Aviation Workers Hold Day of Action on Norwegian Air

Activists from unions representing more than 200,000 aviation workers rallied outside the White House, calling on the Obama administration to deny the petition of Norwegian Air International to provide service to cities in the U.S. and European Union.

Norwegian Air is a virtual airline, created to undercut labor standards and pay cheap wages while flying in the lucrative trans-Atlantic market. It wants to follow the same "flag of convenience" model that has destroyed so many good U.S. maritime jobs.

"Our government should enforce labor standards and not give foreign corporations the opportunity to avoid labor laws and trample on workers' rights," said CWA President Chris Shelton. "We must stop this race to the bottom when it comes to good jobs, in the aviation industry and all our industries," he said.

AFA-CWA International President Sara Nelson said, "This tentative decision by the Department of Transportation threatens thousands of aviation jobs. The DOT's failure to enforce labor provisions in the U.S.-EU Open Skies agreement sends a message to workers: everything matters except you. The White House needs to fix this now for 300,000 aviation workers, our families and the communities where we live and work."

NAI plans to use pilots hired under Singaporean or Thai employment contracts. Despite a longtime collective bargaining relationship with its own unions in Norway, the company doesn't intend to use Norwegian crews under existing union contracts. Instead, it has attempted to evade Norway's employment and tax laws by basing its corporate operation in Ireland, even though it does not offer air service in Ireland.

Last month, the Transportation Department tentatively approved a foreign air carrier permit for NAI that would enable it to offer expanded transatlantic airline service, despite serious concerns about the violation of labor standards.

A bipartisan group in the House of Representatives is looking to block the Transportation Dept. from moving forward on this flawed policy. We commend those House members for standing up for good jobs and working conditions. Click here to tell your Representatives to cosponsor HR 5090 to enforce the high labor standards negotiated in the E.U.-U.S. Open Skies agreement.

Joining the protest were members of AFA-CWA, CWA, AFL-CIO, Air Line Pilots Association International, Allied Pilots Association, Association of Professional Flight Attendants, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, NetJets Association of Shared Aircraft Pilots, Southwest Airlines Pilots' Association, and Transport Workers Union of America.

CWA President Chris Shelton calls on the Obama administration to stand up for airline workers' rights. To his left is AFA-CWA International President Sara Nelson.

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CWA, AFA-CWA and union activists march past the White House.