Ellison Calls for Congressional Hearing on NWA/Delta Merger Proposal

Letter

Press Release: Ellison calls for Congressional Hearing on NWA/Delta Merger Proposal

Congressman Keith Ellison (D-Minneapolis) today called on the Chairman of the Congressional Anti-Trust Taskforce (in conjunction with the Judiciary Committee) to hold a Congressional hearing on the impact of the potential merger between Northwest Airlines and Delta Airlines.

"This impending merger is likely to have a huge impact on the employees of Northwest Airlines, as well as the flying public, and the welfare of our local communities. It is imperative that Congress carefully examine each aspect of the proposed merger before allowing it to proceed," Ellison stated.

(Letter to Chairman Conyers):

Hon. John Conyers
Chairman
Anti-Trust Task Force
2138 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515-6216

Dear Mr. Chairman:

The Northwest and Delta merger could lead to overwhelming market power in certain areas of the country and ultimately lead to a lack of competition nationwide as other major airlines are forced to merge. Although the two companies have limited service areas in common, which could lead this administration to conclude that enhancement of market power will not be an issue, closer examination of the issue leads us to believe that market power could indeed be a major issue. For example, the route between the two hubs of Minneapolis/St. Paul and Atlanta is already dominated by these two carriers; any travel between these two areas of service would likely result in even less price competition than currently exists and over time other routes will suffer this same fate after these airlines merge and force out other carriers.

The well being of both airline employees and customers should be our first priority. Past mergers leave us with many concerns about the effect this could have on both employees and customers. In 2005, US Airways and American West Airlines merged. Three years after this merger, US Airways has not been able to finalize a merger of the workforces of the two airlines, nor has the fleet service operation at the combined carrier been integrated. This failure to integrate workforces has lead to inefficiency in the use of personnel as well as an inequality in wages and benefits. These continued problems have lead to a decline in customer service and airline performance. This prior merger should be examined and serve as a cautionary note as to why a merger of this nature may not be beneficial to the public.

In conclusion, protecting our consumers, workers and our economy from anti-competitive practices should remain on the forefront of this Congress' agenda. I appreciate the work you and your staff have already done on these issues of consumer justice and I thank you for your consideration of this matter. I look forward to joining you in examining this issue further in future hearings.

Sincerely,

KEITH ELLISON
Member of Congress

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