Steve Cohen: “this morning's Memphis ComercialAppeal had distressing news for our city. Delta Airlines had canceled part of its…”

“this morning's Memphis ComercialAppeal had distressing news for our city. Delta Airlines had canceled part of its contract with Pinnacle Airlines, an airline that had 1,000 jobs in our community. The stock price fell 25 percent, and the newspaper reported that stockholders are concerned about the continued existence of the business. If the merger takes place and Delta and Northwest merge, it is entirely possible that Delta will cancel the remaining portion of Pinnacle's business with Northwest Airlink, where they serve many customers through Northwest Airlines. That would be devastating to the Memphis economy and possibly cost us thousands of jobs. I am very concerned, and plan to call Delta Airlines to find out why this contract was cancelled, what possibly could happen, how this merger would affect those 1,000 people, and if possibly re-regulation of the airlines is in order to make sure that abrupt changes in contracts that might cause irreparable harm and immediate damage can't take place if they threaten an industry and an employer in my district such as Pinnacle Airlines. Mr. Speaker, I am concerned about the future of this large business in my community, and plan to look into it for the benefit of the employers and my overall business community.”