PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES PERSONALLY ENGAGE ABX AIR EMPLOYEES
Presidential Candidates Make Media History by Addressing Employees in Corporate Newsletter

WILMINGTON, OH - October 23, 2008 - ABX Air and the city of Wilmington garnered national and international attention when the package express giant, DHL, announced plans on May 28 to abandon its national hub based in Wilmington, Ohio, resulting in the elimination of about 10,000 jobs.

In the ABX Air employee newsletter, Airwaves, released recently presidential hopefulsJohnMcCain and Barack Obama addressed a myriad of issues including the antitrust and anti competitive objections that have been raised about the proposed DHL and UPS agreement.

I am deeply concerned about the effects of this deal on working families in southwestern Ohio – families who are already struggling with the economic turbulence jolting our nation," writes McCain who has met with employees and families in Clinton County.

 

"For many ABX Air employees, the potential loss of health insurance for their families would be almost as devastating as the loss of income from the job itself," notes Obama, who also has spent some time in Wilmington.

This isn’t the first time McCain and Obama have honed in on the economic devastation surrounding ABX Air and Wilmington.

  • On July 11, 2008, Obama met with ABX Air CEO Joe Hete, Wilmington Mayor David Raizk, Economic Task Force members and affected workers. Obama called for an antitrust review of the proposed DHL-UPS agreement.
  • On Aug. 6, 2008, McCain met with community leaders, including Raizk and Hete. Following the meeting, McCain called for an antitrust review of the proposed agreement and sent a letter to Deutsche Post World Net CEO Frank Appel requesting that he come to Wilmington and meet with the people affected by the proposed decision.
  • On Sept. 9, 2008, Obama met with employees of ABX Air, ASTAR and DHL who would be affected by the proposed agreement.

Additionally, independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader and Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin also have visited Wilmington and voiced their concerns regarding the plan for DHL’s Ohio operations.

  • On Sept. 8, 2008, Nader visited Wilmington at the invitation of the local "Save the Jobs, Save our Community" group.
  • On Oct. 9, 2008, Palin addressed an estimated 11,000 in Wilmington and spoke of the potential of massive jobs lost due to the pending agreement.

"This united, nonpartisan effort from John McCain, Barack Obama, and other high-ranking government officials has brought a lot of visibility to our situation," said Hete. "We continue to actively pursue options to hold on to as many jobs as possible, and continue to meet with people in Washington."

The complete text of both McCain’s and Obama’s editorials are available at www.abxair.com/governmentaffairs, along with letters of support from government officials and legislators nationwide.

ABX Air is an air cargo services provider operating out of Wilmington, Ohio, and 15 hubs throughout the United States. In addition to providing airlift capacity and sort facility staffing to DHL, ABX Air is a Part 121 operator and holds a Part 145 FAA Repair certificate. It provides charter, maintenance and package handling services to a diverse group of customers. ABX Air is the largest employer in a several-county area in southwestern Ohio. ABX Air, Inc., is a wholly owned subsidiary of Air Transport Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATSG )

 

Contact:
Beth Huber
ABX Air, Inc.
Tel: 937-366-2536
beth.huber@abxair.com