TWU & Allied Aviation Unions Make Major Push to #DenyNAI
Published 20 Nov, 2014
This week, activists from TWU and other unions representing aviation workers are coming to Washington, D.C. to oppose low-fare air carrier Norwegian Air International’s (NAI) dangerous scheme to undercut the U.S. aviation industry’s safety and labor rights standards.
Over the course of the past year, TWU has been actively engaged in the cross-union effort to halt a race to the bottom for cheap labor by opposing NAI’s attempt to circumvent the aviation agreements between the U.S. and the European Union.
While the airline is Norwegian in origin and ownership, it wants to operate as an Irish air carrier to avoid strong Norwegian labor and social laws and to lower the bar on labor standards. If it gets federal approval, the airline would hire flight crews based in Thailand and employed on individual employment contracts with a Singaporean hiring agency.
Norwegian Air’s scheme would hollow out the airline industry and decimate thousands of middle class airline jobs. TWU is a strong member of an international coalition of aviation unions and airlines fighting to stop Norwegian Air. You can learn more about what TWU is doing to oppose NAI’s dangerous scheme on page 16 of the Fall 2014 issue of the TWU Express.
In September, the US Department of Transportation rejected an application by NAI to be exempted from applying for federal authority to operate in the U.S. As a result, Norwegian Air International will be required to go through the full application process. Prior to its rejection, TWU International President Harry Lombardo strongly condemned the airline’s exemption application in two sets of federal comments submitted to the US DOT.
Airline industry unions in the US and in Europe oppose Norwegian Air! We are joined by Republican and Democratic lawmakers in Washington. Our employers, air carriers on both sides of the Atlantic, are fighting side-by-side with us against Norwegian Air’s application.
Now, your union is asking you to email your representative today and tell them to sign on to the Collins/Sires letter opposing Norwegian Air International.
On Wednesday, TWU activists representing aircraft maintenance workers, ground crews and flight attendants met with elected officials on Capitol Hill, as part of a multi-union effort to lobby Congress to oppose NAI.
Simultaneously, TWU waged a national grassroots campaign against NAI, which included phone banks, letters and emails to members of Congress expressing our opposition to the NAI application.
For further info on labor’s opposition to NAI, check out The Hill’s Nov. 20th article, “Norwegian Air Deal Undermines Labor Standards.”