Please circulate
9/16/05
To All My Fellow Pilots and Concerned Airline Employees,
We must take immediate action!
Due to the bankruptcies of Delta and Northwest there is a very strong call in Washington for immediate pension relief. The problem is the relief as proposed will do nothing to help save the pensions at United Airlines.
If you think it is unfair that Congress changes the law now to help Delta and Northwest without including United Airlines then you must join me now, write and demand that any pension legislation must include provisions to save the pensions at United Airlines.
Harry Reid, Senate minority leader said, “Congress has an immediate opportunity to pass legislation enabling both companies to keep pension plans for workers in place.”
Johnny Isakson, senator from Georgia said, “We want to bring the bill to the floor as early as next week.”
It is imperative that we ALL write ASAP! This may be our last chance to influence Congress. Believe me, writing is worth your time, if United Airlines is not included in this legislation, you may lose your pensions. No one is going to do this for us; we must do this for ourselves.
Our message is the same.
Any pension legislation must include provisions to save the pensions at United Airlines.
Here is what is happening in Congress according to my sources.
On the Senate side the Senate Finance and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committees each have released pension reform legislation. The Chairmen and the Ranking Members of both of these committees are now in negotiations to consolidate these two pieces of proposed legislation into one bill that they can introduce to the Senate.
Neither one of these proposals have any provisions that will help United Airlines. It is up to us to contact them and demand that United Airlines be included in any remedy.
On the House side the House Ways and Means Committee is still in the process of formulating their legislative pension reform. We MUST AGAIN contact ALL the members of the House Ways and Means Committee and emphasize that United Airlines must be included in their legislation.
Compose your letter to be one page maximum, it does not have to be a literary masterpiece, but your letter must include:
Any pension legislation must include provisions to save the pensions at United Airlines.
We need a large quantity of letters, please encourage your friends and family to join you in writing.
Points you may also wish to include:
- The pilot’s pension plan at United has not been terminated
- Stop the exploitation of the PBGC’s termination insurance program by the airlines in bankruptcy.
- The PBGC should not be used as a business reorganization tool.
- The PBGC is already insolvent and the crisis is worsening.
- Any legislation MUST include United Airlines, to do otherwise would be extremely unfair.
- The spending and voting habits of hundreds of thousands of Americans will be determined by the actions of Congress.
Please Fax your letters to the following offices and follow up with a phone call:
Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
Contact Information
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Majority (Republicans) |
Minority (Democrats) |
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Committee Office: |
Dirksen Senate Office Building 428 |
Dirksen Senate Office Building 646 |
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Committee Phone: |
202-224-5375 |
202-224-5465 |
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Committee FAX: |
202-224-6510 |
202-224-5128 |
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Member Name |
DC Phone |
DC FAX |
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Michael Enzi (R-WY) [Chairman] |
202-224-3424 |
202-228-0359 |
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Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) [Ranking Member] |
202-224-4543 |
202-224-2417 |
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Senate Committee on Finance
Contact Information
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Majority (Republicans) |
Minority (Democrats) |
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Committee Office: |
Dirksen Senate Office Building 219 |
Hart Senate Office Building 203 |
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Committee Phone: |
202-224-4515 |
202-224-7800 |
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Committee FAX: |
202-228-0554 |
202-228-3904 |
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Member Name |
DC Phone |
DC FAX |
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Charles E. Grassley (R-IA) [Chairman] |
202-224-3744 |
202-224-6020 |
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Max Baucus (D-MT) [Ranking Member] |
202-224-2651 |
202-224-4700 |
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House Committee on Ways and Means (Please contact ALL members)
Contact Information
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Majority (Republicans) |
Minority (Democrats) |
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Committee Office: |
Longworth House Office Building 1102 |
Longworth House Office Building 1106 |
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Committee Phone: |
202-225-3625 |
202-225-4021 |
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Committee FAX: |
202-225-2610 |
202-225-5680 |
Committee Membership
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Majority Member Name (24) |
DC Phone |
DC FAX |
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William M. Thomas (R-CA) [Chairman] |
202-225-2915 |
202-225-8798 |
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202-225-3026 |
202-225-8398 |
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202-225-4476 |
202-225-4488 |
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202-225-3076 |
202-226-0852 |
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202-225-2777 |
202-225-8039 |
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202-225-3561 |
202-225-9679 |
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202-225-2871 |
202-225-6351 |
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202-225-2911 |
563-927-5087 |
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202-225-4201 |
202-225-1485 |
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202-225-5406 |
202-225-3103 |
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202-225-2190 |
202-225-3263 |
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202-225-3635 |
202-225-3521 |
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202-225-2956 |
202-225-5712 |
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202-225-3501 |
202-226-2019 |
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202-225-5792 |
202-225-3132 |
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202-225-4901 |
202-225-5524 |
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202-225-5265 |
202-225-5910 |
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202-225-3031 |
202-225-3393 |
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202-225-2815 |
202-225-0011 |
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202-225-4272 |
202-225-4696 |
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202-225-2565 |
202-226-2274 |
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202-225-2645 |
202-225-5278 |
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202-225-3915 |
202-225-6798 |
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202-225-2523 |
202-225-3404 |
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Minority Member Name (17) |
DC Phone |
DC FAX |
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Charles B. Rangel (D-NY) [Ranking Minority Member] |
202-225-4365 |
202-225-0816 |
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202-225-5065 |
202-226-3805 |
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202-225-4961 |
202-226-1033 |
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202-225-4016 |
202-225-9219 |
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202-225-3106 |
202-225-6197 |
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202-225-3801 |
202-225-0351 |
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202-225-5601 |
202-225-8112 |
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202-225-5076 |
202-225-5077 |
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202-225-6636 |
202-225-1988 |
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202-225-4714 |
202-225-1765 |
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202-225-6235 |
202-225-2202 |
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202-225-4865 |
202-225-3073 |
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202-225-2611 |
202-226-0893 |
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202-225-7032 |
202-225-1339 |
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202-225-3311 |
202-225-4335 |
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202-225-2265 |
202-225-1031 |
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202-225-4061 |
202-225-5603 |
Also please write your own Congressman and your two Senators. Special attention should be given to Senators from California and Illinois where large concentrations of United employees and retirees reside:
Senator Dianne Feinstein
331 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510-0504
(202) 224-3841
Fax:
(202) 228-3954
Senator Barbara Boxer
112 Hart Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510
(202) 224-3553
Fax: (415) 956-6701
Senator Dick Durbin
332 Dirksen Senate Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510
(202) 224-2152
Fax: (202) 228-0400
Senator Barack Obama
713 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
(202) 224-2854
Fax: (202) 228-4260
Thank you for participating in this very important campaign. Please do this as though your pension relied on it because it very well may.
Jim Hosking
Retired Pilots Network