URPBPA LEGISLATIVE ALERT
Please Forward to Airline
Employees, friends and relatives
8/29/05
The Congressional Summer
Recess is coming to a close with Congress reconvening on September 6. Pension legislation is a priority in both
House and Senate. The bills now under
consideration WILL NOT preserve our pension plans. Your communications with the critical
Congressional Committees could make a difference to get amendments written into
these bills to save United pension plans.
Congressional offices
that support us say that it is very important that we continue our letter
writing efforts. Congressional offices
have a tendency to take action where there is the most “heat”. If our letter writing campaign tapers off
these offices will only assume that our problem is solved or that we no longer
care about the outcome. It is up to us
to call attention to our issues and keep the heat on the lawmakers.
The Senate Health,
Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (H.E.L.P.) and the
Remember United’s CEO Glen Tilton and his
lobbyists have been lobbying these offices, we must work together to undo their
work!
Our main message remains the same: Pension reform legislation must include saving the pensions at United
Airlines.
Letters to the Congress
are not often carefully read, so it is important that you include in the
heading or first paragraph the issue and your position on the issue. Keep it brief.
We have been told
that Senator Enzi’s Committee is not “feeling the heat”, let us all work
together and turn up the heat.
Please fax your letter and call each of these
offices stating that any Pension Reform Legislation should include provisions
to stop the terminations of the Defined Benefit Pensions at United Airlines.
Print this list and use it as a
check-list:
Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
Contact Information
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Majority (Republicans) |
Minority (Democrats) |
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Committee Office: |
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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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Committee Membership
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Majority Members
(Republicans) |
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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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202-224-3324 |
202-224-4952 |
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202-224-3344 |
202-228-1264 |
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202-224-3154 |
202-228-2981 |
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202-224-3643 |
202-228-0724 |
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202-224-2315 |
202-224-6519 |
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202-224-6244 |
202-228-2193 |
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202-224-5251 |
202-224-6331 |
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202-224-4124 |
202-224-3149 |
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202-224-4774 |
202-224-3514 |
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Minority Members (Democrats) |
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Member Name |
DC Phone |
DC FAX |
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Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA)
[Ranking Member] |
202-224-4543 |
202-224-2417 |
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202-224-2823 |
202-224-1083 |
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202-224-3254 |
202-224-9369 |
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202-224-4654 |
202-224-8858 |
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202-224-5141 |
202-228-0776 |
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202-224-5521 |
202-224-2852 |
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202-224-2621 |
202-224-0238 |
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202-224-4642 |
202-224-4680 |
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202-224-4451 |
202-228-0282 |
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Let your computer work for you; write
your letter, print, sign and fax it, then just do name and fax number changes
for the next one, print, sign and fax, and so on.
Sample
Letter: (please do
not just copy it and resend it, but use it only for ideas or cut and paste
portions of it. “Form” letters are ignored!)
Senator Mike Enzi,
Chairman
Health, Education, Labor
and Pensions Committee
Fax: 202-228-0359
Re: Save the Pensions at United Airlines
Dear Senator Enzi,
Please include in the
H.E.L.P. Committee legislation the provisions of S. 1158 calling for a 6 month
moratorium of pension terminations in bankruptcy court OR a permanent solution
without pension termination at United Airlines.
Grant to the employees and
retirees of United Airlines a fair opportunity to save their pensions.
There are alternatives to plan terminations that
will not put United Airlines out of business and yet will benefit United’s
employees and retirees. Minor changes in the law
would allow freezing of these viable pension plans and allow longer periods to
amortize these liabilities.
If United is allowed to terminate their pensions
in bankruptcy court you will create a competitive imbalance among the legacy
carriers, United, Delta, Northwest and American. The other legacy
carriers will be forced to resort to strategic bankruptcies in order to stay
competitive by also shedding their Defined Benefit Pension Plans.
Other industries, such
as the automotive industry could easily follow.
The PBGC cannot absorb
these liabilities without asking for a taxpayer bailout.
Respectfully,
Sign
Name
Address
City/State
Phone