President Lombardo recently submitted two sets of federal comments in opposition to the Norwegian Air application at US DOT. Copies are attached.
The US Department of Transportation is considering an application for a foreign air carrier permit submitted by Norwegian Air. This application clearly threatens to undercut labor standards both in the U.S. and in Europe by circumventing worker protections, evading international labor laws, and creating unfair airline competition. It has generated significant opposition by labor unions and airlines in both the United States and Europe.
Last week, TWU and other aviation unions filed federal comments on this issue. Today’s letter rebutted false claims made in federal comments submitted by proponents of the Norwegian Air scheme. The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA), the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), and the Transportation Trades Department, AFL–CIO (TTD) also signed the comments.
By August 31st, the Department of Transportation (DOT) must rule on Norwegian Air International’s (NAI) application for an exemption that would allow it to begin transatlantic service in the U.S. before it has formally been granted a permit to do so. If approved, the exemption would allow NAI to move forward with a low-road operating model that will undermine good jobs on both sides of the Atlantic. It is time for our government to derail this scheme.
Background
NAI is trying to circumvent the aviation agreements between the U.S. and European Union to usher in a race to the bottom for cheap labor. While NAI is Norwegian in origin and ownership, the airline will operate as an Irish air carrier while hiring flight crews who will be based in Thailand and employed on individual employment contracts with a Singaporean hiring agency. All that, and the airline won’t even be flying into or out of Ireland. It’s just to avoid the application of strong Norwegian labor and social laws and to lower the bar on labor standards.
The scheme is opposed by dozens of aviation unions in America and Europe. Last week, members of the International Transport Workers’ Federation issued strong statements condemning Norwegian Air. And in a rare showing of unanimity, airlines on both sides of the Atlantic have been fighting against Norwegian Air’s application. Clearly, this flag of convenience scheme poses serious threats to good jobs and a safe transatlantic aviation industry.
Opposition to NAI’s scheme is mounting in Washington. Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers are signaling their discomfort with an arrangement that flouts existing trade agreements and weakens our recovering economy. In June, the House of Representatives unanimously approved an amendment to the 2015 transportation spending bill that opposed this scheme. It said that expansion of our airline trade relationships must not come at the expense of our laws and U.S. jobs. NAI specifically lobbied against that amendment, making the company’s aims abundantly clear. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Daniel Coats (R-IN) stated in a letter to President Obama earlier this month that “NAI’s request raises serious concerns that DOT should not ignore,” and that DOT’s ruling “is a matter of critical importance to the future of the U.S. aviation industry, airline workers and our national economy.” And to Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) wrote that approving either the exemption or Norwegian’s application for a foreign air carrier permit “will destroy tens of thousands of middle class jobs.”
If approved, NAI’s scheme would launch a dangerous race-to-the-bottom that will hollow out the U.S. airline industry and decimate thousands of middle class airline jobs. The DOT should say no to this destructive vision for American aviation and our nation’s role in the global aviation marketplace.
Submission: AFA-CWA_IAM_TWU-on-NAI-2014-08-18
Joint Reply: AFA, TWU, IAM joint reply to comments, 8.25.14