American's pilots oust union leaders

Jun. 21--It's a new day at the American Airlines pilots union -- and perhaps a tougher one for the airline's management -- as challenger Lloyd Hill overwhelmingly defeated the group's president, Ralph Hunter, in a runoff election.

Hill, a pilot from the company's Miami base, defeated Hunter, who's based at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, by more than a 2-1 ratio. Hill garnered 4,573 votes, while Hunter received 2,180.

In fact, all three challengers seeking the posts of president, vice president and secretary/treasurer of the Allied Pilots Association won, according to votes tabulated Wednesday.

The runoff attracted an 81.5 percent turnout from APA members, which is believed to be a record.

The results are a strong indication of what the management for Fort Worth-based American Airlines will face as it continues negotiating for a new pilot labor contract, industry experts said.

"There's going to be some pounding on tables," said Stuart Klaskin, an airline consultant for Klaskin, Kushner & Co. in Coral Gables, Fla. "I think it's going to be very contentious."

In the runoff for vice president, Tom Westbrook defeated incumbent Sam Bertling, 4,665 votes to 2,068. And Bill Haug defeated Secretary/Treasurer Jim Eaton, 3,986 to 2,723.

Klaskin, who expected new union leadership to prevail in the runoff, said it's ultimately a signal from the pilots that they're prepared to walk down a path to a more fractured relationship with management.

"I think it's kind of a shame," said Klaskin, who added that manage- ment is also partly to blame for the relationship with the union.

Wednesday's results are not too surprising, considering what happened in the election leading up to the runoff. In that vote, which ended in May, all three challengers led by significant margins.

Terry Trippler, a travel consultant with MyVacationPassport.com, said he, too, expected the challengers to prevail in the runoff.

"It's going to be tough times between airline manage- ment and the pilots for the foreseeable future," he said. "I think management realizes that this is a vote on them, and they're watching it very closely."

"It's a new group coming in, and like everyone else, we will work together to win together," said Billy Sanez, a spokesman for American.

Hunter and Hill did not return calls for comment.

Although Hunter has appeared to be critical of management in the past year, Hill campaigned to be more aggressive and confrontational than Hunter.

The newly elected union leaders will hold office for three years, starting July 1.

They are spread out across the country. Westbrook is based at D/FW Airport, Haug in San Francisco.

The top executives at American Airlines will face a strong challenge, Klaskin said.

"A vote other than for the incumbency is essentially a vote to go backward in the management-labor relationship," he said. "The problem is management has not done a good signaling to labor that they don't want to go back down that path."

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