NWA Continues Outsourcing Scheme Despite Congressional Pledges and Employee Offered Concessions
NEW YORK - In defiance of recent pledges made to U.S. Congress members, and despite nearly $195 million in annual concessions tentatively offered Northwest Airlines by the Professional Flight Attendants Association this week, company executives continue to demand that thousands of Flight Attendant jobs be outsourced to foreign workers.
Just two months ago, NWA President/CEO Doug Steenland and NWA Vice President/chief lobbyist Andrea Fischer Newman sent letters to Senators and Representatives including statements such as:
"...as we have told all of the unions, our proposals represent one method of achieving the necessary labor cost reductions. If they prefer a different manner of achieving equivalent savings, we are open to those discussions. There is no ultimatum here, nor any specific desire to target American jobs, just a very real need to restructure the airline's labor costs and return to profitability for the benefit of all our employees."
In what now smacks of efforts to revise their previous promises, in recently published reports Northwest Airlines now publicly states that the Flight Attendants Union "simply overlooks the reality that PFAA's members do not provide the language skills that Northwest requires." Furthermore, the company continued: "The airline said that 60 percent of Northwest's Pacific passengers originate from Asia, yet fewer than 5 percent of Northwest's flight attendants speak any Asian language."
In spite of the company's erratically shifting demands in negotiations, PFAA Spokesperson and Executive Board member Karen Schultz said the Union will continue to bargain in good faith in an effort to give the company the savings it needs to emerge from bankruptcy.
"For more than 75 years, U.S. based Northwest Flight Attendants have served our Asian customers needs with grace and skill," Schultz said. "Following decades of this reality, we find the company's public statements regarding their own employees shockingly discriminatory, un-patriotic, and un-American, especially given Northwest Airline's history as one of the premier and oldest United States flag carriers."
Jeanne Elliott, PFAA’s National Security & Regulatory Affairs Coordinator, said the company's disrespect for its certified professional Flight Attendant corps is disturbing in light of their recognized, proven safety/security role onboard Northwest’s international routes - irrespective of destination and/or origin of its customers. Elliott noted that Northwest's recognized safety record attests to the contributions of its Flight Attendant corps to making this a reality.
"If large numbers of foreign national Flight Attendants were recruited into NWA's route system, it would be incumbent upon the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to develop an English language proficiency standard to ensure these individuals will be able to effectively communicate with the flight deck and passengers in any emergency," said Elliott, recognized as an industry expert regarding aviation security and safety concerns. "Will these foreign nationals be held to the same level of safety and security training standards as certified U.S. Flight Attendants? Does the U.S. Transportation Security Administration have the ability and resources to conduct criminal background checks on foreign nationals?"
"The safety and security of the U.S. aviation system must be protected and preserved - and not left to unscrupulous actions by an air carrier's management bent on sacrificing this for the sake of corporate greed under the veil of bankruptcy," Elliott said.
PFAA represents the nearly 10,000 U.S.-based Flight Attendants, who ensure the highest levels of safety, security, and service on Northwest’s hundreds of daily flights around the world.
Contacts:
Karen Schultz, PFAA Communications Liaison, 612-419-9761
PFAA has offices in Minneapolis-St. Paul and Detroit. Further information can be found on http://www.pfaa.com
NEW YORK - In defiance of recent pledges made to U.S. Congress members, and despite nearly $195 million in annual concessions tentatively offered Northwest Airlines by the Professional Flight Attendants Association this week, company executives continue to demand that thousands of Flight Attendant jobs be outsourced to foreign workers.
Just two months ago, NWA President/CEO Doug Steenland and NWA Vice President/chief lobbyist Andrea Fischer Newman sent letters to Senators and Representatives including statements such as:
"...as we have told all of the unions, our proposals represent one method of achieving the necessary labor cost reductions. If they prefer a different manner of achieving equivalent savings, we are open to those discussions. There is no ultimatum here, nor any specific desire to target American jobs, just a very real need to restructure the airline's labor costs and return to profitability for the benefit of all our employees."
In what now smacks of efforts to revise their previous promises, in recently published reports Northwest Airlines now publicly states that the Flight Attendants Union "simply overlooks the reality that PFAA's members do not provide the language skills that Northwest requires." Furthermore, the company continued: "The airline said that 60 percent of Northwest's Pacific passengers originate from Asia, yet fewer than 5 percent of Northwest's flight attendants speak any Asian language."
In spite of the company's erratically shifting demands in negotiations, PFAA Spokesperson and Executive Board member Karen Schultz said the Union will continue to bargain in good faith in an effort to give the company the savings it needs to emerge from bankruptcy.
"For more than 75 years, U.S. based Northwest Flight Attendants have served our Asian customers needs with grace and skill," Schultz said. "Following decades of this reality, we find the company's public statements regarding their own employees shockingly discriminatory, un-patriotic, and un-American, especially given Northwest Airline's history as one of the premier and oldest United States flag carriers."
Jeanne Elliott, PFAA’s National Security & Regulatory Affairs Coordinator, said the company's disrespect for its certified professional Flight Attendant corps is disturbing in light of their recognized, proven safety/security role onboard Northwest’s international routes - irrespective of destination and/or origin of its customers. Elliott noted that Northwest's recognized safety record attests to the contributions of its Flight Attendant corps to making this a reality.
"If large numbers of foreign national Flight Attendants were recruited into NWA's route system, it would be incumbent upon the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to develop an English language proficiency standard to ensure these individuals will be able to effectively communicate with the flight deck and passengers in any emergency," said Elliott, recognized as an industry expert regarding aviation security and safety concerns. "Will these foreign nationals be held to the same level of safety and security training standards as certified U.S. Flight Attendants? Does the U.S. Transportation Security Administration have the ability and resources to conduct criminal background checks on foreign nationals?"
"The safety and security of the U.S. aviation system must be protected and preserved - and not left to unscrupulous actions by an air carrier's management bent on sacrificing this for the sake of corporate greed under the veil of bankruptcy," Elliott said.
PFAA represents the nearly 10,000 U.S.-based Flight Attendants, who ensure the highest levels of safety, security, and service on Northwest’s hundreds of daily flights around the world.
Contacts:
Karen Schultz, PFAA Communications Liaison, 612-419-9761
PFAA has offices in Minneapolis-St. Paul and Detroit. Further information can be found on http://www.pfaa.com
