Union Agent Has Concerns About Job Security

The Allied Pilots Association (APA), certified collective bargaining agent for the 11,500 pilots of American Airlines, applauded U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder for offering to provide input to the Department of Transportation regarding pending applications for antitrust immunity by various airlines, and U.S. Senator Herb Kohl for ensuring that the applications are appropriately scrutinized to determine their impact on airline competition.

“We applaud Attorney General Holder and Senator Kohl for their focus on ensuring appropriate due diligence where pending applications for antitrust immunity are concerned,” said APA President Captain Lloyd Hill. “Antitrust immunity is by definition anti-competitive, as Attorney General Holder and Senator Kohl clearly recognize. If more airlines receive antitrust immunity, the result will be fewer choices and higher ticket prices for travelers.

“Also, APA continues to have serious concerns about the impact on hard-working Americans when global airline alliances receive antitrust immunity,” Hill said. “When companies cooperate and consolidate, some jobs inevitably become redundant.”

In addition to its concerns about competitiveness and job security, APA has also been emphasizing the importance of ensuring that U.S. carriers can be deployed on short notice for Civil Reserve Air Fleet duty. That readiness could be compromised by cross-border airline alliances or a relaxation of foreign ownership restrictions.

American Airlines announced on Aug. 14, 2008 that it was applying for worldwide antitrust immunity with four other carriers. The airline also announced that it was entering into a related joint business agreement with British Airways and Iberia. Since those announcements, APA has been voicing its concerns about the outsourcing, national security and competitiveness implications of American Airlines’ plans.

Continental Airlines and United Airlines also have a pending application for antitrust immunity.

FMI: www.alliedpilots.org