Republicans Use ‘Extortion Tactics’ to Shut Down FAA
The Republican shutdown of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has thrown 4,000 FAA employees out of work, and some 70,000 construction workers employed on airport improvement projects can’t go to work because Republicans have blocked funding for the agency and the projects.
In a letter to House and Senate Republican leaders, Mark Ayers, president of the AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Department (BCTD), says he is outraged by the “extortion tactics” and “political brinkmanship” that are creating even more “hardship for building and construction trades families” in an industry already suffering high unemployment.
Our members expect their elected leaders to resolve their differences without resorting to ultimatums. Once again, our members are frustrated that an extreme minority has succeeded temporarily by using extortion tactics to undermine the jobs of my members.
Republican Attack on Workers’ Rights Puts Aviation Safety at Risk
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UPDATE: Both the House and Senate adjourned this afternoon without taking action on the FAA bill, ensuring a midnight shutdown. Senate Republicans blocked a move for a temporary extension of the agency’s funding.
At midnight tonight, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is slated to run out of money and be forced to suspend vital operations because House Republicans want to deny aviation and rail workers a simple majority vote—the same process that applies to electing lawmakers—on whether to join a union.
Republicans are holding a temporary funding bill hostage because they want to overturn a new rule adopted last year by the National Mediation Board (NMB) that says air and rail elections should be decided by a majority of votes cast. Previously under the Railway Labor Act (RLA), which covers rail and airline workers, each worker who did not cast a vote in a representation election was automatically counted as a “No” vote.
Edward Wytkind, president of the AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department (TTD), says:
Republican leaders are doing the bidding of a few airline CEOs who refuse to allow this bill to move forward unless it eviscerates fair union election rules. No wonder the public is growing weary of the majority leaders in the House and their tactics.
Aviation Unions Outline FAA Fixes
The nation’s aviation unions told Congress yesterday that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) must improve its labor management relations after a contentious eight years under the Bush administration; address flight crew fatigue; improve aviation maintenance safety; and modernize the air traffic control system.
At the Senate aviation subcommittee hearing on the FAA reauthorization bill, Patrick Forrey, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), told the panel:
A restoration of what was once a great collaborative relationship is only possible with the existence of a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) and a fair process for negotiating future CBAs and other labor agreements. Air traffic controllers have been working under FAA-imposed work and pay rules for nearly 1,000 days.
