Teamsters Applaud Major Win for Labor, Airline Employees, Taxpayers

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/teamsters-applaud-major-win-for-labor-airline-employees-taxpayers-103141404.html

Language Will Prohibit Airlines from Breaking Contracts, Dumping Pensions on PBGC and Taxpayers

WASHINGTON, Sept. 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In a major victory for organized labor, airline employees and American taxpayers, the House Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law has adopted language of an amendment into H.R. 4766 that will preclude U.S. airlines that are in bankruptcy from abrogating labor agreements and dumping pensions onto the Pension Benefit and Guarantee Corporation (PBGC) and ultimately the U.S. taxpayers.

The amendment, offered by Congressman Dan Maffei (D-NY) was passed in committee on an 8-4 roll call vote, contains language offered by the Airline Division of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) and seven committee members, who are also members of the Judiciary Committee, voted in favor of the bill.

Under current practice, when an airline files for bankruptcy protection, management has the ability to unilaterally abrogate the existing labor contracts and may terminate employee pensions at will. This was allowed despite the millions of dollars that employee groups may have in the plans or turn the plan over to the PBGC, an arm of the federal government, leaving the U.S. taxpayers to foot the bill for underfunded plans. Unions have been powerless to fight this provision of the bankruptcy code despite efforts to change it that have been ongoing for years.

The amendment language, written by the Teamsters Airline Division and now contained in H.R. 4766, would no longer allow airlines to use the bankruptcy code to unilaterally reject a union contract. They would be required to follow the procedures outlined in Section 6 of the Railway Labor Act (RLA), which governs the airline industry. Under the law, if adopted, airline managements would be prohibited from making unilateral changes without the assent of the union involved. If there is no agreement, no change may occur.

FULL story at link.