Statement Says Wage Cuts Will Not Be Tolerated

Jim Hoffa lashed out at Comair on Tuesday. Hoffa, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, says Comair's unilateral plans to cut wages and change work rules won't be tolerated.

He accuses the company of using a Delta airlines-imposed deadline to bid for routes as an excuse to slash pay and benefits.

According to Hoffa, flight attendants maintain, “We care about our company, and we will work to reach a fair settlement.”

Comair says it needs concessions from its employees if it's to make a competitive bid to keep the routes it currently flies for Delta.

As ANN reported, Delta has already slipped the bid deadline following the crash of flight 5191 in Lexington, KY this summer, but it says it can wait no longer. If Comair can't make an acceptable bid, the planes and routes it flies will go to another carrier.

Comair's labor disputes have dragged on since the carrier declared bankruptcy almost concurrently with it's parent Delta. The court gave Comair the option of claiming some $8 dollars from its flight attendants, which up to now it has not done.

Comair says since it wasn't able to get the necessary concessions from its pilots, it has no choice but to exercise the court's order and take the money from its flight attendants.

There's no word in Hoffa's statement on what exactly he and the union plan to do about the situation -- especially since the court has already sanctioned the pay cuts.

FMI: www.teamster.org