WASHINGTON, DC – Edward Wytkind, President of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO, issued the following statement today in reaction to the announced changes to the TWIC program to make it more efficient for workers:
“No one wants ports and ships to be more secure than the people who work in them every day. But we’ve always said that the TWIC program must improve security — not just prevent good people from being able to go to work.
“As the Transportation Worker Identification Credential deadline for nationwide compliance nears, every effort must be made to get workers through the process quickly and keep our ports operating efficiently.
“Workers have applied weeks and months ago and still haven’t received their TWIC cards. The Transportation Security Administration and Coast Guard are doing the right thing by adding more resources to increase the number and staffing of enrollment facilities, increase staffing for processing appeals and waivers, and providing a way for workers to access their job sites and other secure areas while awaiting their TWIC cards.
“House Homeland Security Chairman Bennie Thompson has been a champion of common sense at every opportunity with regard to the TWIC program. We commend Chairman Thompson and Rep. Loretta Sanchez, Chairwoman of the Border, Maritime, and Global Counterterrorism Subcommittee, for their commitment to protecting security and jobs. Workers across the country will benefit from their insistence that increased worker demand is accommodated.”
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The Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO, represents 32 member unions in the aviation, rail, transit, trucking, highway, longshore, maritime and related industries. For more information, visit ttd.org.
