Pilots protest in front of White House against DHL’s cost cutting measures

Pilots for five U.S. based airlines that are subcontracted to carry cargo for DHL plan to protest outside the White House today, in hopes that President Trump will prevent DHL from applying pressure that “skirts U.S. laws designed to protect American airlines against foreign influence,” the Airline Professionals Association, Teamsters Local 1224 said.

The union’s complaints center around DHL attempts to “shortchange its American work force.” The union accuses the German shipping giant of pushing the carriers to provide service at “rock-bottom rates,” which the teamsters allege undermines industry standards in pay, working conditions, and quality of life that pilots flying for U.S. companies such as UPS and FedEx enjoy.

Teamsters Local 1224 represents pilots for the five airlines in question, ABX Air, Atlas Air, Southern Air, Polar Air and Kalitta Air. The union plans to deliver an open letter to the president in which the pilots remind the president that he, “often said that our country needs leaders to stand up for American workers.”

This isn’t the first time that Pilots represented by Teamsters Local 1224 have garnered headlines. Pilots from ABX Air, which flies packages for Amazon.com and DHL Worldwide Express, went on strike last November in Cincinnati and Wilmington. Air Transport Services Group (ATSG), the carrier’s parent company subsequently went to court seeking an injunction that would, “restore the status quo operating environment.”

The strike ended up delaying holiday shipments, and cut into ATSG’s 2016 earnings.

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