Hilary Clinton is the latest political heavyweight to come out against the granting of an air permit for Norwegian Air.
The Democratic Presidential front runner is urging the Obama Administration to block final approval for Norwegian’s Irish based subsidiary which unions believe will cost American jobs.
"Workers in the U.S. airline industry deserve rules of the road that support a strong workforce with high labor standards — not attempts by airlines to flout labor standards and outsource good-paying jobs," a statement from the Clinton campaign said.
"That’s why our Open Skies Agreement with Europe explicitly calls for the maintenance of high labor standards to guide the parties in its implementation."
Labor unions are fighting the application as they claim the carrier plans to use low cost outsourced labor which will drive down wages and ultimately cost jobs.
"Hillary Clinton urges the Obama Administration against moving forward with final approval of Norwegian Air International’s application. Too many questions have been raised about NAI’s practices and plans," the statement added.
The transportation department tentatively approved the application as there was ‘no legal basis’ to deny it under current open skies protocol.
However DOT asked for comment and feedback from interested parties in the industry and may still block the application.
Clinton’s rival Bernie Sanders recently described the Norwegian Air International unit as nothing more than a ‘flag of convenience’ to circumvent strict EU labor laws and called on the government to deny the permit.
