Candidate Profile
Published on Wednesday March 5 2008
John McCain - Republican candidate for President of the United Sates
STATEMENT OF SENATOR JOHN McCAIN CHAIRMAN SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE AND TRANSPORTATION FULL COMMITTEE HEARING ON THE STATUS OF LABOR ISSUES IN THE AVIATION INDUSTRY Thursday, May 3rd, 2001
"Americans have been stranded time and time again as a result of illegal union activity. According published reports, last year, United canceled over 23,000 flights as a result of its pilots' refusal to fly overtime, destroying carefully planned vacations and business trips. Northwest and Delta canceled thousands of flights preemptively over the holiday seasons to combat alleged mechanic slowdowns and failure to fly overtime by pilots, respectively. The pilot's sickout at American in 1999 left thousands of people stranded."
"In this day and age, a job action at a major airline can have a catastrophic effect on the aviation system and the consumer. The rest of the system would have a difficult time absorbing the excess passengers and the system could come to a standstill. While management and labor are affected by this, both parties have contingencies planned in the event of a job action. The consumer is the one most affected by this increase in labor actions. It is the family flying across country for their vacation, the daughter coming home from college, and the son going to visit a sick parent who can not reach their destinations because the unions have taken matters into their own hands. In the case of pilots, these are people who, according to industry, on average make $140,000 while working less than 80 hours a month. At the same time, according to the most recent data in 1999,the average per capita income was $21,281."
"The last two pilot contract negotiations, United and Delta, both of which had alleged job actions with far reaching effects on the consumer, resulted in a pay scale where, by the end of the contract, the senior pilots will make over $280,000 in base pay with the ability to make one-third more for voluntarily flying 25 more hours a month. Not only should the consumer not have to suffer as a result of this avarice, but many analysts are concerned that with labor costs rising so high, airlines will not be able to survive economically or will at least put themselves in a hole for years to come. Labor costs for an airline are now projected to be over 33% of its fixed costs."
"Many people argue that management has a choice, but in reality, the choice is to give in to higher salary demands that a company may not be able to afford or face a debilitating strike that may cripple the airline and force it out of business. I don't believe that anyone would argue that is a choice."
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)
Additional Information on John McCain
John McCain Insults Flight Attendants
McCain considers flight attendant fatigue resesarch "ridiculous" [SENATOR MCCAIN STATEMENT ON LOBBYING AND ETHICS REFORM BILL [1/4/07] John McCain supports foreign control of U.S. Airlines, endangering flight attendant jobs "foreign investment in our airlines can be very helpful..." [Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Aviation Holds Hearing on Foreign Investment in U.S. Air Carriers. Congressional Transcripts. 5/9/2006]
John McCain used the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina to personally push for foreign control of U.S. airlines. [S. Amdt. 3619, H.R. 4939, 4/26/06] The legislation sought to change a bipartisan law and undermine aviation workers' rights by creating a race to the bottom for low wages, likely outsourcing flight attendant jobs to the lowest foreign bidder.
Personally sponsored legislation to double the level of foreign investment in U.S. airlines [ALPA Presidential Survey, Air Line Pilot, February 2000] Boasts of allowing foreign airlines to operate on American air routes, saying that if he becomes President, "I believe that the U.S. policy on cabotage should be relaxed." [ALPA Presidential Survey, Air Line Pilot, February 2000]
John McCain Will Endanger Flight Attendants Rights as Workers
Despite flight attendants assuming massive pay cuts to keep airlines afloat while greedy CEOs pocketed more money, McCain believes flight attendants deserve nothing... "Many people argue that management has a choice, but in reality, the choice is to give into higher salary demands that the company cannot afford..." [Statement of Senator John McCain, Chairman Senate Committee On Commerce, Science And Transportation, Full Committee Hearing On The Status Of Labor Issues In The Aviation Industry, April 25, 2001}
Voted to allow airlines to declare bankruptcy rather than settle labor disputes [H.R. 1231, Vote #276, 10/26/89; H.R. 1231, Vote #273; H.R. 1231, Vote #222, 10/3/89] In 1989, when then infamous Eastern Airlines CEO and union-buster, Frank Lorenzo, chose to declare bankruptcy to stop a joint ALPA, IAM, TWU strike over paycuts and job reductions,
McCain voted to support President Bush and avoid using a Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) to help settle the dispute. At the time, the bankruptcy was the largest in airline history. McCain's support put 350,000 workers on the street and set the pattern for future airline bankruptcies and job losses in years to come
Supports permanently replacing employees on strike, even when merely seeking "better working conditions and improved wages and benefits." [ALPA Presidential Survey, Air Line Pilot, February 2000] Adding insult to injury, McCain voted to allow companies to use permanent replacement workers against lawfully striking workers. This severely hampers workers from organizing in the workplace, and undermines their collective bargaining power. [S. 55, 6/16/92] John McCain on Aviation Safety
Although John McCain fashions himself as strong on safety and security, his record on Aviation Safety says otherwise: It shows a corner-cutting Washington insider more concerned about rhetoric than the safety of aviation and the workers that make that system run. McCain voted against the Aviation Security Bill - even after 9/11
The legislation would have provided unemployment, job-training, and health benefits to workers displaced from terrorist attacks. [S.824, Vote #223, 6/12/03] Supported $725 million in cuts to aviation security programs - even after 9/11. [S.Con.Res. 83, Vote #59, 3/16/06] Opposes requirements for foreign repair stations, which perform maintenance on American commercial aircraft, to ensure aircraft safety and protect American jobs [S. 824, Vote #224, 6/12/03]
Foreign repair stations put flight attendants at risk because of lax safety and security standards John McCain puts flight attendant lives at risk by opposing critical funding for passenger and baggage screening, air cargo security, and explosive detection equipment [Press release, “S. 2537, The Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Bill for Fiscal Year 2005: Objectionable Provisions. 9/15/04]