Letters To Congress

On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), I offer my strong support for Robert Primus to serve another term on the Surface Transportation Board (STB). I urge the Members of the Senate Commerce Committee to favorably report his nomination out of the Committee and encourage his confirmation by the full Senate.

In 1996, Congress established the STB as the successor to the Interstate Commerce Commission and tasked it with the economic regulation of freight rail. The STB operated in alignment with the U.S. Department of Transportation until Congress deemed it a wholly independent federal agency through the 2015 STB Reauthorization Act.

Dear Senator: On behalf of the undersigned unions representing professional airline pilots and thousands of aviation workers who support strong safety standards, I urge you to oppose any legislation that increases the pilot retirement age. In 2007, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), under the direction of Congress, implemented the Fair Treatment for Experienced Pilots Act […]

Dear Representative: As the House continues consideration of H.R. 8294 – Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Agriculture, Rural Development, Energy and Water Development, Financial Services and General Government, Interior, Environment, Military Construction, and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, 2023, the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO urges you to support the final bill and oppose the following amendments. […]

Dear Representative,

On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), representing 37 labor unions across all modes of transportation, and USA Maritime, a coalition of American ship operators, maritime labor organizations, and maritime trade associations, we urge you to oppose an amendment in the National Defense Authorization Act led by Representatives Jackie Walorski, Jim Costa, Michelle Fischbach and Mariannette Miller-Meeks that would eliminate Ship American “cargo preference” rules essential to our U.S. Merchant Marine and U.S.-flag shipping industry. This amendment is similar to H. Con. Res. 92 and companion to S. Con. Res. 37 and 38, which Senators Joni Ernst and Chris Coons introduced in May.

Dear Senator: I am writing on behalf of the Transportation Trades Department (TTD) of the AFL-CIO. TTD is the largest transportation labor federation in the nation and notably represents all of the rail unions and workers in this country. We appreciate the May 23rd letter that you and your colleagues sent to the Surface Transportation […]

On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), representing workers across nearly every position in the passenger rail network, I write to request that Congress fully fund Amtrak operations for FY2023, consistent with the FY2023 annual appropriations authorized under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). This includes $1.1 billion for the Northeast Corridor (NEC) and $2.2 billion for the National Network (NN), a total of $3.3 billion in grant funding.

With the passage of the IIJA, Congress committed to deliver world-class intercity passenger rail, and to support and preserve good jobs building, operating, and maintaining Amtrak’s network. Now, it is time for Congress to fulfill that promise by providing full funding in accordance with IIJA’s FY2023 authorization.

On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), representing 37 labor unions across all modes of transportation and USA Maritime, a coalition of American ship operators, maritime labor organizations, and maritime trade associations, we urge you to oppose H. Con. Res. 92. This resolution, led by Representatives Jackie Walorski, Jim Costa, Michelle Fischbach and Danny Davis, would eliminate Ship American “cargo preference” rules that are essential to our U.S. Merchant Marine and U.S.-flag shipping industry. This unnecessary resolution would waive a requirement that 50% of U.S. food-aid exports must be shipped on U.S.-flagged ships, thereby waiving Ship American rules worldwide to the detriment of the U.S. maritime workforce. To be clear, this means that the federal government would cede U.S. food-aid and shipping interests to foreign flag ships by eliminating 100% of the U.S. ships that are available to transport food-aid at fair and reasonable rates.

On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), I urge you to vote YES on H.R. 2499, the “Federal Firefighters Fairness Act of 2022,” when it is considered this week.

Federal firefighters risk their lives every day protecting the American people, property, and the environment. According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), fire suppression activities involve recurring exposure to high heat, smoke, stress, and hazardous substances, all of which can lead to a host of chronic illnesses. Despite the well-documented occupational risks of firefighting, federal firefighters who fall ill must provide specific details about the exposure that caused their occupational illness when filing a claim for federal workers’ compensation. For a federal firefighter with a cancer diagnosis, a leading cause of death among firefighters, this requirement can prove to be particularly onerous, given the difficulty in identifying the time, location, and duration of exposure to carcinogenic substances. While nearly every state offers presumption of occupational illness to local and state firefighters, no such federal law currently exists for federal firefighters.

On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), I urge you to vote YES on H.R. 903, the “Rights for the TSA Workforce Act of 2022” when it is considered next week.

Every day, thousands of Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) show up to work to keep our aviation system, mass transit networks, and large public gatherings safe and secure for transportation workers and the general public. However, since the creation of the TSA, its dedicated and skilled employees have been denied many of the basic federal worker rights and protections enjoyed by other federal workers, including those in the Department of Homeland Security. There is no justification for the ongoing mistreatment of the men and women of the TSO workforce, and H.R. 903 takes critical steps to ensure that they have the workplace rights they have earned and deserve.

On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), representing 37 affiliate unions across all modes of transportation, I urge you to oppose S. Con. Res. 37 and 38, led by Senators Coons and Ernst, that would eliminate Ship American “cargo preference” rules essential to our U.S. Merchant Marine and U.S.-flag shipping industry. These unnecessary resolutions would waive a requirement that 50% of U.S. food-aid exports must be shipped on U.S.-flagged ships, which waives Ship American rules worldwide.