As Reported By David Shepardson for Insurance Journal Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. skipped a U.S. House of Representatives hearing the ride-hailing industry, angering lawmakers who threatened tighter regulation for the fast-growing market. The two ride-hailing companies had been asked to appear as part of a House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee inquiry on safety, labor and congestion. “Their failure to appear at this hearing is a telling sign that they would rather suffer a public lashing than answer questions on the record about their operations,” the head of the panel, U.S. Representative Peter DeFazio, a Democrat, said at the subcommittee hearing.
AS REPORTED BY KEITH LANG FOR THE DETROIT NEWS Gov. Gretchen Whitmer so far has been unsuccessful in her bid to increase the state’s gas tax to help fix crumbling roads, but several states, including nearby Ohio and Illinois, hiked their fuel levies this week.
AS REPORTED BY TED REED FOR FORBES Four top airline industry labor leaders have written to Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, asking that safety standards at foreign aircraft maintenance facilities be enhanced to the same level that domestic maintenance stations meet.
AS REPORTED BY BEN GOLDSTEIN FOR AVIATION WEEKLY Four unions representing U.S. aviation safety inspectors and mechanics wrote to U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao urging the department to implement three long-delayed Congressional directives intended to boost oversight of foreign repair stations that work on U.S. aircraft.
AS REPORTED BY EVAN HOOPFER FOR THE DALLAS BUSINESS JOURNAL Two unions that represent American Airlines mechanics were among a group that penned a letter to U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao expressing concern about foreign repair stations. The group of transportation unions is concerned about three issues: drug and alcohol testing, security screening for safety-sensitive personnel and oversight at aircraft repair stations.
AS REPORTED BY BRIAN MERCHANT FOR GIZMODO As institutional embrace of automation continues to create a mounting threat to existing jobs, unions are formally taking note. Last year, the largest Las Vegas service workers union organized a strike partly over casinos’ plans to embrace automated systems, and the union won language in the resulting contract that included protections against automation. 2018 also saw bus drivers protest against the prospect of Ohio adopting driverless buses.
As Reported by STEPHANIE BEASLEY, BRIANNA GURCIULLO and SAM MINTZ for Politico.
The government shutdown is fraying U.S. air travel in ways big and small, not just spawning long security lines at some airports but canceling some pilot training, delaying purchases of bag-scanning equipment and preventing some companies from adding new planes.
As Published by Paul Metselaar in Inc. The partial government shutdown that began on December 22 has passed the previous record of 21 days to become the longest government closure in U.S. history. The partial shutdown is now well into its fourth week, and roughly 800,000 federal workers, approximately half of whom have been furloughed and half of whom have been deemed essential and are called to work, have now missed a paycheck.