AA workers deliver protest petition to local Justice Department officials
By KYLE ARNOLD World Business Writer on Aug 29, 2013, at 11:21 AM
American Airlines
Some travelers will encounter the most tangible evidence of the reboot of American Airlines on Monday when the airline begins flying its first Airbus A319 jets.
The American Airlines bankruptcy judge issued a written opinion Friday stating that he took the financial sacrifices made by union members into account when rejecting a $20 million severance deal for CEO Tom Horton.
Two dozen Transport Workers Union members delivered a box of petitions with 8,000 signatures to local U.S. Department of Justice officials Thursday, asking them to stop the antitrust lawsuit blocking the merger between American Airlines and US Airways.
“You do what you can do,” said Dale Danker, president of the TWU local 514. “We are just trying to show the Department of Justice that we are here too and this impacts us.”
The petition, which was circulated at the American Airlines maintenance base in Tulsa and online, asks the U.S. Department of Justice to drop the lawsuit because it threatens jobs and will actually hurt air fare competition.
The petition was part of a nationwide campaign by the Transport Workers Union.
“Your attempt to block the American-US Airways merger threatens our jobs and our future,” the petition said. ”The merger is the only viable plan that allows American Airlines and US Airways to compete against a duopoly where United and Delta will dominate U.S. commercial aviation.”
American Airlines has about 6,300 employees in Tulsa, including more than 6,000 at the company’s primary jet overhaul facility, located near Tulsa International Airport.
American Airlines
Some travelers will encounter the most tangible evidence of the reboot of American Airlines on Monday when the airline begins flying its first Airbus A319 jets.
The American Airlines bankruptcy judge issued a written opinion Friday stating that he took the financial sacrifices made by union members into account when rejecting a $20 million severance deal for CEO Tom Horton.
