WASHINGTON, D.C. - Uniformed pilots of American Eagle Airlines will conduct informational picketing January 9 and 10 at two international airports to demonstrate the pilots’ unified opposition to the proposed sale of American Eagle’s Miami and Caribbean operation and to protest management decisions and actions that jeopardize the pilots’ livelihood.

The pilots will picket on Thursday, January 9, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Luis Munoz Marin International Airport, San Juan, (by USDA agriculture checkpoint) and on Friday, January 10, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Miami International Airport (between terminals B, C, D, and E).

American Eagle pilots assert that their management continually breaks promises made in their collective bargaining agreement, and in particular, a commitment from management to aggressively pursue growth opportunities. For example, in November 2002, management announced its intent to sell the airline’s San Juan and Miami operations, a broken promise of the long-term growth and development of the American Eagle. Other recent broken promises have included the outsourcing of jobs for minimal, if any, resultant gain and the transferring of 14 airplanes to a competitor.

“We want management and the potential buyer to know that we, the pilots, are opposed to the selling of the San Juan and Miami operations,” said Captain Herb Mark, chairman of the American Eagle pilots’ Master Executive Council, a unit of the Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA). “Despite the softening conditions of the airline industry in recent months, our analysis indicates that growth opportunities for American Eagle exist. Management has repeatedly failed to heed our call, so we need to demonstrate our frustration and resolve,” declared Captain Mark.

Founded in 1931, ALPA is the world’s oldest and largest pilot union, representing 66,000 pilots at 42 airlines in the U.S. and Canada, including approximately 2,600 American Eagle pilots. Visit the ALPA Website at http://www.alpa.org.

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