No blank check for airlines seeking coronavirus aid after spending $39 billion on stock buybacks, unions say

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/17/coronavirus-airline-aid-must-include-worker-protections-unions-say.html

Leslie Josephs, Lauren Hirsch
Published Tue, Mar 17 202011:58 AM EDT

The more than $50 billion in government aid U.S. airlines are seeking as the coronavirus ravages their businesses must include worker and consumer protections, some lawmakers and labor unions said.

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Labor unions and lawmakers say that while the carriers didn’t cause the dire situation they’re now in, they shouldn’t get a blank check.

“We have told Congress that any funds for the aviation industry must come with strict rules,” said Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants, which represents some 50,000 cabin crews at United, Alaska, Spirit and others. “That includes requiring employers across aviation to maintain pay and benefits for every worker. No taxpayer money for CEO bonuses, stock buybacks or dividends. No breaking contracts through bankruptcy.”

Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., on Monday tweeted her support of the framework laid out by Nelson.

The four biggest U.S. carriers — Delta, American, Southwest and United — have collectively spent about $39 billion over the last five years buying back shares, according to a tally from S&P Dow Jones Indices. Those carriers’ shares are now trading at multiyear lows. Boeing, which is also seeking government aid, spent more than $35 billion in that period.

“We fully recognize that the company had the opportunity to build up its cash reserves and repeatedly advocated for them to do so,” wrote Todd Insler, chairman of the union that represents United’s pilots, the Air Line Pilots Association. “In spite of ALPA’s warnings, they instead chose to spend company resources differently.

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