News and Media

Reported by Gregory Polek for AIN.

The Air Line Pilots Association again has raised objections to what it calls airlines’ improper use of U.S. work visas to recruit foreign temporary pilots and shift flying away from U.S. aviation workers. The most recent complaint stems from the removal of a clause in the Department of Transportation’s approval of a joint venture agreement between Delta Air Lines and LATAM that ALPA claims ensured U.S. pilots and other workers “a fair and equitable share of growth in flying.”

In a statement released Tuesday, ALPA cited an “alarming” increase in pilot positions certified by the Department of Labor to allow employer sponsorship of H1-B and E-3 visas for “specialty occupations.” The “specialty occupation” designation denotes a minimum of a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent in the specialty as a prerequisite for employment. According to ALPA, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Administrative Appeals Office has repeatedly determined that the piloting profession does not qualify as a specialty occupation.

Reported by Eleanor Mueller for Politico.

More than half of freight rail workers will vote on proposed contracts next week amid a highly organized effort by some of their colleagues to urge a “no” vote.

It’s the biggest test yet of the Biden administration’s push to avert an economically crippling rail strike after it helped a dozen unions broker a compromise with freight carriers in September. A rebel group, Railroad Workers United, is stoking opposition among members who believe the compromise green-lit by union leaders doesn’t go far enough to address working conditions that have led to severe attrition at the nation’s largest carriers.

Reported by Zachary Halaschak for the Washington Examiner. 

The risk of a disruptive strike is growing after another union voted down a labor agreement between rail workers and railroads that would end months of negotiations over pay and working conditions. The deadline for the agreement’s approval is just weeks away.

Workers at a dozen unions involved in the railroad negotiations have until Dec. 9 to approve the agreement (which has already been approved by both the unions’ leadership and the railways), or the United States could face the prospect of rail strikes that would devastate the country’s supply chains and create economic chaos right before one of the busiest times of the year. That date is when a so-called “cooling off” period ends and workers are allowed to strike.

Reported by Trains.

A rail labor union coalition has proposed that Congress require federal regulators to conduct an annual “stress test” that would determine whether the Class I railroads have enough people, equipment, and infrastructure capacity to meet freight demand.

The recommendation, made Nov. 10 by the Transportation Trades Department (TTD) of the AFL-CIO, comes amid ongoing rail service problems due to crew shortages at the big four U.S. Class I railroads, BNSF Railway, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern, and Union Pacific.

WASHINGTON – The nation’s largest transportation labor federation, the Transportation Trades Department (TTD) of the AFL-CIO, convened 37 unions to set the federation’s annual agenda for working people in aviation, transit, maritime, rail, and other transportation industries. At the semi-annual board meeting on Thursday, union leaders voted unanimously to approve the federation’s 2023 agenda, which […]

Reported by Joanna Marsh for Freightwaves.

Congress should consider implementing an annual “stress test” for the railroads to ensure that railroads have adequately invested in their infrastructure and people, according to policy position papers approved by the Transportation Trades Department (TTD) at a biannual meeting this week.

These position papers serve as policy action guidelines for the coalition for the upcoming months, according to TTD, which is affiliated with the AFL-CIO. These viewpoints have the support of the group’s 37 member unions, including member railroad unions. 

Reported by Lillianna Byington for Bloomberg Government.

Addressing staff shortages at air traffic control facilities and stopping airlines from misusing visa programs are among the top priorities for transportation unions next year.

The Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO brought together 37 unions on Thursday, including the Air Line Pilots Association and Transport Workers Union, to vote on an agenda of advocacy goals for 2023 for aviation, transit, maritime, rail, and other transport workers. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh also spoke to the unions and answered questions about their priorities at the closed meeting.

Reported by David Shepardson for Reuters.

A group representing self-driving car companies is appointing a former U.S. Senate aide as its new head as the industry works to convince U.S. policymakers to speed the deployment of autonomous vehicles and jumpstart stalled legislation.

The Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association (AVIA) has tapped Jeff Farrah as its first executive director, the group told Reuters.

U.S. lawmakers have been divided for years over how to amend current auto safety regulations to encompass self-driving cars, including the scope of consumer and legal protections.

America’s Wortk Force Podcast.

AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department President Greg Regan joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast and discussed why the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is the most pro-worker infrastructure law ever passed by Congress.

Regan recently testified before Congress about the importance of the act.

Reported by Eleanor Mueller and Tanya Snyder for Politico.

Fears of a disruptive rail strike are roaring back to life, less than a month after President Joe Biden took a highly visible victory lap for averting a pre-election economic meltdown.

No strike will happen before the end of the so-called cooling-off period in late November — after the midterm elections — and negotiations are continuing between the freight railroad industry and a dozen unions. But one labor organization’s vote this week to reject a contract with the railroads threatens to undo the White House’s efforts to avert a strike — efforts that included a compromise the administration brokered Sept. 15.