But the bill, HR 4677, pushed by the federation, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, the Steelworkers, the Machinists and the Airline Pilots may not get far due to a jammed congressional schedule, one of the union reps admitted afterwards.
The five told a House Judiciary subcommittee on May 25 that companies use bankruptcies to deliberately destroy union contracts, slash workers’ wages, eliminate health care benefits and dump pensions on the taxpayers via the federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. “That’s another bailout,” said IAM Vice President Robert Roach.
Workers must often agree to such slashes, the five admitted, because when they’re bargaining with bankrupt firms, they’re negotiating, as one lawmaker put it, “with a gun to their heads.”
ALPA President Capt. John Prater added at least one airline, Hawaiian, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy re-organization even though the carrier was profitable. “Most managements that go into bankruptcy, especially in the airline industry, use it as a business tool to get rid of a collective bargaining agreement,” he said.
All the witnesses pointed to United Airlines, whose pilots took a 42% cut in two parts, while the broke company’s executives garnered $40 million. Union witnesses also included Steelworkers Vice President Tom Conway and AFA-CWA Northwest Rep Janette Rook.
“In theory, sacrifices should be shared” when a firm files for bankruptcy, replied subcommittee chairman Steve Cohen, D-Tenn. “But Chapter 11 may not be working as intended, with some companies using it to bust unions while paying executives millions.”
Two corporate attorneys, the GOP witnesses, denied the charges. One said many execs lost their jobs, too -- prompting Cohen to observe the honchos could afford to do so. The other denied firms deliberately declared bankruptcy to void contracts. Both opposed changing the law. They said bankruptcy lets firms cut wages and benefits “to market rates.”
That prompted Rep. William Delahunt, D-Mass., to forecast “a continuum of bankruptcies” to keep pushing “market” wages and benefits down.
The unionists urged lawmakers to change bankruptcy law so workers’ pay -- all of it, not just the first $10,000 per worker -- should be at the head of the creditors’ line. Otherwise, you wind up with situations such as one Prater cited: Mesaba pilots lost so much pay they were eligible for food stamps. Other changes the unionists advocated would protect workers’ pensions and health care -- and give workers the right to strike if they reject an onerous proposed bankruptcy settlement.
This article was written by Press Associates, Inc., news service. Used by permission.
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But the bill, HR 4677, pushed by the federation, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, the Steelworkers, the Machinists and the Airline Pilots may not get far due to a jammed congressional schedule, one of the union reps admitted afterwards.
The five told a House Judiciary subcommittee on May 25 that companies use bankruptcies to deliberately destroy union contracts, slash workers’ wages, eliminate health care benefits and dump pensions on the taxpayers via the federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. “That’s another bailout,” said IAM Vice President Robert Roach.
Workers must often agree to such slashes, the five admitted, because when they’re bargaining with bankrupt firms, they’re negotiating, as one lawmaker put it, “with a gun to their heads.”
ALPA President Capt. John Prater added at least one airline, Hawaiian, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy re-organization even though the carrier was profitable. “Most managements that go into bankruptcy, especially in the airline industry, use it as a business tool to get rid of a collective bargaining agreement,” he said.
All the witnesses pointed to United Airlines, whose pilots took a 42% cut in two parts, while the broke company’s executives garnered $40 million. Union witnesses also included Steelworkers Vice President Tom Conway and AFA-CWA Northwest Rep Janette Rook.
“In theory, sacrifices should be shared” when a firm files for bankruptcy, replied subcommittee chairman Steve Cohen, D-Tenn. “But Chapter 11 may not be working as intended, with some companies using it to bust unions while paying executives millions.”
Two corporate attorneys, the GOP witnesses, denied the charges. One said many execs lost their jobs, too — prompting Cohen to observe the honchos could afford to do so. The other denied firms deliberately declared bankruptcy to void contracts. Both opposed changing the law. They said bankruptcy lets firms cut wages and benefits “to market rates.”
That prompted Rep. William Delahunt, D-Mass., to forecast “a continuum of bankruptcies” to keep pushing “market” wages and benefits down.
The unionists urged lawmakers to change bankruptcy law so workers’ pay — all of it, not just the first $10,000 per worker — should be at the head of the creditors’ line. Otherwise, you wind up with situations such as one Prater cited: Mesaba pilots lost so much pay they were eligible for food stamps. Other changes the unionists advocated would protect workers’ pensions and health care — and give workers the right to strike if they reject an onerous proposed bankruptcy settlement.
This article was written by Press Associates, Inc., news service. Used by permission.