PAL Ground Crew Union Chief Faces Possible Ouster

Business World
Wednesday, September 16, 1998
By Patrisha F. de Leon
Reporter

The infighting at the Philippine Airlines, Inc. (PAL) ground crew union may end up costing its leader his job. This, as several board members of the PAL Employees’ Association (PALEA) yesterday held a “rump board meeting” to discuss the possibility of ousting the union president.

This developed as PAL management threatened to totally stop operations of the flag carrier should the union reject its proposed employees stock option plan (ESOP).

According to documents obtained by BusinessWorld, the PAL management plans to distribute sample ballots during a nationwide referendum for PALEA members scheduled for Sept. 17-19.

In the sample ballot, the PAL management sad, “If a majority of the employees vote to reject the above offer, according to Mr. Tan, PAL will close.”

The offer includes 60,000 shares for each PAL employee which he or she can keep or sell upon retirement. The shares to be turned over to the employees are equivalent to three seats on the flag carrier’s board of directors.

In exchange, the PAL management is calling for a 10-year suspension of the workers’ collective bargaining agreement (CBA).

BusinesWorld sources privy to the referendum preparations said the government interagency task force on PAL has “deputized” officials from the labor department to provide technical assistance in the proceedings.

Meanwhile, PALEA President Alexander Barrientos may soon find himself out in the cold reportedly because of a “growing lack of confidence” among his peers as majority of the union’s 21-man board have allegedly begun discussing his ouster.

As of press time, the PALEA board members were still debating on Mr. Barrientos’ status as union president because of his “acquiescence” on the management-processed ESOP. The stock option plan includes a 10-year suspension of the three PAL unions’ respective CBAs.

BusinessWorld was informed by the PALEA secretariat that union board members were holding a meeting yesterday which began around 4 p.m. and was being held in an undisclosed venue. As for Mr. Barrientos, the secretariat would only say that was “not at his office.”

BusinessWorld union sources confirmed the rump board meeting was held to discuss the possible ouster of Mr. Barrientos as he had been losing support from both PALEA officials and the 6,000-strong membership because of his controversial approval of the ESOP last week.

A union source also alleged that majority of the PALEA board have signified their intention to vote in favor of Mr. Barrientos’ impeachment.

Mr. Barrientos got the ire of PALEA officials and members when he, along with 12 board members, voted to accept the ESOP even as the flight attendants and pilots union rejected the plan.

With this, Mr. Barrientos lost a longtime ally when Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino chairman Filemon “Ka Popoy” Lagman called the PALEA board’s decision a “sellout” and called on the majority of the union’s leadership “to reject and declare illegal and immoral whatever agreements some PALEA leaders have forged with (PAL chairman) Lucio Tan.”