FRNT Frontier Airlines Hldgs (MM)

Union Says Aircraft Maintenance Outsourcing Must Be Stopped WASHINGTON, Nov. 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Teamsters Airline Division Director David Bourne on Friday praised Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar and Reps. John Salazar and Mark Udall for opposing Frontier Airlines' plans to outsource heavy-check aircraft maintenance to a foreign repair station. Frontier (NASDAQ:FRNT) planned to outsource about 130 Teamsters aviation mechanics' jobs to Central America. On Nov. 3, the bankruptcy court judge overseeing the airline's Chapter 11 case ruled that it could only do so only as a last resort. "Our friends in Congress are right to be concerned about sending good American jobs overseas," Bourne said. "It's essential that we maintain a critical mass of workers who can perform tasks essential to the safety and security of the flying public." The letter, addressed to Frontier President and Chief Executive Sean Menke, states: "We are writing to express our strong concern about any plans Frontier may have to permanently outsource the Denver-based heavy-check aircraft maintenance operations to a foreign repair station. We recognize that Frontier Airlines, like the entire United States airline industry, continues to face difficult economic times. But we do not believe that the foreign outsourcing of skilled, critically sensitive American jobs such as heavy-check aircraft maintenance is an appropriate solution to Frontier's difficulties any more than it is an appropriate solution to the industry. "Foreign outsourcing of aircraft maintenance undermines the United States airline industry's technological advantage over its competitors and contributes to the escalating loss of skilled jobs at a time when our country can least afford to lose them. The matters affecting the airline industry are complex, and their resolution requires a comprehensive solution that protects American jobs and ensures our nation a competitive future." Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. DATASOURCE: International Brotherhood of Teamsters CONTACT: Leslie Miller of International Brotherhood of Teamsters, +1-202-624-8734 Web Site: http://www.teamster.org/

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