Join AMRRC Now!
NEW AMRRC BOARD AND OFFICERS
MEETING MINUTES, JANUARY 19, 2012
The first meeting of the AMRRC Board was held on January 19, 2012. We established a new momentum in efforts to provide all American Airlines Retirees with a dedicated drive to preserve the benefits that are now in jeopardy due to the American Airlines bankruptcy filing, November 29, 2011. Discussion covered what our goals are and introductions to all the newly assembled Board members along with the selection of an Attorney with excellent credentials who represented Delta Retirees, Delphi Retirees and General Motors Retirees among others, during their bankruptcies.
The Board is comprised of 7 AA retirees, with diverse, but solid credentials, not only in their American Airlines/TWA work experience, but unique backgrounds in Pension, Health and Life Insurance, and Bankruptcy Liabilities encountered by other Airlines. 5 members were elected by Retirees in the election process and we, as a Board, selected 2 that rounded out the Board in representation throughout the country and all major categories. We have Union, Non-Union, and Management represented. Geographically, Board Members are also widespread as you can see below. They are as follows:
Paul Mazzara Kansas City, MO Aircraft Mechanic
Jill Frank Smoak Coral Gables, FL Flight Attendants
Sandra Lee Strang Horseshoe Bay, TX Marketing Management
Richard K. DeJongh Tulsa, OK Maintenance and Engineering
Cynthia Scroggins Fort Mitchell, KY Reservations
John Sheremeta Ronkonkoma, NY Ramp Service
Stephen A. Granat Bedford, TX Finance, Marketing
Their backgrounds and contact information will be available at the AMRRC Board Contacts item in the Resources Menu of the Web Site.
Join AMRRC Now!
There is no compensation for these Board members, other than normal expenses associated with the Boards duties as representatives of the Retirees in the organization as we maintain communication and educate Retirees on the latest information and developments throughout the bankruptcy process. To defray these costs, we must rely on voluntary, individual membership dues from American Retirees. We have established a membership dues fee of $50 per YEAR. This is a small amount of money per month ($ 4.16) to help support our initiatives. Our goals of preserving our benefits will be dependent on ALL Retirees joining together to support this organization, AMRRC! You can join by following the instructions in the link below:
This first meeting also included the election of AMRRC Officers:
Chairmen: Paul Mazzara
Secretary: Sandra Strang
Treasurer: Stephen A. Granat
Following the election of officers, the Board then voted to retain Dean Gloster, Attorney with the firm of Farella Braun & Martel in San Francisco,( www.fbm.com ) Dean is a successful Bankruptcy Attorney and will be a significant asset in the Board’s mission to aggressively move to do all we can to save our benefits.
A trip to Washington, DC is planned by the Board at the end of this month, to join with representatives from NRLN, the National Retiree Legislative Network (nrln.org) as they work to lobby for the need for Companies to honor their Pension obligations. We will be meeting with representatives from the PBGC (Pension Benefits Guaranty Corporation), members of Congressional Committees related to the key retiree benefits issues and others in order to gain introductions, contacts, and commitments to support our efforts to protect as much as possible of our earned benefits for our service to American Airlines for decades. We are fortunate to have the ability to attend meetings with key members of Congress to discuss our concern over the possible loss of our pensions so quickly, after the formation of our organization. This would not have been possible without the help of the NRLN and the fact they have a staff in Washington, DC working to set up these meeting for us, on short notice. If you want more information regarding what we will be doing when we travel to Washington the end of the month, you can go to the NRLN website www.nrln.org where they have an agenda published of the upcoming trip to Washington DC.
We have a very important and difficult road ahead of us; however, as a Board we are confident we will be able to make a huge difference in the lives of thousands by taking the steps we have outlined already. Obviously we do not have corporate resources or corporate support to help so we are counting on YOU!
Please take the time to join AMRRC with YOUR support by signing up to be on our mailing list and sending in your membership dues. We are in the process of setting up an account and will be posting a link to “pay on line” capability, if you want and we will also be providing a membership dues form to download if you prefer to send your checks through the mail. We are committed to work for a successful resolution to the retiree benefits issues we are facing. These are our earned benefits that are at risk and we must join together to have a strong voice to protect them!
These are just the first steps in putting all the essential tools in place. We will keep you updated on activities and future plans so please visit our website often www.amrrc.org and please forward this email to all the American Airlines people you know! We are counting on your help to grow our numbers and raise the necessary money to support this effort!
Join AMRRC Now!
PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO YOUR AA RETIREE E-MAIL ADDRESSES
