American Airlines‘ (Dallas/Fort Worth) flight attendants, represented by the APFA, are putting political pressure on those states which are joining with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to oppose the American-US Airways (Phoenix) merger. APFA is particularly focusing on Attorney General Pam Bondi from the State of Florida. American has a large international hub at Miami International Airport. The union issued this statement:
In the wake of Tuesday’s announcement by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott that he would withdraw from the lawsuit to block the merger of American Airlines and US Airways, the flight attendants at American are calling on Pam Bondi and attorneys general from five other states to do the same.
“Florida, particularly South Florida, is home to about 2,500 American flight attendants that are in need of good wages and long term job security, but General Bondi is standing in the way of that,” said APFA President Laura Glading. “Pam Bondi’s participation in the Justice Department’s antitrust lawsuit demonstrates a lack of understanding of what the merger means for her constituents. Everyone – business travelers, tourists, and airline employees – stand to benefit from the new American. We were able to explain that to General Abbott in Texas and we’d like to do the same in Florida.”
Unable to compete with United and Delta, which had recently merged with Continental and Northwest, respectively, American Airlines was forced into Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November of 2011. It is clear that in order for American to be competitive, it needs to merge with US Airways. The merger plan has had the strong support of employees at both companies since its inception. Unfortunately, the US Department of Justice and attorneys general from seven states and the District of Columbia filed an eleventh-hour lawsuit to block the merger in August of this year.
The new American Airlines will offer consumers more destinations and a better product. It will also give flyers a third choice – in addition to Delta and United – for their travel needs. Finally, the merger will provide much-needed job security for approximately 100,000 employees nationwide, 11,650 of whom live in Florida.
Last week, members of Florida’s congressional delegation sent a letter to General Bondi urging her to support the merger. The letter was authored by Rep. Alcee Hastings and signed by Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Ted Deutch, Lois Frankle, Frederica Wilson, Joe Garcia, and Patrick E. Murphy.
Copyright Photo: Brian McDonough/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-823 N965AN (msn 29544) of American arrives in deadlocked Washington (Reagan National).
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