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Wall Street JournalBy MIKE ESTERL
AMR Corp.'s American Airlines said Wednesday it reached a tentative labor agreement with its mechanics, partially easing the threat of work disruptions at the second-largest U.S. airline by traffic.
Fort Worth, Texas-based American has been mired in contentious negotiations for more than a year with pilots, flight attendants and ground workers. Unions are attempting to claw back big concessions on pay and benefits made in 2003, which helped keep the airline out of bankruptcy court.
American said the new contract for mechanics and related workers, if signed, would cover about 11,500 employees. The airline has about 78,000 workers overall, including regional affiliate American Eagle.
The proposed three-year contract with mechanics calls for a signing bonus of 6%, to be paid in a lump sum, and structural pay increases of 3% in 2010, 1.5% in 2011 and 1.5% in 2012.
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