LIHUE — Airline workers facing outsource replacement have taken their fight to Capitol Hill.
At a Tuesday news conference in Honolulu, U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz announced his support for efforts to stop a United Airlines proposal to outsource 220 ground operations jobs at three Hawaii airports in Lihue, Kahului and Kona.
Approximately 66 employee positions at the Lihue airport could be affected, according to the senator’s office. The potential cuts are a direct contradiction from UA testimony at Congressional hearings prior to the Continental Airlines merger, when both companies said front-line jobs and wages would not be greatly affected, he added.
“I am asking United Airlines to cease its efforts to proceed with the outsourcing process,” Schatz stated in a news release. “These are 220 jobs, essential to working families in Hawaii and central to our visitor industry and local economy.”
UA spokesperson Megan McCarthy said there wasn’t an announcement regarding outsourcing of customer service and baggage handler jobs at Hawaii airports and didn’t say whether airline officials have talked to employees about costs.
UA has initiated a call for a Request for Proposals process to possibly solicit outside ground-handling service providers, McCarthy said. Everything is up for consideration but no indications have been made either way at this point.
“We haven’t made any decisions, but we must continually look for new opportunities to run a more efficient and financially sustainable business,” McCarthy said.
James Carlson, a spokesperson for the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) union and Local Lodge 1979, said the next step is to get lawmakers to urge United to re-think their strategy. The last resort is the contract which states the airline must negotiate with workers prior to outsourcing. It would be up to workers to accept or reject any proposals.
“We’re going to be able to get in there and try to resolve this at the bargaining table but the fact that we need to is just not right in our estimation,” Carlson said.
For UA workers to keep their jobs after outsourcing, it may require transferring to Honolulu or to the Mainland. If they stay and try to work with the new service companies, they stand to do the same work for lower pay and fewer benefits — essentially taking them out of a middle class job, he said.
UA has faired well since the merger, earning approximately $2.5 billion in profits over two years, Carlson said. Workers sacrificed pay, hours, stock, pensions and other benefits during the airline industry crisis, and now when things are going well the workers are being cast aside.
