General Vice President Robert Roach, Jr., who was the only labor leader to be invited to speak at all three hearings, repeated in his testimony the IAM’s call for re-regulation. “The Machinists Union opposed deregulation in the 1970’s and have been calling for re-regulation ever since,” said GVP Roach. “It is clear that airline deregulation has failed to deliver on its promises of a stable and profitable industry. The argument of industry instability that United and Continental are making to support their merger is the same argument for re-regulation, with a major distinction – more than 30 years of airline consolidation has proven that mergers have not helped the industry.”

“The IAM is concerned that the new entity (United Airlines and Continental Airlines) may be too big to succeed,” said Roach. “Failure of such a large entity could be disastrous to employees, the industry and the national economy. Our concern is for the entire industry, and we do not believe mergers alone provide the answers. The only way to establish an air transportation industry that is both competitive and profitable is through some limited re-regulation.”

“As this merger proposal moves forward, the Machinists Union asks regulators to take the merger’s impact on employees into consideration,” said Roach. “A combined carrier must offer employees more stability and opportunity than are available at the two independent airlines.”