Policy

The Honorable Elaine Chao Secretary U.S. Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE Washington, D.C.  20590 Dear Secretary Chao: On behalf of hundreds of thousands of workers who are responsible for and depend on the safety of our aviation system, we urge you to take immediate steps to implement three directives from Congress to […]

We applaud members of the House Committee on Appropriations and leadership on H.R. 3055 – Commerce, Justice, Science, Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, Interior, Environment, Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Act, 2020. This bill offers vital funding for important transportation priorities and demonstrates a continued federal commitment to developing our transportation network.

On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), and our affiliated unions, I want to first thank Chairman Maloney and Ranking Member Gibbs for inviting me to testify before you today.[1] We deeply appreciate the Subcommittee’s interest in taking a fresh look at ways to promote the domestic maritime industry.

On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), I am pleased to respond to FMCSA’s request for comments on the American Bus Associations’ (ABA) petition for federal preemption of California’s Meal and Rest Break rules. TTD consists of 33 affiliate unions representing workers in all modes of transportation, including those covered by FMCSA’s HOS regulations and California’s rules.[1] For reasons discussed below, we urge FMCSA to reject ABA’s petition.

On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), I am pleased to provide comments on the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) notice providing information on proposed changes and clarifications to the National Transit Database (NTD) reporting requirements. By way of background, TTD consists of 33 affiliate unions representing workers in all modes of transportation including those in the transit sector.[1] We therefore have a vested interested in the proposal

On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), I am pleased to provide comments on the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) notice seeking information on guidance documents that it should consider repealing or revising. By way of background, TTD consists of 33 affiliate unions representing workers in all modes of transportation who are impacted by DOT regulations and guidance. [1] We therefore have a vested interested in the request.

On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), I want to offer our strong support for the “Full Utilization of the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund” Act (H.R. 2440) and thank Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Ranking Member Sam Graves (R-MO), Subcommittee Chair Grace Napolitano (D-CA), Subcommittee Ranking Member Bruce Westerman (R-AR) and Representative Mike Kelly (R-PA) for introducing this important and timely legislation. This bipartisan bill will finally unlock the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF) for its intended purpose and will pave the way for sorely needed port and harbor improvement projects, promote good paying jobs, and provide a boost to the national economy. We urge Members of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to vote yes when it is considered later today.

On behalf of the Association of American Railroads (AAR) and the Rail Labor Division (RLD) of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), we write in support of funding for the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) in the fiscal year (FY) 2020 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS) appropriations bill at $137.216 million. This funding request includes $11,861,800 in no year funding for information technology (IT) modernization to ensure the agency’s ability to continue to efficiently serve our nation’s railroad workers. This modest funding, $20.991 million above the President’s budget request, is spent solely from the RRB’s trust funds and does not require appropriated funds from general revenues.

Dear Representative: On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO, I urge you to cosign Congressman Jesus G. “Chuy” García’s appropriations request (below) to the THUD Appropriations Subcommittee in support of funding for frontline workforce development training for bus drivers and train operators. We know that, when done right, training programs lead to a more […]

The Unions that comprise the Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO (“TTD”) hereby submit these comments regarding the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) issued by the National Mediation Board (“NMB” or “Board”) on January 31, 2019.   84 Fed. Reg. 612 (Jan. 31, 2019).   These 32 affiliated unions represent employees in all modes of transportation, including railroad and airline employees covered by the Railway Labor Act (“RLA”).[1]  TTD welcomes the opportunity to submit comments to the NMB regarding its recent proposed decertification procedure rule-making.   TTD strongly opposes the Board’s proposed rulemaking.  The NPRM is inconsistent with the RLA.  The proposed rules changes exceed the scope of the Board’s narrow jurisdiction under Section 2, Ninth and unreasonably restrict employees’ exercise of the right to choose representation under the statute.  For all the reasons discussed below, the NMB should reconsider its proposed rulemaking and rescind the NPRM.