ORLANDO, FL – Edward Wytkind, president of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), offers the following statement after having honored Rep. James Oberstar with the organization’s 20th Anniversary Congressional Award:
“As transportation workers in America go to work every day, we are proud to have a champion in Chairman Oberstar. As an architect of much of today’s transportation legislation and with encyclopedic knowledge of the important battles and achievements that have shaped our 21st Century transportation network, he is an unparalleled expert in transportation policy. But just as important, he recognizes the essential role that workers play in delivering an efficient, safe and secure transportation system.
“He stands with workers to protect their jobs and their ability to bargain collectively. He stands with workers when he ensures that work remains in this country and not outsourced abroad to the lowest bidder. He stands with workers when he fights for more investment in aviation, mass transit, rail, highways, bridges, ports and waterways. He stands with workers when he advances critical safety reforms that make our transportation system safer for workers and all its users.
“Transportation workers and, indeed, our entire nation owe a debt of gratitude to Chairman Oberstar. It is because of his unwavering commitment to rebuilding, expanding and modernizing America’s transportation system and infrastructure that the men and women represented by the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO salute Chairman James Oberstar with this award. We are proud to stand side by side with the Chairman as we move forward to advance the policy agenda of transportation labor.”
###
The Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO, represents 32 member unions in the aviation, rail, transit, trucking, highway, longshore, maritime and related industries. For more information, visit ttd.org.
