TTD and our affiliate unions aren’t the only ones who understand just how harmful Norwegian Air International’s application for a foreign air carrier permit would be if approved by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Professor John A. Logan, director of Labor and Employment Studies at San Francisco State University, published an article in The Hill today explaining that “If the DOT were to approve NAI’s application, it would likely spell disaster for American aviation workers, carriers and consumers.” Professor Logan writes:
This is a critical moment for U.S. aviation. The experiences of other industries have demonstrated that this flag of convenience model is not going away. But if Foxx rejects Norwegian’s application, he will prevent this perverse business model from seeping into U.S. aviation. If he were to approve NAI’s bid, it would establish a standard for other unscrupulous carriers here and in Europe. The result would be a “race to the bottom” in aviation labor standards, just as we have seen in industries such as merchant shipping, cruise liners and port trucking, where tough but decent jobs have been transformed into low-wage, dangerous and precarious work.
This NAI application is about more than a low-cost air carrier that wants to distort the marketplace with air service that violates both the spirit and the intent of America’s aviation trade relationship with the EU. It is about upholding labor standards in the agreements negotiated by our government, protecting decent jobs and ensuring a level playing field that doesn’t put American carriers and workers at a competitive disadvantage.
Read the rest of Professor Logan’s article at The Hill.