News and Media

ORLANDO, FL—Transportation unions vowed to protect and create U.S. maritime jobs by strengthening enforcement of cargo preference laws and reversing recent congressional action that undermined these longstanding requirements. Meeting this week, the Executive Committee of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD) criticized legislation adopted in 2012, as part of an 11th hour deal on a […]

 ORLANDO, FL—Seeking to end a stalemate on long-term federal support for public transit and highway investments, AFL-CIO transportation unions are calling for a bipartisan solution to fix a “broken and outdated funding system” for these critical national investments. In a policy statement unanimously adopted by the Executive Committee of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), […]

 ORLANDO, FL—As lawmakers prepare to debate passenger rail reauthorization, leaders of AFL-CIO transportation unions are calling on Congress to set a long-term future for Amtrak that meets the demands of a growing ridership, invests in the railroad’s decaying equipment and network, protects the rights and jobs of workers and rejects “risky” privatization of key routes […]

[As posted by Kathryn Wolfe and Scott Wong in Politico] New Jersey Sen. Frank Lautenberg’s decision to retire at the end of his term hands transportation safety advocates their second piece of political bad news in recent months. Lautenberg, who chairs the Senate Commerce panel in charge of highways, transit, rail and maritime issues, said […]

[As posted by Kathryn Wolfe in Politico] Transportation and infrastructure funding has been in the spotlight post-Hurricane Sandy — but actually finding the money to invest in the nation’s roads, rails and bridges is another matter. The enormous open question is whether lawmakers can eventually find a solution to dwindling gas tax receipts needed to […]

WASHINGTON, DC—In comments submitted to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) proposed rulemaking, TTD agreed with the agency that “deficiencies” exist with safety and oversight of contract aircraft repair stations and that new rules are needed to address this problem. However, TTD still believes more needs to be done. If maintenance work is going to be […]

WASHINGTON, DC—Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD) President Edward Wytkind releases this statement in anticipation of President Obama’s State of the Union address on February 12: “The President has a chance tomorrow night to make the case for rebuilding our nation, beginning with the expansion of our depleted transportation system and infrastructure. “On President Obama’s watch, […]

[By Keith Laing of The Hill]   The largest collection of unions that represents transportation workers is urging President Obama to go big on their industries in his State of the Union address on Tuesday. “The president has a chance tomorrow night to make the case for rebuilding our nation, beginning with the expansion of […]

[As posted by Kathryn Wolfe in Politico] Most transportation policy-watchers expect President Barack Obama to offer up a comment on infrastructure during his State of the Union speech — just not much of one. One transportation lobbyist says the president will mention infrastructure “in passing. It seems to be a fairly consistent theme. The big […]

WASHINGTON, DC—The Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD) applauds the Department of Labor (DOL) for issuing a final rule today that guarantees flight crew members are not denied Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) protections. With passage of the Airline Flight Crew Technical Corrections Act in 2009, Congress established new FMLA leave eligibility requirements that addressed […]