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THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2019 ❚ BECAUSE COMMUNITY MATTERS ❚ PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK
Amazon breaks ground Jeff Bezos drives a front loader at CVG ceremony Chris Mayhew
Cincinnati Enquirer USA TODAY NETWORK
Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos drove a front loader Tuesday, May 14 in Kentucky to break ground on a new $1.4 billion Prime Air hub at an airport near Cincinnati. The online retail giant’s CEO surprised an invited crowd of more than 50 people gathered at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) with his presence. Bezos was the only person to move a pile of dirt. One of the richest men on the planet climbed into the cab of a more than eight-ton John Deere front loader wearing a white hard hat. Bezos used the front loader to scoop up and drop a pile of dirt. The new 3-million-square-foot hub will let Amazon get packages to customers faster, he said. “That’s a big deal,” Bezos said. “We’re going to move Prime from two-day (delivery) to one day and this hub is a big part of that. I’m super excited about that.” The new cargo hub, announced in 2017, is scheduled to open in 2021. More than 2,000 new jobs are expected. Sarah Rhoads, former fi ghter pilot and director of Amazon Air, and Candace McGraw, airport CEO, both spoke to reporters after the groundbreaking. Bezos did not give interviews. Gary Moore, the top elected offi cial in the Boone County’s government, said he heard there was a chance Bezos might show, but he wasn’t sure it would happen. “When I got here and I heard his handlers were here and it was happening I just got goosebumps,” Moore said. The scale of the new hub on nearly 1,000 acres is bigger than 31 combined Cincinnati Reds baseball stadiums. “This project is such a win for Boone County, CVG and the entire area,” Moore said. Amazon’s Day One blog stated Kentucky already has 14 fulfi llment and sorting centers. CVG is already the 8th largest cargo hub airport in the U.S. without the new Amazon hub, said airport CEO Candace McGraw. “So, this is groundbreaking of Amazon Prime is phenomenal in terms of airport growth, the next phase of our cargo development at CVG, it means jobs, and construction jobs,” McGraw said. “You know, the future looks very bright here at CVG.”
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos climbs into a front loader Tuesday at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport to break ground on a $1.4 billion Prime Air hub. CHRIS MAYHEW/THE ENQUIRER
Pilots praise Amazon, protest third-party carriers Chris Mayhew
Cincinnati Enquirer USA TODAY NETWORK
Cargo pilots praised Amazon's cargo hub groundbreaking at Cincinnati's airport while also expressing concern. Pilots, who have stated previously they are prepared to strike in an April 10 Enquirer article, continue to express worries about working conditions at airlines servicing the online retail giant, in a news release. Amazon is scheduled to open a 3-million-squarefoot cargo hub building in 2021 at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. The hub is expected to create 2,000 jobs. The union for pilots fl ying for Atlas Air, Southern Air and ABX Air launched a Pilots Deserve Better protest website Tuesday, May 14 to coincide with Amazon's invitation-only groundbreaking. A mobile billboard with a plea for the carriers to improve working conditions was driven around the air-
port that Tuesday as well. CVG is the largest hub for the three air carriers, according to the release. “We are pleased to see the expansion of partnerships between our carriers and Amazon Air, yet we can’t help but worry that executives at Atlas Air and ATSG are severely overpromising services to stay in good graces with one of their most prized customers,” said Captain Robert Kirchner, Atlas Air pilot and executive council chairman for Atlas Air pilots of Teamsters Local 1224 in a news release. “Amazon’s groundbreaking event at CVG should be cause for celebration but instead all it’s causing is panic. The ground is falling out from underneath our carriers and to prevent disaster at Amazon and its new internal logistics network, Atlas Air and ATSG need to correct high attrition, low pay, and mistreatment of pilots by working with us to settle a fair contract.” The website contains copies of union and carrier contracts and a video stating pilots are leaving for other jobs because of working conditions.
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