Ask Extension Of The CARES Act Payroll Support Program

ALPA President Capt. Joseph G. DePete and International President of the Association of Flight Attendants–CWA, Sara Nelson, have stepped up pressure on Washington in order to get tax dollars to keep the airline industry flying while the effects of COVID-19 rage on.

Their letter states, "On behalf of the more than 63,000 members of the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l, and the 50,000 members of the Association of Flight Attendants–CWA, we are heartened by public statements by government leaders about a COVID-19 economic relief package such as “We’ll be helping the airlines” and affirming that “a bipartisan agreement still should be reached” as well as committing to “save the lives and livelihoods of the American people.” We appreciate these sentiments and urge you to return to the negotiating table to translate these words into action—action that will save jobs and ensure that the United States remains the world’s aviation economic engine.

Right now, America’s airline pilots and flight attendants are hard at work delivering medical supplies to fight the pandemic, providing essential air service to connect small U.S. communities to the world, supporting the U.S. military, and remain ready to fuel the economic recovery and future growth of our country. But our work and service is in jeopardy, and time is rapidly running out for us unless our federal leaders act.

When Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security Act in March, the Payroll Support Program (PSP) was a lifeline for an industry and workers who form the backbone of the U.S. economy.

ALPA and AFA believe the PSP kept hardworking Americans on the payroll and connected to our health care, while ensuring maintenance of service to smaller airports. At the time, no one could have predicted that the pandemic would persist with such severity or that it would hamper any kind of recovery this fall.

To date, tens of thousands of pilots and flight attendants have received notification of furlough when the PSP expires on September 30, 2020. Without an extension of this program, the jobs of these pilots and flight attendants, along with hundreds of thousands of other U.S. aviation workers, will begin to disappear. America’s aviation workers need the U.S. government to act with urgency to extend the PSP through March 31, 2021.

Extending the PSP ensures that airline pilots, flight attendants, and other workers continue to support our airlines’ role in fueling our economy, assisting the U.S. military, and transporting American goods and services. Equally important, adopting a clean extension of the PSP through March, 31, 2021, will prevent the widespread economic damage that follows mass furloughs and that results in a drain on federal and state resources.

The proud employees of U.S. airlines are counting on you. The same frontline aviation workers who built this country’s safe and efficient airline industry—and made it the gold standard for the world—want to remain on the payroll and continue to contribute to our nation. With your fast action to extend the PSP through March 31, 2021, airline employees can fulfill the responsibility we feel to serve all who rely on U.S. air transportation while helping drive a full return to economic health for our country.

FMI: www.alpa.org, www.afacwa.org