Senators Specter, Casey Urge US Airways to Extend Severance Packages to All Displaced Workers

October 31, 2007 -- After learning that it appears that US Airways will not offer severance packages to the machinists, pilots and the ground workers, Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Arlen Specter (R-PA) today wrote a letter to Douglas Parker, CEO of US Airways, urging him to extend similar offers to all displaced employees in the Pittsburgh region.

“It is our understanding that US Airways recently sent a letter to affected employees implying that pilots, ground workers and machinists slated to lose their full-time jobs in Pittsburgh will not be offered severance packages,” the Senators wrote. “This decision is apparently due in part to US Airways’ determination that these workers can ‘receive layoff pay and extended benefits, work in Pittsburgh on a part-time basis or take a full-time job elsewhere in US Airways’ system.’ While flight attendants may not have similar options, and therefore should have the severance option, this fact does not justify your decision against offering a severance option to other employees.”

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Senators Casey and Specter sent a letter earlier this month to Douglas Parker after learning about US Airways’ plan to cut 40 flights, eliminate 450 local jobs and shift 500 local pilots and flight attendants from the Pittsburgh area as of January 2008. In the letter, Senators Specter and Casey asserted that such cuts would also adversely affect economic growth around the airport and travel to and from smaller rural airports that rely on Pittsburgh International Airport as a connector between their communities and destinations nationwide.

Full text of the letter is below.

Dear Mr. Parker:

Recent press reports have indicated that US Airways has decided to offer severance packages to its East Coast-based flight attendants, but not to pilots, ground workers, and machinists who also will be affected by the airline’s decision to reduce flights and jobs in Pittsburgh. While the offer to the flight attendants is an appropriate starting point, we are writing to urge you to extend similar offers to all displaced employees in the Pittsburgh region.

It is our understanding that US Airways recently sent a letter to affected employees implying that pilots, ground workers and machinists slated to lose their full-time jobs in Pittsburgh will not be offered severance packages. This decision is apparently due in part to US Airways’ determination that these workers can “receive layoff pay and extended benefits, work in Pittsburgh on a part-time basis or take a full-time job elsewhere in US Airways’ system.” While flight attendants may not have similar options, and therefore should have the severance option, this fact does not justify your decision against offering a severance option to other employees. Many of these workers will likely want to remain in the Pittsburgh region and will therefore not be interested in relocating to a new job in the US Airways system outside of the region. They should not be penalized for this decision. The availability of unemployment benefits are not sufficient to appropriately compensate these workers for the hardship associated with this decision, and a part-time job in most cases will not be an acceptable option.

In light of the difficulties that your decision has presented, we strongly urge you to make appropriate resources and options available to all affected US Airways employees in the Pittsburgh region. The fact of the matter is that your decision will be quite disruptive to the lives of these workers, and we believe that your company should present an offer that will ease any transition necessitated by your announcement.

Thank you for your consideration of our views.

Sincerely,

Bob Casey, U.S. Senator and Arlen Specter, U.S. Senator

Source: Senator Arlen Specter