By Mary Schlangenstein
Dec. 13 (Bloomberg) -- American Airlines and a union representing about 14,000 baggage handlers and other ground workers ended talks after the sides failed to reach a contract after almost two weeks of negotiations.
American, the second-biggest U.S. carrier, and the Transport Workers Union agreed in advance to ask the National Mediation Board for help should they fail to agree during daily talks that began Dec. 2. Talks extended beyond an original Dec. 8 deadline in an effort to reach a contract.
“We discontinued the negotiation last night,” said Tami McLallen, a spokeswoman for American, a unit of AMR Corp. She declined to confirm a mediator will be brought in, saying more details will be released on Monday.
American is already in assisted talks with two other groups, its pilots and its flight dispatchers. The Fort Worth, Texas- based airliner is trying to control the cost of new labor contracts as demand declines and fuel prices reached records earlier this year.
The negotiations with the ground workers had focused on wages, benefits and work rules. Talks between American and the Transport Workers Union, which represents 25,000 employees in seven work groups, began in November 2007.
The TWU group in the suspended talks represents baggage and cargo handlers, fleet service workers, aircraft-part clerks, simulator technicians and ground school and simulator instructors.
To contact the reporter on this story: Mary Schlangenstein in Dallas at maryc.s@bloomberg.net
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