Department of Transportation (DOT)

On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), I write to comment on the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s (PHMSA) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on Hazardous Materials, Enhanced Tank Car Standards and Operational Controls for High-Hazard Flammable Trains (HHFTs). By way of background, TTD consists of 32 affiliate unions including those that represent workers employed in the railroad industry and the first responders who answer the call when rail accidents occur.[1] We also note that two of our affiliates, the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen (BRS) and the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART) Transportation Division, have each filed comments in this proceeding.

Last week, the Department of Transportation (DOT) made a pivotal decision and dismissed a request by Norwegian Air International (NAI) for an exemption that would have allowed it to begin trans-Atlantic service to the United States while a request for a foreign air carrier permit was still pending at DOT. The decision comes on the […]

[As published by Keith Laing in The Hill] Emboldened by a decision on Tuesday by the Department of Transportation (DOT) to dismiss an attempt by Norwegian Airlines to expedite approval of its bid to gain access to airports in the U.S., labor groups in Washington are pushing the agency now to completely reject the Scandinavian company’s request. The […]

[As published by Keith Laing in The Hill] The Department of Transportation (DOT) has rejected an attempt from Norwegian Airlines to expedite approval of its bid to gain access to airports in the U.S. The decision is a set back for Norwegian Air’s bid to access airports covered under the U.S. and European Union’s “Open Skies” agreement. The […]

[As published by Fawn Johnson in National Journal] If you think Burger King’s recent purchase of a Canadian donut vendor to cut its tax obligations was ingenious, you’re going to flip over the business model cooked up by Norwegian Air. Unless you’re a serious aviation geek, you probably haven’t heard about this one. The Norwegian scheme […]

[As published by Adam Snider and Kevin Robillard in Politico Pro] U.S. airlines and their unions scored a victory Tuesday when the Department of Transportation rejected a procedural application for Norwegian Air International to operate in the United States. But the fight’s far from over. DOT rejected NAI’s request to fly into and out of the United […]

WASHINGTON—The Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO lauded the decision today by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to dismiss Norwegian Air International’s (NAI) request for an exemption to launch an airline that would violate American public interest laws and the U.S.-EU Open Skies trade agreement. “The case against NAI’s scheme has been made by unions and […]

The Labor Parties hereby reply to the comments filed in response to DOT’s August 4 Notice (“Notice”) requesting comments on the views expressed by DG MOVE on the meaning and applicability of Article 17 bis of the U.S.‐EU Air Transport Agreement (“ATA” or “Agreement”) as it pertains to consideration of a foreign air carrier’s application for operating authority. For the reasons set forth below, the Labor Parties believe that DOT should reject the narrow view of Article 17 bis advanced by DG MOVE and deny NAI’s application for an exemption on the ground that the application does not meet the standards set out in 49 U.S.C. § 40109, and should issue a show cause order stating that it proposes to deny NAI’s application for a foreign air carrier permit on the ground that approval would be inconsistent with Article 17 bis.

[As published by Ed Wytkind in The Stand] (Aug. 20, 2014) — Congress may be on break, but this month the Obama administration faces a watershed decision with huge implications for the global aviation industry and its workforce. By Aug. 31, the Department of Transportation (DOT) must rule on Norwegian Air International’s (NAI) application for an […]

[As published By Madhu Unnikrishnan in Aviation Week] Norwegian Air International (NAI) and its supporters say the U.S. Transportation Department (DOT) does not have the right to deny its application for a foreign air carrier permit to operate in the U.S., while organized labor, led by the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), argue the opposite: that […]