Release #02.088
September 24, 2002

PHOENIX — Uniformed pilots of America West Airlines will conduct informational picketing and leafleting at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport Sept. 25 to show their increasing frustration with company management delays in their contract negotiations.

Pilots will be outside Level 2 at the southeast and northwest ends of Terminal 4 from 7 to 9 a.m., at which time there will be an additional contingent of pilots providing informational leaflets inside the terminal near the Concourse A and B security checkpoints.

"Management has told us that concluding these negotiations is a top priority for them," said Captain Herb Holland, chairman of the America West unit of the Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA). "But their lack of preparation and inability to agree to even the smallest contract detail makes us question just how seriously America West management takes these discussions."

Negotiations with management, which began in February 2000, are currently being conducted under the direction of a federal mediator. The two parties have not yet begun discussing key economic issues including pay and retirement.

"We have consistently shown our commitment to reaching a fair and equitable agreement as quickly as possible," said Captain Holland. "But we cannot and will not achieve that agreement by negotiating with ourselves. It’s time that management understood that."

Founded in 1931, ALPA is the world's oldest and largest pilot union representing more than 66,000 pilots at 43 airlines in the U.S. and Canada. Visit the ALPA website at http://www.alpa.org.

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ALPA CONTACT: Scott Sherrin, (602) 306-4100 or (602) 418-2979