Letters To Congress

On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), and the totality of rail labor as represented by our affiliated unions, I write to request that Congress provide Amtrak with $3.65 billion in the final Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 appropriations bill. That level is consistent with Congress’ authorized level in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). Providing Amtrak with this level of funding will ensure that our national passenger rail system has the staffing and operating capacity necessary to maintain current service and move forward with the BIL’s generational investments.

Amtrak’s overall financial performance in FY2022 improved significantly, continuing its trend of recovery since the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] Total ridership in the seven-month period ending on April 30th was 84% of 2019 levels and ticket revenues were 95% of 2019 levels.[2] Ridership on certain routes in states like Virginia is at an all-time high.[3] Responding to increased demand, Amtrak hired roughly 3,700 new employees in FY2022 and is working to hire more than 4,000 employees in FY2023 so it can start or expand rail service in many states. Now is the time for Congress to help Amtrak continue to build on this progress, not undermine it.

As representatives of the freight and passenger railroad industry and the highly-trained, hardworking railroad workforce, we urge you to support the swift passage of H.R.2785/S.1274, the Railroad Employee Equity and Fairness Act (REEF Act). This common-sense, bipartisan bill would eliminate sequester cuts to railroad unemployment and sickness benefits that have unfairly short-changed railroad workers and their families for over a decade.

Railroad workers play a critical role in keeping the passenger and freight rail network safe and our economy moving. They deserve to access the full value of the benefits they have earned. Currently, Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (RUIA) benefits are the only federal unemployment insurance and sickness benefits program subject to sequestration. Every other American’s unemployment, disability, or sickness benefits are not subject to the same cuts.

June 14, 2023 Dear Senator:  On behalf of the undersigned labor organizations representing tens of thousands of aviation employees, we write to urge you to vote in favor of the amendment Klobuchar 1 during the  Commerce, Science, & Transportation Executive Committee mark up tomorrow.   Transportation workers know all too well the consequences of predatory business […]

Dear Representative: As the Committee continues consideration of the Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act, the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD) urges you to oppose the poison pill amendment outlined below. As the largest transportation labor federation representing 37 unions and millions of workers across the United States, safety is at the […]

June 12, 2023 Dear Representatives, As you move to mark up the FAA reauthorization legislation, we write to reiterate labor’s interest in moving a bipartisan bill that is safety-focused. Finalizing a reauthorization bill before the current authorization expires is critical to continued aviation operations, and ensuring that the legislation affirms the U.S. as the gold […]

On behalf of the undersigned labor organizations representing employees of airlines and airline contractors, we write to declare in no uncertain terms our opposition to efforts to amend the Airline Deregulation Act (ADA) or otherwise statutorily preempt state and municipal labor and related policy for airline workers.

In 1978 Congress limited ADA preemption so as not to foreclose state and local regulation of traditional areas of state concern regarding labor and employee issues as applied to aviation workers. By expressly tailoring preemption of state law only to circumstances where the states directly regulate customer-centric prices, routes, and airline service, Congress balanced the industry’s need for uniformity in its relation to the traveling public while respecting the states’ traditional ability to protect and support its citizens. Our members, like workers throughout the economy, avail themselves of the benefits provided by state and local governments to care for sick spouses, children, and to address medical concerns outside the protections provided by their collective bargaining agreements. These long-established protections should not be arbitrarily foreclosed. As Congress recently observed in the railroad industry, transportation workers care significantly about matters unrelated to pay, and the flexibility to provide and care for oneself and family is necessary for a stable industry. Attempts to expand the intent and statutory framework of federal preemption or to swallow up and preclude these important state law rights will negate this significant progress.

April 26, 2023 Oppose H.R. 2811 Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023 Dear Representative:  On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), and the millions of transportation workers that we represent, I urge you to oppose the Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023 (H.R. 2811) when it is put to a vote in the […]

As the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee considers the Coast Guard Reauthorization Act of 2023, we write to express our views on a provision that would require the employment of U.S. workers in the development and operation of the emerging offshore wind industry.

Last Congress, the House of Representatives passed the Don Young Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2022, with overwhelming bipartisan support. Specifically, Section 518 of this legislation would require that foreign vessels utilize either U.S. mariners or citizens of the vessel’s flag state while operating in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). Similar to the current provision, this language represents an important policy discussion about the need for offshore wind developers to make long-term investments in hiring U.S. workers, particularly in the installation, operation, and maintenance of offshore wind turbines.

On behalf of the millions of aviation workers that we represent, I urge you to support the bipartisan Global Aircraft Maintenance Safety Improvement Act, H.R.1716, to ensure the safe and proper oversight of foreign repair stations in countries like El Salvador, Mexico, and China, where maintenance and repair work is performed on U.S. commercial aircraft. China is the single largest beneficiary of these regulatory loopholes.

The FAA has certified 93 aircraft repair facilities in China, employing nearly 23,000 mechanics and maintenance specialists working on U.S. aircraft. Every single one of these facilities is owned, at least in part, by the Chinese government. The threat of the Chinese government’s involvement in our air travel is troublesome, especially since a U.S. worker may never maintain this equipment if these aircraft cycle out of the country each time a significant repair is needed.

On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), and the many maritime workers that we represent. I urge you to sign the bipartisan Dear Colleague letter being circulated by Representatives Joe Courtney (D-CT), Robert Wittman (R-VA), and Trent Kelly (R-MS) requesting the fully authorized level of $318,000,000 for the Maritime Security Program (MSP) in the FY 2024 Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development appropriations bill.

The Maritime Security Program is an essential component of our military sealift capability because it guarantees that trained U.S. citizen mariners will be available in times of crisis or disaster. The program provides a stipend to commercial shipping companies to enable them to continue sailing U.S.-flag vessels, at a fraction of the cost it would take the federal government to replicate similar maritime shipping capacity. The dual public health and global security crises caused by COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine are a meaningful reminder that the United States should be in control of our commercial goods, energy production, and cargo transportation needs.