Once again the Republicans who are bought and paid for by Big Business show their true colors. They care nothing for you, me, our domestic airlines, the piloting profession, or labor unions. This is why I will be voting DEMOCRAT. Elect Gov. Howard Dean as our next president and send Bush/Cheney & Co. back to Halliburton and the oil fields of Texas where they belong.
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Cabotage Alert!!!
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I contacted both of my senators on Day #1 of this outrage.
To everyone else....don't just sit there thinking, "someone else will take care of it". YOU have to take care of it. Collectively, we all can make this go away, but only if EACH of us does his part. I've included an easy link below to help you contact your respective senators. Use the ready-made letter that others have posted on this forum if you like, or make up your own. But whatever you do, GET INVOLVED! We can fight a battle now...or a war later. Which would you rather do?
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
To everyone else....don't just sit there thinking, "someone else will take care of it". YOU have to take care of it. Collectively, we all can make this go away, but only if EACH of us does his part. I've included an easy link below to help you contact your respective senators. Use the ready-made letter that others have posted on this forum if you like, or make up your own. But whatever you do, GET INVOLVED! We can fight a battle now...or a war later. Which would you rather do?
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
Pura Vida said:
Even better, we need a strong, single voice in Wash DC to speak for the pilot profession when the politicians try and ram rod one these things thru. I mean it is more effective, at times, if one group speaks for 66,000 of us and stays on top of these things.....
Oh well, I gotta go pay bills including my damm ALPA dues...stinkin unions....
Hugh Jorgan
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 25, 2001
- Posts
- 2,307
Cargo Cabotage: Another Slippery Slope
by
Capt. Duane E. Woerth
The Senate will begin deliberations shortly on the conference report of the FAA Reauthorization Bill, which narrowly passed the House on a partisan vote of 211 to 207. In addition to the widely publicized dispute over air traffic control privatization, and the need for defensive training for flight attendants, the conference report contains a little-noticed provision that will result in the out-sourcing of U.S. pilots 92 jobs to Asian carriers.
The issue is cabotage, the carriage of goods or passengers between two destinations within a country by a transport entity from another nation. It is prohibited by U.S. law.
The amendment in question would allow cargo cabotage to and from the state of Alaska. It was inserted in the FAA bill on the Senate floor without hearings or debate. It was accepted by the House Republican conferees over the opposition of the Democratic members, also without hearings or debate.
If enacted, it would change the longstanding requirement that the transportation of cargo in domestic markets be done on U.S. air carriers. It would allow foreign airlines to carry cargo between an Alaskan gateway airport and any other U.S. airport, provided that the cargo was being shipped internationally into or out of Alaska. Current U.S. pilot jobs will be outsourced to Asian carriers; the only fig leaf required is a U.S. codeshare partner. They get the jobs - we get the code.
For example, it would allow Air China, the national carrier for the People's Republic of China, to pick up cargo brought into Anchorage from Tokyo by Northwest Airlines and transport it to New York. The provision does not grant any reciprocal rights for U.S. carriers in China, nor can it be expected that the Chinese would agree to allow such operations by U.S. carriers in their vast domestic markets.
Futhermore, this lack of reciprocity is not a minor point. How are U.S. trade negotiators supposed to obtain further aviation liberalization rights for U.S. air carriers if Congress unilaterally gives away the store with no quid pro quos?
Under this scenario, a foreign airline such as Air China, or its affiliate Air China Cargo, could set up a cargo distribution center in Anchorage witha dedicated fleet of freighters based there for the purpose of transporting U.S. domestic traffic between Alaska and the other 49 states, in both directions, provided the cargo was coming from or destined for a foreign country and they had a U.S. codeshare partner providing the fig leaf.
It has been argued that without this amendment, Anchorage airport is in danger of losing foreign cargo transfer traffic to Canadian airports such as Vancouver. However, that is clearly a mistaken argument. Canada does not share fifth freedom opportunities with the U.S., which means that this type of cargo transfer operation would be illegal for Asian carriers via Canada.
It should be obvious that once the door is cracked open for unilateral cargo cabotage through Alaska, pressure will build to provide the same access through other U.S. gateways. What will stop New York, Miami, or Los Angeles airports from making the same request of Congress with no quid pro quo benefit for U.S. carriers and their employees?
If the goal is to provide more service to U.S. citizens and businesses for shipping cargo to and from foreign markets, we ought to be pursuing ways to do that by expanding the services of U.S. airlines so that we can benefit American workers and businesses.
This amendment puts us on the slippery slope toward widespread foreign outsourcing of U.S. pilot jobs. Congress should remove this insidious provision from the bill and remember that many of the U.S. pilot jobs that will be outsourced are military veterans who served in Vietnam, or the Gulf wars.
Duane E. Woerth is president of the Air Line Pilots Association, International
* * * * * * * *
ACTION ALERT
by
Capt. Duane E. Woerth
The Senate will begin deliberations shortly on the conference report of the FAA Reauthorization Bill, which narrowly passed the House on a partisan vote of 211 to 207. In addition to the widely publicized dispute over air traffic control privatization, and the need for defensive training for flight attendants, the conference report contains a little-noticed provision that will result in the out-sourcing of U.S. pilots 92 jobs to Asian carriers.
