JOB LOSS BEGINS
DELTA PROMISES REACH NEW LOWS

9 REGIONAL CROWN ROOMS TO CLOSE
PROMISES BROKEN IN RECORD TIME


Transcripts of Senate Commerce Committee hearing testimony: www.goiam.org/mergers.

After senators grilled Northwest and Delta CEO’s about the proposed merger of their airlines, IAM Transportation GVP Robert Roach, Jr. testified…and called on Congress to oppose further consolidation.

Chief executives from Northwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines got a frosty reception this week at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing to examine the state of the airline industry and the potential impact of a merger between Delta and Northwest Airlines.

As he did at a House Judiciary Committee hearing last week, Delta CEO Richard Anderson pledged that NO “front line” employees would lose their jobs as a result of the proposed NWA-Delta merger that would create the world’s largest carrier. Anderson specifically said that there would be no cuts among Northwest’s pilots, flight attendants, cargo or ground workers.

The jobs “pledge” drew hoots of derision and even laughter from the hearing room, which was packed with airline employees who have heard such promises from airline executives before.

As if on cue, Anderson’s pledge was followed by a carefully worded warning from Northwest CEO Doug Steenland, who said that unseen market pressures and the rising price of oil could influence any commitments regarding jobs. “The only thing we know is the world we see today,” said Steenland. “In terms of making commitments, we have to recognize there are variables outside our control.”

The hearing room came alive as Senators on the committee rolled their eyes and workers in the audience appeared to choke on the wiggle words they had just heard.

“I’ve been in this industry for 33 years and I’ve heard a lot of promises,” declared IAM Transportation GVP Robert Roach, Jr. “The promises that are made here today will mean nothing tomorrow. It’s time we fix the industry’s problem instead of short-term fixes that just provide millions of dollars for the people at the top of these airlines.”
Roach urged committee members to resist appeals to sanction additional airline consolidation, calling instead for a measured re-regulation of fares and capacity as the only way to ensure safe and reliable air transportation in the United States.

“This industry is simply unable to turn away from pricing its product below the cost of providing it, further perpetuating the chaotic spiral that brings us here today,” said Roach.

In an almost unbelievable example of how misleading Delta executive’s testimony is, the Kansas City Business Journal reports that Delta announced the closing of 9 of its 38 members-only clubs citing fuel costs and efficiency. These Crown Club Rooms are: Kansas City, Cincinnati, Denver, Boston, Honolulu, London, Phoenix, Seattle and San Juan, Puerto Rico….

All of these amenity clubs are staffed with non-union Delta employees working without protections providing services that could end immediately because there is no collective bargaining agreement involved. You noticed that no IAM Union represented NWA Worldclub facilities were mentioned to be closed. The promise that no “front line employees” would lose their jobs has been broken in near record time. These JOBS are not coming back and even if most employees affected might find other positions; these JOBS are forever lost to us.

Consolidation, as we have told you does mean to condense and shrink; the only protection from this potential job loss is to have a contract like our Northwest brothers and sisters. We will have to fight to hang on to the jobs we have…and there’s only one way to do that! Vote for and Join the IAM.

Let’s sign those A-cards today and begin to protect and save our future.