Nearly 200 United pilots, flight attendants, and other supporters celebrated St. Patrick’s Day by conducting informational picketing at United’s Chicago headquarters to protest the airline’s joint venture with Aer Lingus, slated to begin service later this month. In the new operation, United will receive a significant portion of the revenues but will do none of the flying with its own aircraft or flight crews. In fact, the airlines appear to be planning to use third party, non-union flight attendants in a blatant effort to sidestep the two airlines’ contractual labor agreements.

“We don’t want to see companies continue to outsource good jobs,” said Capt. Wendy Morse, United MEC chair. “It will leave us with a shell of a country that has no wealth.” Morse and others are concerned that if the joint venture is successful, United will eliminate U.S.-based pilot jobs and ultimately farm out more of its operation to foreign carriers with lower pay scales.

Picketing with the United pilots and flight attendants were fellow ALPA pilots from Delta, Continental, Colgan, and Mesa.

A bipartisan bill, H.R. 4788, was recently introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, which, if enacted, will require the U.S. Department of Transportation to approve international revenue sharing agreements between a U.S. carrier and a foreign partner to ensure that revenue generated from such arrangements is based on each carrier’s “metal in the market.” The bill will ensure that any revenue-sharing agreements between U.S. and foreign airlines are beneficial to U.S. airline workers as well as to their airlines.

United pilots also plan to leaflet on Capitol Hill on March 25 and 26, and picket at Washington’s Dulles International Airport on March 28, in conjunction with the joint venture’s first flight, which is scheduled to operate from Washington to Madrid.

Leafleting is scheduled for Thursday, March 25 (meet at 10:30 a.m. in Room 2253 of the Rayburn House Office Building) and Friday, March 26 (meet at 1 p.m. at the Capitol South Metro Station at the top of the escalators, street level exit).

Picketing will be held from 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and participating pilots are asked to meet on the lower level of baggage claim near the employee security line. Contact Marco Salazar (marco.salazar@alpa.org) for more information.