Representative Of 14 Industry Unions Send A Letter To House And
Senate Members
The leaders of 14 unions with ties to the aviation industry have
sent a letter to members of Congress urging the quick passage of a
long-term FAA funding measure. The agency has been operating on
continuing resolutions since the last full appropriation bill
expired in 2007.
In the letter, the union presidents call passage of an FAA bill
"critical to air safety". The go on to say such a bill "will create
more than 300,000 good jobs and will modernize our aging air
traffic control system," and that "(f)ailure to complete an
aviation safety bill due to issues that have nothing to do with the
safety and expansion of our aviation system, will be a major
setback for the 757 million annual air travelers who rightfully
expect their elected leaders to be responsible stewards of our
aviation system."
According to the letter, aviation contributes more than $730
billion – more than 5 percent – to our GDP with almost
$1.3 trillion in economic output. And 10 million Americans are
employed throughout our economy thanks to the aviation sector. With
that as a backdrop, failure to invest in the future capacity,
technology and safety of air travel isn’t just important to
this industry and its employees – it is critical to the
economy and our ability to compete in the global marketplace.
The letter continues:
"Given the importance of aviation
to our nation, there should be no debate that failure to pass an
FAA Reauthorization bill that funds aviation infrastructure and
technology improvements, will lead to a degradation of aviation
safety," the union leaders say. "During the partial shutdown of the
agency in July, crucial projects – whether they entailed
major runway improvements, enhanced lighting at key facilities or
upgrades to air traffic control equipment – were suspended
and put the agency further behind in its mission to maintain the
safest air space in the world. 4,000 FAA workers were immediately
furloughed and have to date not received back-pay to which they are
due. Even for workers who were able to remain on the job, costly
travel expenses could not be paid (many agency employees even
covered their own expenses) and support functions from other
employees were often eliminated. Construction workers at projects
across the country were sent home and the FAA lost $400 million in
tax revenues that cannot be recovered, further harming our ability
to invest in this vital sector. And as Congress fails to complete
action on a long-term bill, NextGen initiatives – which will
transition U.S. aviation to a GPS-based system – are at risk
of stalling or being starved of the resources needed to make it a
reality.
"Furthermore, any attempt to
repeal National Mediation Board (NMB) union election rules for
aviation and rail employees or to amend the Railway Labor Act does
not belong in FAA reauthorization. These efforts have absolutely
nothing to do with aviation safety or job creation, and the new NMB
election rules simply allow for a majority of those voting in a
union election to decide the outcome.
"The aviation safety and
investment programs of the FAA are critical. Congress must bring
certainty and stability to this vital sector of our economy by
passing a multi-year FAA reauthorization without further
delay.
"Failure to complete a multi-year
air safety bill or allowing the FAA to shut-down at the expiration
of the current extension isn’t just a Washington debate
– it will push us to the brink of making air travel less
safe. We urge the House and Senate to complete a bill swiftly and
send it to the President for his signature."