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Blocked at U.S. Ports, Foreign Capital Comes After U.S. Airlines
Flight Attendants Launch Massive Grassroots Effort to Save U.S. Aviation

CHICAGO, June 13 /PRNewswire/ — Directly in line with the Dubai ports
deal, the Bush Administration bypassed Congress and arbitrarily set a rule
that changes long-standing aviation law to allow foreign control of U.S.
airlines and their operations. United Airlines Flight Attendants,
represented by the Association of Flight Attendants, AFA-CWA, AFL-CIO, has
launched a massive grassroots campaign to protect U.S. aviation. United
Master Executive Council (MEC) President Greg Davidowitch made the
following statement about the critical call to action to save U.S.
aviation:
“Allowing foreign investors to slice up our airline industry is not
good for workers, the traveling public or the communities we serve. The
Bush plan to carve up our airlines and serve them to foreign interests on a
silver platter is one that deserves serious Congressional scrutiny.
Congress should be concerned not only about the impact on our safety and
security but the viability of our jobs and the communities we support.

“Think about it: if the Bush Administration has its way US airlines
could soon be run from board rooms in Saudi Arabia and Shanghai. Airline
operations throughout the U.S. could be controlled by executives in Tehran,
Tripoli and Timbuktu. That would be a far worse public policy outcome than
allowing our allies in Dubai to administer U.S. port operations.
“The cost of allowing foreign control over a vital national interest
far outweighs any short-term gains for deal makers and proponents of such
an action. Speaker Hastert should be less concerned with United Airlines
moving its headquarters out of Illinois and more concerned with those
headquarters being moved out of the United States. As a matter of public
policy, Congress should reject any plan that includes the sale of vital
American interests.
“This arbitrary change in aviation law will likely trigger the long-
awaited industry consolidation which could shake out in favor of foreign
airlines to the detriment of the American traveling public. Turning over
the industry so vital to our nation’s commerce will ripple tsunami waves
through our corporations, small businesses and communities. We cannot allow
foreign capital to determine which American cities will be provided air
service and which will be abandoned when they have no intrinsic interest in
our well being.
“Aviation law with limits to foreign ownership was debated by Congress
and put into place long ago for good reason. There’s no way to know the
extent of harm in changing these rules because Congress has been usurped by
the Bush Administration as it cut off discussion, debate or even
Congressional study of the issue.”
More than 46,000 Flight Attendants, including the 17,000 Flight
Attendants at United, join together to form AFA, the world’s largest Flight
Attendant union. AFA is part of the 700,000 member strong Communications
Workers of America, AFL-CIO. Visit us at http://www.unitedafa.org.