Letters To Congress

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.

On behalf of the thousands of postal employees and retirees represented by the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), an affiliated union of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), I am writing to urge your strong support for H.R. 3076, the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022, when it is brought before the Senate for a vote this week.

This historic bipartisan legislation was passed by the House of Representatives by a bipartisan supermajority last week. The legislation is also unanimously supported by our nation’s four leading postal unions – NALC, American Postal Workers Union (APWU), National Postal Mail Handlers Union (NPMHU), and the National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association (NRLCA) – which collectively represent 650,000 postal employees and retirees.

On behalf of the thousands of postal employees and retirees represented by the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), an affiliated union of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), I am writing to urge your strong support for H.R. 3076, the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022, when it is brought before the House for a vote this week.

This historic bipartisan legislation was unanimously supported by every member of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform when it was adopted during the first session of this Congress. The legislation is also unanimously supported by our nation’s four leading postal unions, including the NALC, American Postal Workers Union (APWU), National Postal Mail Handlers Union (NPMHU), and the National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association (NRLCA), which collectively represent 650,000 postal employees and retirees.

On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), I am writing to encourage your strong support for H.R. 3684, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, when it is brought before the House for a vote.

Dear Representative, On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), I am writing to encourage your strong support for H.R. 3684, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, when it is brought before the House for a vote. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is a historic step toward making necessary and long-overdue investments across […]

On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), I urge you to prioritize investments in the budget reconciliation bill to expand tax credits for families that purchase an electric vehicle (EV) made with union labor. Transportation labor has long fought to ensure that federal investments in America’s transportation network also create good jobs for the workers who support that network, whether in manufacturing, construction, operations, or maintenance, and these investments should be no different. Congress must protect this provision as the bill’s framework is negotiated in the coming weeks.

Dear Representative, The Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD) and our 33 affiliated unions have consistently highlighted the need for reliable, long-term reauthorizations of our nation’s highway, public transit, and passenger rail systems. Moreover, we have called for additional large-scale infrastructure investments that would bring all sectors of our aging transportation infrastructure squarely into the 21st […]

Dear Representative, On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), I am writing to encourage your strong support for H.R. 3684, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, when it is brought before the House for a vote today. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is a historic step toward making necessary and long-overdue investments […]