Latest Developments
August 20, 2008 - ASTAR Pilot Calls Upon Ohio General Assembly to Help End DHL/UPS Deal
Captain Landon Harman, a 14-year ASTAR pilot, spoke yesterday on behalf of the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA), to a joint session of the House State Government and Elections Committee and the Senate Finance and Financial Institutions Committee of the Ohio General Assembly. Capt. Harman asked for members of the committees “to do everything in your power to stop this agreement between DHL and UPS.” Press release Testimony
August 14, 2008 - Brown Calls on Bush Administration to Consider Proposed DHL Deal When Negotiating Open Skies
Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today called on the Bush administration to take into account DHL’s recent actions as the administration negotiates Stage II of the Open Skies agreement with the European Union press release
August 8, 2008 - UPDATED -- The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure to Hold Congressional hearings on WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16 on the "strategic alliance" between DHL and UPS. press release
August 8, 2008 - Senator McCain Meets with ALPA Leaders and other DHL Workers in Wilmington
The senator supports the broad bi-partisan effort to stop the proposed merger between DHL and UPS. He started the meeting by saying that he agrees with the letter sent by the Ohio Congressional Delegation to the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission calling for an anti-trust investigation. He also said “I understand that agreements were made and agreements were broken”.
Pilot Update / News Clips
August 6, 2008 - Senator McCain to Meet with ALPA Leaders and other DHL Workers in Wilmington
Senator John McCain is coming to Wilmington for a private meeting on Thursday, August 7th. ALPA will be represented at this meeting.
August 4, 2008 - Senators Kohl and Hatch Call for Federal Review of UPS-DHL Deal
U.S. Senators Herb Kohl (D-WI) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Antitrust Subcommittee, called for federal review of a proposed arrangement between UPS and DHL Express US, the second and third largest overnight package delivery services in the United States.
(read the letter from Kohl)
July 30, 2008 - ALPA Files Law Suit on Behalf of ASTAR Pilots
ALPA filed a lawsuit against DHL alleging a breach of contract and fraudulent inducement. The lawsuit alleges that by proposing to shift its North American flying work away from ASTAR Air Cargo to UPS, DHL is breaching its job security commitments to the ASTAR pilots, which were obtained in negotiations that provided substantial benefits to DHL under the current labor contract. ALPA is asking the court to enjoin DHL from moving its flying work from ASTAR to UPS, and to award the ASTAR pilots compensatory and punitive damages as well as other costs.
press release / lawsuit
July 29, 2008 - Obama Calls on Bush Administation to Examine DHL-UPS Agreement
Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) sent a letter to Karl Zinsmeister, Director of the White House's Domestic Policy Council, asking the Administration to carefully examine the consolidation of DHL air operations under UPS. If the consolidation of these competitors' air services is successful, at least 8,000 jobs will likely be eliminated throughout the state of Ohio. In the letter, Obama calls on the White House to urge the Department of Justice to examine the agreement to ensure it is not in violation of antitrust laws and; ask the Department of Labor to detail its efforts to assist these unemployed workers and whether the Department's response could serve as model for other communities experiencing concentrated job loss." (click here, for the letter)
Disgusted with UPS's unethical business practices, a 10-year software engineer resigned his post at UPS due his refusal to participate in several unethical initiatives after having joined the ALPA picket-line outside UPS World Headquarters. "I could see no reason to continue my employment with a company that says one thing and does something completly opposite." (AJC article )