TTD in the news

As Reported By Chris Teale for Smart Cities Dive Lawmakers assailed Uber and Lyft for skipping out on a Congressional hearing this week, noting the companies need to “clean up their acts” in the wake of regulatory consideration.

As Reported by Melina Druga for Transportation Today The Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), a coalition of 33 unions, recently released a report examining the business models of companies like Uber, Lyft, and Via. The coalition determined the companies undermines public transportation’s goals and exploits workers.

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 Ashley Halsey III for The Washington Post Bipartisan legislation introduced in the House on Wednesday would prevent the United States from issuing permits to foreign airlines that could undermine this country’s safety and labor standards. The legislation is aimed at a practice known as using a “flag of convenience,” when a carrier […]

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 Joanna Marsh for Freight Waves The implementation of precision scheduled railroading (PSR) has contributed to dwindling morale and could result in creating unsafe working conditions should the federal government withhold intervention, according to union witnesses at a June 20th Congressional hearing on rail safety. “If [the rail industry] is left to self-regulate, the PSR […]

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.