Labor unions across the airline industry are outraged at President Donald Trump for siding with Qatar Airways and Air Italy in a recent White House meeting. There’s nothing that brings all sides together like a red herring over American jobs.
In a poorly written article in Forbes by Ted Reed, full of bias, conclusory statements, and lacking proper context, the grievances are erred. You can read my analysis of the White House meeting here.
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Sara Nelson, President of the Association of Flight Attendants (representing United Airlines) called the meeting, “Disrespectful to U.S. workers who have been pleading for our government to enforce agreements so that we can compete on a level playing field.”
Nelson added Trump “is a guy who is supposed to be for American jobs. But he was cozying up to Al Bakar. There was an exchange between them indicating that they go back a long way.”
They do go back a long way and unlike Delta, Qatar Airways is buying USA-made jets from Boeing and jet engines from General Electric. But the whole “cozying up” language strikes me as the shameful “palling around with terrorists” language that marked the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign. Read between the lines and listen to the dog whistle.
Nelson also added:
This meeting was billed as an effort to resolve the issue of the Qatar Airways relationship with Air Italy. But the outcome was worse than doing nothing. Donald Trump said a year ago he was going to handle it: now he’s passing the buck.
She means that Trump refused to directly intervene and instructed American and United use the Department of Transportation grievance process. Perhaps because American and United failed to make their case against FedEx, JetBlue, and Qatar Airways…did that thought ever cross her mind? It was not a grand conspiracy.
But Wait, There’s More!
And it is not just Nelson who is angry at President Trump. Lori Bassani, President of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (representing American Airlines) expressed shock over the meeting’s outcome.
Trump ran on the issue of keeping American jobs in the U.S. But that’s not how it played out. Instead, the president sided with the Middle East airlines. It was a shock to us.
A shock? Spare me. Only if you deluded yourself in a fairy tale world bereft of facts. Sometimes the truth hurts.
Lastly, we mustn’t forget John Samuelsen, President of the Transport Workers Union, who added, “Foreign carriers should not be allowed to grow into our markets using government subsidies – essentially forcing American workers to compete against foreign governments.” This is the same man who warned of the “bloodiest, ugliest battle that the United States labor movement ever saw” if American Airlines continued to hire overseas mechanics.
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CONCLUSION
The selective outrage expressed against Air Italy is truly mind boggling to me. Here’s a tiny airline that serves four U.S. routes, including two served by no other carrier, yet is billed as dire threat to American jobs. Meanwhile, even in Italy, the subsidized flag carrier Alitalia continues to operate many more U.S. routes despite being propped up by government bailouts. Yet there isn’t a word of outrage. Not a single word.
Labor unions, like legacy airlines, come together to protest airlines that offer a better product than they do…it’s about shutting out competition, not the subsidies. That’s the inconvenient truth.
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Well said!
There has been several articles by Ted Reeds on Forbes.com about Qatar, and they are all, as you said “full of bias, conclusory statements, and lacking proper context”
It’s surprising how he is able to publish all these articles again and again without seemingly any opposition
So… Americans (including but not limited to leader of union, management if airline companies, those who published such articles) are (quoting Richard Hammond of TopGear/GrandTour): lazy, feckless, flatulent [and] overweight.
May I add, stupid?
Couldn’t have said it better myself!
I don’t understand what’s so flawed about the Forbes article. It wasn’t an opinion piece arguing one side or the other, it was literally reporting the union complaints against the July 29 meeting, so of course it was going to seem biased. Also, this quote: “This meeting was billed as an effort to resolve the issue of the Qatar Airways relationship with Air Italy. But the outcome was worse than doing nothing. Donald Trump said a year ago he was going to handle it: now he’s passing the buck” is a legitimate complaint. Trump promises unions and American workers whatever they want to hear and then when push comes to shove he caves or does nothing. He was clearly promising to do more than what could be accomplished through the DoT grievance process, but as we have seen time and time again, his words mean nothing and he is largely incapable of following through on the vast majority of his promises (partially because he will just straight up lie, but mostly because he has no idea what he’s doing and doesn’t understand that there are even things like the DoT grievance process).
I largely disagree with US airlines’ protectionist attacks on the ME3, but even I can see how the labor market for ME3 airlines v. US airlines is radically different and when they are competing for American employees, there could be real problems, particularly with FAs. We all have heard the numerous credible stories of the reality of working as an FA for the ME3 (one of the few positions where they have a direct need for US labor that would seriously pose problems for US airline unions). The unions have a legitimate point when it comes to FA employment policies. Even if you disagree, there is no denying that this meeting represents another promise made to American workers and another promise broken by Trump.
There’s detectable bias in at least three sentences.
I’m biased too in stating which side I find more compelling…but every blog article I write is essentially an opinion piece, not passed off as an objective news story.
My point is more that it was a news story about the union complaints. The most objective reporting of that story is going to come across as biased because it is literally reporting on complaints by union members. It’s not biased for an article with the headline: “Unions: Trump Sided With Qatar Airways/Air Italy Over U.S. Airline Workers” to then report on what the unions had to say.
Gulf carrier should not have a competitive advantage to US carriers and it does cost US jobs. But as an 36+ year employee of one of these US carriers I have witnessed these same CEO’s that are crying to President Trump outsource ten’s of thousands of US Aircraft Maintenance jobs to third world countries, and looking to increase that number every day. This is not being done because the work is done better in these countries but because it pads the bottom line of these airlines. Not only does it cost jobs it creates security issues. As for American Airlines it has no problem taking this so called dirty money from Qatar Airline at JFK Airport. If they are looking for help from President Trump or anyone else in Washington they should only receive such help when they start to bring back the jobs they outsourced. My suggestion to these CEO’s, before you pass judgment look in the mirror. Also why don’t you let the US flying public know where you take your aircraft for major overhaul. I’m sure it won’t give them comfort flying having that info.
While they’re at it, some of these unions (and the airlines they work for) should rethink all the outsourcing to third-party vendors in maintenance, food services, reservations, customer service and rampservicemen. Why were they so agreeable to that 5-10 years ago?? Go ask all the company employees who were outsourced and lost good-paying jobs and benefits with the privilege of training their replacements who basically get nothing but an hourly wage.