For immediate release May 9, 2013
Contact: Roger Kerson, roger.kerson@gmail.com, 734.645.0535
Allegiant Flight Attendants Launch Ad and Website to Rename Maurice J. Gallagher Jr. Hall at University of California, Davis Business School — “Let’s set an example for future business leaders”
Davis, CA — Flight attendants at Allegiant Air, members of TWU Local 577, launched a new ad and website urging students and faculty at the University of California, Davis to participate in the renaming of Maurice J. Gallagher Jr. Hall.
The building, where UC Davis School of Management students attend classes, was named after Gallagher, CEO of Allegiant Airlines and former officer and director of ValuJet, following a $10 million donation to the school. The TWU ad, which will run in today’s UC Davis newspaper The California Aggie, features the headline “Rename Gallagher Hall” and asks:
Shouldn’t the main classroom building be named for a leader who in your opinion has a reputation for high standards and business excellence?
“Let’s honor business leaders who treat employees and customers with respect, while still delivering a profit to shareholders,” said Thom McDaniel, International Vice President of the Transport Workers Union. “We should name buildings after people who deliver value to customers and the communities they serve, while also representing the best values of the University of California.”
The ad encourages readers to “join us by adding your suggestion for a corporate leader fitting this profile” at the new website www.RenameGallagherHall.org.
“This is a step in the right direction for our campus. We need to start naming buildings after people that are community and worker friendly,” said Duane Wright, UC Davis campus chair of UAW Local 2865, the union representing teaching assistants, readers, tutors and other academic workers at the University of California.
Recent news reports about Allegiant have raised concerns about passenger delays, the reliability of the airline’s aging fleet, excessive fees and abrupt cancellation of routes and service to cities formerly served by the airline.
A majority of flight attendants at Allegiant voted in favor of TWU representation in December 2010. More than two years later, flight attendants still do not have a first contract agreement.
The Transport Workers Union of America (TWU) represents 200,000 workers and retirees in commercial aviation, public transportation and passenger railroads, including 11,000 flight attendants. The union is an affiliate of the AFL-CIO.
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