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- Dec 21, 2002
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AIRLINES HOPING TO FIND FAVOR WITH REPUBLICAN-LED CONGRESS
11/17/2002 By ERIC TORBENSON / The Dallas Morning News Count airline executives among the cheerleaders for the Nov. 5 Republican sweep of Congress, an outcome that the industry sees as a rare chance to push its legislative agenda. The result gives us some hope that some of the logjams can be broken when the new session begins Jan. 3, said AMR Corp. chief executive Donald Carty, who has made lobbying Congress a top priority for American Airlines. The alternative to the Republican sweep was far more disturbing for airlines, said Ron Ricks, government affairs vice president for Dallas-based Southwest Airlines Co. Had the Democrats kept power in the Senate and won the House of Representatives, Mr. Ricks said, airline re-regulation would have come up for debate, an outcome no carrier wants. I think there are a lot of members of Congress who would like to see deregulation fail, Mr. Ricks said. That''s not considered a problem with a GOP-run legislative branch, and the nation''s carriers are crafting an airline-friendly agenda for the 108th Congress. AIRLINE EXECUTIVES WANT CONGRESS TO: · Dramatically change how carriers negotiate with unions by introducing binding arbitration in place of federal mediation, which can end in strikes. · Allow airlines to buy war risk insurance from the government cheaper than in the private market. The airlines are paying hundreds of millions of dollars more to insure themselves against terrorism since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. · Lower taxes that airlines pay directly to the federal government and the fees they must pass along to passengers in ticket fees. There are early indications that Congress will be receptive to the requests. We''d have to look at what we can do to help them with their critical financial situation and just be aware it could turn further south if there is an act of international conflict, U.S. Rep. John Mica, a Florida Republican who is chairman of the House Aviation Subcommittee, told the Washington Post in September. Much attention will fall on a bill sponsored by Republican Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Trent Lott of Mississippi that would create a new way for airline unions and management to settle contracts. The Railway Labor Act governs those talks, outlining the formal and often arduous process that can stretch negotiations over several years. Unions can''t strike until the National Mediation Board deems that further talks won''t help, a stage the board rarely reaches. Unions are already upset that President Bush has effectively stripped their right to strike - the strongest bargaining tool they possess - by invoking seldom-used Presidential Emergency Boards in labor disputes. The three-member boards evaluate contract offers from both sides and issue a nonbinding recommendation. Congress can take those recommendations and force a settlement. Mr. Bush used one of the boards to stop a potential mechanics strike at Northwest Airlines in 2001. ''FINAL OFFER'' SYSTEM The McCain-Lott bill would go further than just stopping airline strikes. It would introduce a final offer arbitration system - sometimes called baseball-style arbitration - to settle contracts. Each side would present its last contract offer to a panel. As with arbitration over baseball players'' salaries, one side''s proposal would win, and there would be no splitting the differences. It would effectively gut the Railway Labor Act, said George Hopkins, a history professor at Western Illinois University who specializes in labor law and pilots unions. If the Republicans put it up for a vote, they''re going to go ahead and do it. They won''t pass up a chance to stick it to labor. The unions are gearing up to battle McCain-Lott, which is a dirty word to pilots, Mr. Hopkins said. The Association of Professional Flight Attendants at Fort Worth-based American Airlines will be fighting it tooth and nail, spokesman George Price said.
11/17/2002 By ERIC TORBENSON / The Dallas Morning News Count airline executives among the cheerleaders for the Nov. 5 Republican sweep of Congress, an outcome that the industry sees as a rare chance to push its legislative agenda. The result gives us some hope that some of the logjams can be broken when the new session begins Jan. 3, said AMR Corp. chief executive Donald Carty, who has made lobbying Congress a top priority for American Airlines. The alternative to the Republican sweep was far more disturbing for airlines, said Ron Ricks, government affairs vice president for Dallas-based Southwest Airlines Co. Had the Democrats kept power in the Senate and won the House of Representatives, Mr. Ricks said, airline re-regulation would have come up for debate, an outcome no carrier wants. I think there are a lot of members of Congress who would like to see deregulation fail, Mr. Ricks said. That''s not considered a problem with a GOP-run legislative branch, and the nation''s carriers are crafting an airline-friendly agenda for the 108th Congress. AIRLINE EXECUTIVES WANT CONGRESS TO: · Dramatically change how carriers negotiate with unions by introducing binding arbitration in place of federal mediation, which can end in strikes. · Allow airlines to buy war risk insurance from the government cheaper than in the private market. The airlines are paying hundreds of millions of dollars more to insure themselves against terrorism since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. · Lower taxes that airlines pay directly to the federal government and the fees they must pass along to passengers in ticket fees. There are early indications that Congress will be receptive to the requests. We''d have to look at what we can do to help them with their critical financial situation and just be aware it could turn further south if there is an act of international conflict, U.S. Rep. John Mica, a Florida Republican who is chairman of the House Aviation Subcommittee, told the Washington Post in September. Much attention will fall on a bill sponsored by Republican Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Trent Lott of Mississippi that would create a new way for airline unions and management to settle contracts. The Railway Labor Act governs those talks, outlining the formal and often arduous process that can stretch negotiations over several years. Unions can''t strike until the National Mediation Board deems that further talks won''t help, a stage the board rarely reaches. Unions are already upset that President Bush has effectively stripped their right to strike - the strongest bargaining tool they possess - by invoking seldom-used Presidential Emergency Boards in labor disputes. The three-member boards evaluate contract offers from both sides and issue a nonbinding recommendation. Congress can take those recommendations and force a settlement. Mr. Bush used one of the boards to stop a potential mechanics strike at Northwest Airlines in 2001. ''FINAL OFFER'' SYSTEM The McCain-Lott bill would go further than just stopping airline strikes. It would introduce a final offer arbitration system - sometimes called baseball-style arbitration - to settle contracts. Each side would present its last contract offer to a panel. As with arbitration over baseball players'' salaries, one side''s proposal would win, and there would be no splitting the differences. It would effectively gut the Railway Labor Act, said George Hopkins, a history professor at Western Illinois University who specializes in labor law and pilots unions. If the Republicans put it up for a vote, they''re going to go ahead and do it. They won''t pass up a chance to stick it to labor. The unions are gearing up to battle McCain-Lott, which is a dirty word to pilots, Mr. Hopkins said. The Association of Professional Flight Attendants at Fort Worth-based American Airlines will be fighting it tooth and nail, spokesman George Price said.
