WASHINGTON — Greg Regan and Shari Semelsberger, President and Secretary-Treasurer of the AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department (TTD), issued the following statement urging Congress to end the government shutdown:
“As America’s largest transportation labor federation, representing millions of workers in aviation, maritime, transit, rail, and other sectors, we implore Congress to work in a bipartisan manner to swiftly end the first government shutdown in seven years.
“When the federal government shuts down, thousands of federal employees are furloughed while their work is put on hold. Tens of thousands of public servants, including aviation workers, Transportation Security Officers, rail safety inspectors and civilian mariners, are being forced to work without timely pay, while some government contractors are working without the guarantee that they will ever receive the compensation they are owed. A government shutdown reduces federal safety oversight, strains airport security, and delays much-needed infrastructure and planning projects. In just one week of a shutdown, impacts on tourism and travel could cost the economy $1 billion, according to the U.S. Travel Association.
“The Trump Administration has already eliminated a significant number of federal employees, and these additional staffing reductions continue to undermine critical government services. The President’s threat to fire federal workers instead of furloughing them would have untold lasting negative impacts. The livelihoods of civil servants and their families must not be leveraged or reduced to political bargaining chips.
“We urge Congress to prioritize the safety of transportation systems, workers, and passengers by coming to a resolution that funds the federal government and works on behalf of American families. Interruptions to crucial public services hurt not only the workers who provide them, but also the American people who rely on them.”
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