The issue is cabotage, the carriage of goods or passengers between two destinations within a country by a transport entity from another nation. It is prohibited by U.S. law.
The amendment in question would allow cargo cabotage to and from the state of Alaska. It was inserted in the FAA bill on the Senate floor without hearings or debate. It was accepted by the House Republican conferees over the opposition of the Democratic members, also without hearings or debate.
If enacted, it would change the longstanding requirement that the transportation of cargo in domestic markets be done on U.S. air carriers. It would allow foreign airlines to carry cargo between an Alaskan gateway airport and any other U.S. airport, provided that the cargo was being shipped internationally into or out of Alaska. Current U.S. pilot jobs will be outsourced to Asian carriers; the only fig leaf required is a U.S. codeshare partner. They get the jobs - we get the code.
For example, it would allow Air China, the national carrier for the People's Republic of China, to pick up cargo brought into Anchorage from Tokyo by Northwest Airlines and transport it to New York. The provision does not grant any reciprocal rights for U.S. carriers in China, nor can it be expected that the Chinese would agree to allow such operations by U.S. carriers in their vast domestic markets.
Futhermore, this lack of reciprocity is not a minor point. How are U.S. trade negotiators supposed to obtain further aviation liberalization rights for U.S. air carriers if Congress unilaterally gives away the store with no quid pro quos?
Under this scenario, a foreign airline such as Air China, or its affiliate Air China Cargo, could set up a cargo distribution center in Anchorage witha dedicated fleet of freighters based there for the purpose of transporting U.S. domestic traffic between Alaska and the other 49 states, in both directions, provided the cargo was coming from or destined for a foreign country and they had a U.S. codeshare partner providing the fig leaf.
It has been argued that without this amendment, Anchorage airport is in danger of losing foreign cargo transfer traffic to Canadian airports such as Vancouver. However, that is clearly a mistaken argument. Canada does not share fifth freedom opportunities with the U.S., which means that this type of cargo transfer operation would be illegal for Asian carriers via Canada.
It should be obvious that once the door is cracked open for unilateral cargo cabotage through Alaska, pressure will build to provide the same access through other U.S. gateways. What will stop New York, Miami, or Los Angeles airports from making the same request of Congress with no quid pro quo benefit for U.S. carriers and their employees?
If the goal is to provide more service to U.S. citizens and businesses for shipping cargo to and from foreign markets, we ought to be pursuing ways to do that by expanding the services of U.S. airlines so that we can benefit American workers and businesses.
This amendment puts us on the slippery slope toward widespread foreign outsourcing of U.S. pilot jobs. Congress should remove this insidious provision from the bill and remember that many of the U.S. pilot jobs that will be outsourced are military veterans who served in Vietnam, or the Gulf wars.
Duane E. Woerth is president of the Air Line Pilots Association, International
* * * * * * * *
ACTION ALERT
Gotta keep this on the FRONT burner guys & gals.
I emailed last week, emailed again and called yesterday. It is so EASY.
Go to www.senate.gov Pick your state and you have the phone numbers right there. Take the 2-3 minutes to talk to a staffer and have your voice heard-they listen. Your career is certainly worth a couple of minutes.
UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL
I emailed last week, emailed again and called yesterday. It is so EASY.
Go to www.senate.gov Pick your state and you have the phone numbers right there. Take the 2-3 minutes to talk to a staffer and have your voice heard-they listen. Your career is certainly worth a couple of minutes.
UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL
Purple Haze
Out there and lovin' it
- Joined
- Nov 25, 2001
- Posts
- 175
Monday, Nov. 17
Senate Republicans called for a cloture vote on the FAA Reauthorization Bill (H.R. 2115) today at 5:30 p.m. EST. A 60-vote majority is required to invoke cloture, which would end debate and bring a bill to the floor for a vote.
UPDATE: Cloture failed, so debate continues - this is a good thing. However, none of the debate has mentioned cabotage. It is pure Dems vs. Reps. Ridiculous.
If you have the stomach, phone your senators again, and request they not support the cargo cabotage provision the Reauthorization Bill contains.
To find contact information for your senators, navigate to www.senate.gov and use the "Find Your Senators" link in the middle of the page. It is vital that every pilot take a few minutes to call their senators NOW (even if you already contacted them last week) and let them know how you feel about allowing the exportation of U.S. pilot jobs to foreign carriers.
We must be a squeaky wheel (noisy special interest). Be persistent, be professional. Call again.
Senate Republicans called for a cloture vote on the FAA Reauthorization Bill (H.R. 2115) today at 5:30 p.m. EST. A 60-vote majority is required to invoke cloture, which would end debate and bring a bill to the floor for a vote.
UPDATE: Cloture failed, so debate continues - this is a good thing. However, none of the debate has mentioned cabotage. It is pure Dems vs. Reps. Ridiculous.
If you have the stomach, phone your senators again, and request they not support the cargo cabotage provision the Reauthorization Bill contains.
To find contact information for your senators, navigate to www.senate.gov and use the "Find Your Senators" link in the middle of the page. It is vital that every pilot take a few minutes to call their senators NOW (even if you already contacted them last week) and let them know how you feel about allowing the exportation of U.S. pilot jobs to foreign carriers.
We must be a squeaky wheel (noisy special interest). Be persistent, be professional. Call again.
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