Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO

Each year, public transportation agencies spend $5.4 billion on buses and trains. That represents an enormous investment of our taxpayer dollars, but in the absence of common-sense procurement reforms much of it ends up going to companies that manufacture components abroad. Together with the Jobs to Move America coalition, TTD has been working to change […]

Earlier today, American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) President J. David Cox, Sr. reminded a House Security committee of a simple fact: while Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) are too often blamed for screening procedures set by TSA management, these federal workers play a crucial role in ensuring that U.S. skies are as secure as possible. […]

TTD was proud to stand with President Obama yesterday at the foot of Key Bridge – a major artery of commercial and commuter traffic connecting Virginia to Washington D.C. But this bridge is “structurally deficient,” and like so much of our vast transportation system, is in need of significant investment and repair. With workers and […]

As we watch 25 million American children step onto a big yellow bus every morning, most of us assume someone is doing all that needs to be done to ensure they will arrive at school safely. We assume that our drivers have all the tools and training they need to deliver those children with care, […]

Last month in Olympia, Wash., passengers on a city bus witnessed their driver being brutally beaten in an attack that was caught on video for the world to see. The footage is alarming and sickening. It was not, unfortunately, uncommon. From sexual and physical assaults to verbal abuse, the nation’s bus drivers are facing an […]

Sometimes the smart thing to do and the right thing to do are one and the same.  That’s the case with providing full rights to America’s 45,000 Transportation Security Officers (TSOs). The TSOs, employed by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), keep travelers and personnel safe at airports across the country.  But unlike virtually all federal […]

A short quiz for you. If you had anything to do with the safe movement of a 10,000 ton freight train, does it make sense for you to routinely show up to work tired? Hint: NO. That’s the problem we have today in the freight rail industry. Too many tired employees are involved in operating […]

When it comes to the postal “reform” bill now before the U.S. Senate, you have to wonder what has happened to common sense.  If Congress damages the U.S. Postal Service and imperils its future, is that reform? We say no, and we echo the TTD Executive Committee’s call for the Senate to reject S. 1486, […]

Our government shouldn’t reward airline companies that game our trade agreements and pursue a strategy to Walmart airline jobs. Norwegian Air Shuttle has cooked up just such a scheme, and the Obama Administration has a golden opportunity to send a message about U.S. resolve to defend good jobs and strategically critical industries such as aviation. […]

Stop me if you’ve heard this one. A Norwegian airline registers its aircraft in Ireland, “rents” flight crews based in Thailand covered by the labor laws of Singapore, and then applies for a foreign air carrier permit from the United States. Unfortunately, this is not the start of a bad joke but a new business […]