News

By Gary Huffenberger from the Hillsboro Times Gazette, Ohio

The ABX Air pilots union is funding an effort to publicize the devastating impact a pullout by DHL would have on Wilmington and the air park workers. Advertisements have been placed in the publications Roll Call and The Hill, both well read by the powerful in the nation's capital. Roll Call refers to itself as the newspaper of Capitol Hill since 1955. The Hill also is a congressional newspaper, and according to its Web site, it covers "the nexus between politics and business."



Collete Tucker, spokesperson for the Save Ohio Jobs publicity campaign, said this past week, "Sometimes these things happen and we never have a chance to deliver the message about the personal impact or the devastating impact it's going to have on the families or whether or not DHL is breaking a deal they made with the state of Ohio."



So this publicity campaign is meant to pro-actively tell the message about the proposed deal between DHL and UPS in a timely, effective fashion, said Tucker. Zeroing in on Congress is no happenstance. "That's essentially to get them to take a look at the antitrust aspect of it," Tucker said. Getting the White House aware of the situation also is part of the battle plan, she added.

Further, Tucker thinks it is "really important" the presidential campaigns "not only know about this but are talking about it."



There has been consideration of taking out ads in Germany, the home country of DHL's parent company Deutsche Post, located in Bonn. European advertising is "extremely expensive," she said. "It's definitely something we are going to take a look at," said Tucker. But the first target audience is the U.S. Congress. We have a relatively short window (of time), so it has to be very targeted and very effective. And provocative, frankly. It's got to employ humor or something to grab attention because I'm assuming it's a relatively small window," she said.



Tucker had a conference call Friday afternoon with some people based in Washington, D.C. to assess whether the story is getting through or getting lost in the hubbub of the halls of Congress.

With several efforts to get the word out, it's hard to determine the exact causes, but the various efforts are having an impact, according to Tucker. The prospect of a regional or community unemployment calamity caused by a DHL pullout from the air park in Wilmington is "definitely" known in Washington, D.C. circles, she said. "I think we need to keep the momentum going and keep that buzz out there and keep people talking about it and feeling anxious about it because there is a lot to be lost," she added.



Earlier in the week, Tucker had said, "There are a lot of ads in Roll Call and The Hill. I think the ad said what we wanted it to say. But we'll have to wait and see what the return is - see what the buzz is about it," she said. In part, the text of the ad says: "On behalf of all the workers, homeowners, shopkeepers and bystanders affected by this potential deal, we beseech you to call upon Congress to investigate possible antitrust issues surrounding this merger. "Ohioans have weathered a lot over the years. Please don't let another broken promise destroy our communities," concludes the text.



Tucker said the publicity campaign also may include direct mailings.



To see the ads go to;

http://www.alpa.org/DesktopModules/ALPA_Documents/ALPA_DocumentsView.aspx?itemid=15243&ModuleId=1316&Tabid=256





For more information on union activitiy to oppose the DHL cuts in Wilmington go to; http://www.teamster.org/resources/abxair/abxairmechanicsandgroundworkers.asp