CWA Applauds Inclusion of Worker Protections by House Transportation Committee

CWA issued this statement on the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization bill marked up by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee:

CWA commends the leaders and members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure committee who voted to include important safeguards for airline workers and the aviation industry in the markup of H.R. 2997.

We appreciate the work of Chairman Bill Shuster and the efforts of Reps. Frank LoBiondo (R-N.J.) and John Garamendi (D-Calif.) and other representatives to include these critical provisions.

The reauthorization bill includes:

• A requirement that Flight Attendants receive a minimum 10-hour rest period – equal to the flight deck – and that carriers establish a Fatigue Rest Management Plan for cabin crew.
• A requirement that airlines submit to the FAA an Employee Assault Prevention and Response Plan to report physical and verbal assaults on passenger service agents and establish protocols for the immediate notification of law enforcement, including federal law enforcement.
• The language of H.R. 2150, the "Flags of Convenience Don't Fly Here Act," which safeguards U.S. airline jobs and the U.S. aviation industry from devastation by the "flags of convenience" model.

On the 10-hour rest issue, AFA-CWA Flight Attendants rallied and met with members of Congress and staff on Capitol Hill and in district offices, with tens of thousands of calls and letters written to their representatives. CWA passenger service agents, who have faced increasingly serious incidents of physical and verbal assaults by airline passengers, mobilized to contact their representatives, organizing "lobby days" in Washington, D.C., and meetings in district offices.

CWA urges the House of Representatives to adopt these important safeguards for workers and the airline industry. CWA is pressing Senators to include these provisions as well.