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Machinists Support Bankruptcy Reform Legislation

Washington, D.C., September 25, 2007 - The International Association of
Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) today joined key lawmakers, the
AFL-CIO and other unions at the U.S. Capitol to support the Protecting
Employees and Retirees in Business Bankruptcies Act of 2007.

"Our airline members have endured tremendous hardships because of the
unfair advantage enjoyed by companies in bankruptcy," said IAM General
Vice President Robert Roach, Jr. "This legislation will ensure labor
contract issues, including pensions, will remain a matter of collective
bargaining, even when a company is in bankruptcy."

The legislation is being introduced by U.S. House of Representatives
Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-MI), U.S. Senate Assistant
Majority Leader Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA),
Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
Current bankruptcy laws were used to extract $8.5 billion from IAM
members in the airline industry since 2001.

"While workers made the sacrifices, the airline executives responsible
for the bankruptcies rewarded themselves with multi-million dollar
bonuses," said Roach. "Bankruptcy cannot be used as a tool to destroy
workers' lives and stuff executives' pockets."


The IAM is the largest airline union in North America, representing
more than 100,000 mechanics, flight attendants, ramp service workers,
customer service employees, reservation agents, stock clerks and
maintenance instructors. For more information about the Machinists Union, please
visit our website, www.goiam.org.