[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 52 (Thursday, April 15, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H2059]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




URGING BRITISH AIRWAYS TO RETAIN FACILITIES IN JACKSON HEIGHTS, QUEENS, 
                                NEW YORK

  (Mr. CROWLEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. CROWLEY. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the 
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers employed 
by British Airways in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York. These workers 
are being subcontracted out of their jobs without fair contract 
negotiations with their employer, British Airways.
  Over the next 3 years, British Airways intends to close its Queens 
facilities, thereby eliminating 500 jobs in Jackson Heights, Queens, 
alone. British Airways announced their decision in the midst of a 
contract negotiation, and has demanded the right to unlimited 
subcontracting, to send jobs overseas.
  British Airways states they are closing the Jackson Heights facility 
as a cost-saving measure. I know their profits have been constantly 
rising in recent years. As the largest civilian employer in the Borough 
of Queens, in the city of New York, our economy will be devastated by 
the closure of this facility. Yet British Airways will continue to 
increase their profits and form a valuable alliance with American 
Airlines under the Open Skies Agreement.
  I am a strong supporter of our workers. On April 8, I attended a 
rally in support of the British Airways employees at the British 
Consulate. Madam Speaker, I ask Members, all my distinguished 
colleagues in the House of Representatives, to join me in calling on 
British Airways to keep jobs in Queens, in the United States, rather 
than outsourcing these jobs to other countries.

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