Menu
Rethink Trade fights for good jobs, a healthy environment, robust and fair markets where small businesses can thrive and safe and affordable medicine, food and goods. And we believe those who will live with the results must decide the policies affecting their lives. That’s why we work to replace the current “trade” rules that were formed by and for the world’s largest corporate powers with damaging results for most people and the planet.
with Lori Wallach
Welcome to Rethinking Trade with Lori Wallach, where we unpack “trade” policy, law and politics and how it affects your daily life more than you think. Much of what is labeled trade today is not about actual trade stuff, like tariffs or quotas. We’ll reveal how Big Tech, Big Pharma, Wall Street et al. use the trade brand to rig the rules against working people, consumers, small businesses and farmers and consolidate monopoly control, outsource jobs and undermine food safety and our environment. We’ll debunk myths used to sell the corporate-managed trade agenda, which also has done major damage in the developing world. And, we’ll share alternatives we support.
If you thought the air travel fiasco could not get worse, consider the scary news that airlines are offshoring the maintenance work needed to keep planes safe. The airlines’ greedy cost-cutting behind the outdated computer systems and gutted airline staffing has upended peoples’ lives with epic travel meltdowns. But offshoring airplane safety maintenance to boost profits?! At offshore facilities in El Salvador, Singapore, China, and Brazil there are no FAA spot checks and the specialized aircraft certifications for mechanics, background checks, and drug testing required in the U.S. are waived. The Department of Transportation is letting the airlines get away with it. Experts say it’s just a matter of time before there is a horrific incident.
In this episode of Rethinking Trade with Lori Wallach, we are joined by the two people who know the most about this threat. William McGee, the Senior Fellow for Aviation and Travel at the American Economic Liberties Project, is America’s leading aviation consumer safety and rights expert. He’s a former FAA-licensed aircraft dispatcher with decades of experience as Consumer Reports’ lead on aviation. Gary Peterson is the Vice of the Transport Workers Union and a certified Airframe and Powerplant aviation mechanic by trade. He is Executive Director to the International President and former Air Division Director at the union. Gary worked for decades for American Airlines leading the teams who do the heavy maintenance, rebuilds and safety inspections of planes. He also served as crew chief doing maintenance on aircraft in the Air Force. Gary, Bill, and Lori talk about the lunacy of offshoring aircraft safety maintenance and how to fix the problem now.
