Policy

On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), I am pleased to respond to the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) proposed rule regarding Safety Management Systems (SMS). TTD consists of 37 affiliated unions, including those representing aviation and mechanical crafts. Additionally, we endorse the comments filed by our affiliated union, the Transport Workers Union of America (TWU).

As TWU stated in their comments, “As SMS is expanding to cover nearly the entire airline sector, leaving repair stations out of these requirements deprives the FAA and stakeholders of vital safety information. It also incentivizes outsourcing airline maintenance operations to non-SMS properties – a significant loophole clearly not envisioned by the FAA in the original SMS rule.”

On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), I am pleased to respond to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) notice regarding an exemption application from Waymo and Aurora. TTD consists of 37 affiliated unions, including those representing transit and motorcoach workers who would be affected by the waiver Waymo and Aurora are requesting. We ask that FMCSA reject Waymo and Aurora’s exemption application for the reasons discussed below. Additionally, we endorse the comments filed by our affiliated unions, the Amalgamated Transportation Union (ATU) and the Transport Workers Union of America (TWU).

March 24, 2023   John Karl Alexy Associate Administrator for Railroad Safety Federal Railroad Administration 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE Washington, DC 20590 RE:     Petition for Extension of Waiver of Compliance, ARRC Docket No. FRA-2008-0161 Dear Mr. Alexy: On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), I am pleased to respond to the […]

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.

March 20, 2023   Robin Hutcheson Administrator Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE Washington, DC 20590 RE:     Safe Integration of Automated Driving Systems (ADS)-Equipped Commercial Motor Vehicles (CMVs)             Docket No. FMCSA-2018-0037   Administrator Hutcheson, On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), I am pleased to respond to […]

March 20, 2023   John Karl Alexy Associate Administrator for Railroad Safety Federal Railroad Administration 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE Washington, DC 20590 RE:     Petition for Extension of Waiver of Compliance, CN Extraterritorial Dispatching Docket No. FRA-2003-15012 Dear Mr. Alexy: On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), I am pleased to respond […]

March 19, 2023   John Karl Alexy Associate Administrator for Railroad Safety Federal Railroad Administration 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE Washington, DC 20590 RE:     BNSF Railway’s Request to Amend Its Positive Train Control Safety Plan and Positive Train Control System Docket No. FRA-2010-0056-0614 Dear Mr. Alexy: On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO […]

March 16, 2023 The Honorable Maria Cantwell Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation United States Senate 254 Russell Senate Building Washington, DC 20510 The Honorable Ted Cruz Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation United States Senate 254 Russell Senate Building Washington, DC 20510 Dear Chair Cantwell and Ranking Member Cruz: On behalf of the AFL-CIO […]

March 13, 2023   The Honorable Shalanda Young Director Office of Management and Budget 725 17th Street, NW Washington, DC 20503 RE: Proposing to revise OMB Guidance for Grants and Agreements under the Build America, Buy America Act provisions of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act; Notification of proposed guidance Docket No. OMB-2023-0007 Dear Director […]