Washington, DC – Larry Willis, president of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), issued the following statement after Sens. Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Susan Collins (R-ME) introduced the Air Carrier Worker Support Extension Act of 2020, which would extend the airline worker Payroll Support Program (PSP) through March 2021:
“As early as June, it was clear that air travel would not be returning to normal levels through at least the winter, and that the airline worker relief provided in the CARES Act would not be sufficient. As such, we have repeatedly called on Congress to pass a 6-month extension of the Payroll Support Program (PSP), including the furlough protections that were included in the original aid.
“The legislation introduced yesterday by Senators Roger Wicker and Susan Collins achieves that goal, demonstrating again the wide support this program enjoys and we urge Congress to approve a PSP extension before the furlough protections expire in a few short days. We know the PSP has been extremely successful in keeping airline workers on the job and connected to their benefits, and ensures that we will have a viable air transport system that is so essential to our economy.
“We also know the needs of our broader transportation system remain massive, and we renew our call for Congress to provide overdue aid for our nation’s transit and bus systems, Amtrak and the maritime sector. Unless Congress acts now, hundreds of thousands of transportation workers will be forced into unemployment on October 1, sending our economy reeling. These workers are doing their jobs and keeping our country moving through this economic and public health crisis. Now they need lawmakers to do their jobs by passing this PSP extension along with other vital economic relief.”