We need to tell the DOJ NOW!
We need to tell the DOJ NOW!We will meet at the TWU hall at 9:00 am on Thursday 8-29-2013 and convoy with our lights on to the parking garage located at the Southwest corner of 1st and Boulder.
Wear your RED “Enough is Enough” shirts!
TWU NEWS ROOM
Transport Workers to Deliver Petition with Thousands of Signatures to U.S. Dept. of Justice Offices in Tulsa Thur., Calling for End to Lawsuit Aimed at Blocking the American-US Airways Merger
Jobs at American Airlines’ Maintenance Facility, Tulsa’s Largest Private Sector Employer Placed in Jeopardy by DoJ’s Misguided Interference
Tulsa – A caravan of vehicles driven by members of Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 514, employed at the American Airlines maintenance base, will deliver a petition with more than 8,000 signatures to the U.S. Department of Justice’s office in Tulsa on Thursday, August 29.
Airline workers and supporters are calling for the government to drop its irrational lawsuit against the proposed merger of American Airlines and US Airways. The merger will protect good-paying U.S. jobs and give consumers the only real chance for competition with the Delta-United duopoly, which currently dominates the U.S. airline industry.
Who: Dale Danker, President TWU Local 514, Members of TWU Local 514
What: Caravan to deliver 10,000 petition signatures to U.S. Department of Justice Where: U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Assistant U.S. Trustee, 224 S. Boulder Avenue, Room 225, Tulsa, OK 74103
When: 10 am, Thursday August 29
“We put this on the Internet a couple of weeks ago, and it’s spread like wildfire,” said TWU Local 514 President Dale Danker. “People just can’t understand why our own government is trying to block a merger that’s pro-competition, pro-consumer and that protects good- paying U.S. jobs.”
More than 8,000 signatures calling on U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to drop the government’s lawsuit against the proposed merger were collected all over the United States, said Danker. They are being delivered in Tulsa, where American operates the largest remaining U.S.-based hub for aircraft repair and maintenance. With 6,000 workers, the airline is the largest private-sector employer in Tulsa.
AMR, the parent company of American Airlines, is ready to emerge from a difficult two-year bankruptcy process with a plan to merge with U.S. Airways. The proposed merger would create, for the first time in years, head-to-head competition with Delta and United and an American Airlines more able to compete with foreign carriers.
“The DOJ says this merger is anti-competitive. Actually, it’s their lawsuit against the merger which will block competition,” said Danker. “Neither American nor US Airways alone can effectively compete against Delta or United, which means the duopoly will eventually control more routes, raise prices even higher and give consumers fewer choices.”
“If this merger goes through, it will protect the jobs of our members and allow us to give consumers excellent service and real choice. If DOJ succeeds with its wrong-headed attempt to block this merger, we’ll lose jobs and income, and consumers will have fewer choices at a higher cost. That’s why we’re asking Eric Holder to reverse course and drop the DOJ lawsuit.”
The union also has sent a letter to Attorney General Holder requesting that he meet with TWU members.
Transport Workers Union of America (TWU) represents 200,000 workers and retirees, primarily in commercial aviation, public transportation and passenger railroads. The union is an affiliate of the AFL-CIO.