 percent for weight and balance planners. These increases now give employees in each of these groups the highest hourly wage rates amongst their peers at other network carriers. Additionally, the agreement provides for a provision that allows TWU-IAM Association maintenance and related and fleet service and related employees to perform work on either pre-merger American or US Airways aircraft. This provision currently exists in a limited fashion and expanding it will enable American to schedule its aircraft more efficiently and allow its workforce to more effectively maintain its fleet.