[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12168]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     AIRLINE REORGANIZATION THREATENING MEMPHIS BUSINESS COMMUNITY

  (Mr. COHEN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, this morning's Memphis ComercialAppeal had 
distressing news for our city. Delta Airlines had canceled part of its 
contract with Pinnacle Airlines, an airline that had 1,000 jobs in our 
community. The stock price fell 25 percent, and the newspaper reported 
that stockholders are concerned about the continued existence of the 
business.
  If the merger takes place and Delta and Northwest merge, it is 
entirely possible that Delta will cancel the remaining portion of 
Pinnacle's business with Northwest Airlink, where they serve many 
customers through Northwest Airlines. That would be devastating to the 
Memphis economy and possibly cost us thousands of jobs.
  I am very concerned, and plan to call Delta Airlines to find out why 
this contract was cancelled, what possibly could happen, how this 
merger would affect those 1,000 people, and if possibly re-regulation 
of the airlines is in order to make sure that abrupt changes in 
contracts that might cause irreparable harm and immediate damage can't 
take place if they threaten an industry and an employer in my district 
such as Pinnacle Airlines.
  Mr. Speaker, I am concerned about the future of this large business 
in my community, and plan to look into it for the benefit of the 
employers and my overall business community.

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