Pinnacle Bankruptcy Bargaining Deadlines Extended, USW Advises Court of Problems with Pinnacle’s DIP Financing

More information, contact: Tony Montana, USW, (412) 562-2592

PITTSBURGH – The United Steelworkers (USW) today said that through the successful work of Pinnacle Airlines’ Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors, Pinnacle and Delta Air Lines have agreed to extend to July 13 the bankrupt regional carrier’s deadline to renegotiate its union labor contracts. The USW is one of seven members of the committee.

In its presentation to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, which convened today to consider Pinnacle’s motion for approval of Debtor in Possession (DIP) financing and other agreements, the USW advised the court that agreements between Pinnacle and Delta will pose problems in upcoming bargaining.

USW International Vice President at Large Carol Landry, who leads the union’s Airline Division, stressed that the complex economic and non-economic issues that must be addressed in negotiations will require patience, good faith and commitment from top-level corporate management, Delta and other stakeholders in order to ensure that Pinnacle emerges from bankruptcy as a viable, more stable employer in the future.

Pinnacle presented the USW with a proposal on May 8 seeking changes to the labor agreement covering the company’s flight attendants.

“Pinnacle has already announced hundreds of layoffs and is seeking drastic cuts to flight attendant, pilot and other employee pay, benefits and work rules,” Landry said. “We will not allow any party to exploit the bankruptcy process. The USW will work aggressively to protect its members’ standards of living, achieve job security and obtain opportunities to participate in the company’s future success.”

Landry pointed out that since Pinnacle filed its Chapter 11 bankruptcy case, USW officers, staff, financial experts and legal counsel have been actively involved in the proceedings.

As a member of the Creditors’ Committee, the USW provides the committee and its members with the unique perspective of the more than 2,700 flight attendants and ground operations employees that the union represents at Pinnacle and Colgan Air.

The USW represents about 850,000 working men and women in the United States and Canada in a wide variety of industries, ranging from airlines to glass making, mining, paper, steel, tire and rubber and other manufacturing environments to the public sector, service and health care industries.

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