FAA Shutdown One Week In: $200 Million in Lost Revenue, Nearly 100,000 Newly Unemployed

Contact: Chuck Porcari, 202-434-1121 and Corey Caldwell, 202-434-0586

American Workers and Economy Suffer Needlessly As Congress Sits

Washington, DC – “One week after the shutdown of all non-safety related activities of the Federal Aviation Administration and the layoff of tens of thousands of workers nationwide, aviation professionals today are demanding that lawmakers in the House of Representatives stop hurting working families and pass a clean FAA extension,” said Association of Flight Attendants-CWA President Veda Shook .

At issue is a provision inserted in the House version of the bill that would count those eligible voters choosing not to vote in union elections as a "no" vote rather than as an abstention. Shook pointed out that not one member of Congress would have been elected in 2010 if held to the same standard.

“As aviation professionals we understand the basic principles of work; We arrive on time for work every day, do the job that is expected of us -- and beyond -- and we do not leave until the job is finished,” Shook said. “Members of Congress should hold themselves to the same standard and serve their constituents like they were elected to do.”

Below are numbers highlighting the toll incurred by the anti-union ideological blindness regarding the FAA Reauthorization legislation:

• 20 Times: since 2007 Congress as passed a clean extension of the FAA Reauthorization bill.

• $200 Million : The weekly cost to the government due to the FAA shutdown.

• $2.5 Billion : The total scale of airport construction projects on hold due to the FAA shutdown. Click here for a list of projects on hold, including location and dollar amount .

• 4,000 : The number of FAA employees nationwide that are currently furloughed due to the shutdown.

• 280,000 : The number of jobs that would be created by passing a multi-year FAA Reauthorization bill .

• Zero : The number of Members of Congress who would have won their most recent election if subjected to the rules House Republicans like Rep. John Mica (R-FL) are insisting apply to air/rail union elections. As a report from the Communications Workers of America (CWA) demonstrates , if House and Senate elections were conducted under the proposed standards for NMB elections that remain the sticking point in the conference committee negotiations, zero current Members of Congress would have won their last election.

• Zero : The number of other elections in our nation, whether for union representation, Members of Congress, or "American Idol," that count non-participating eligible voters as having voted "no."

• One Hour : Rep. Mica said, "We can resolve this in a one-hour conference. The time to stop messing around is now." We agree. Sensible Members of both parties should recognize that the FAA shutdown is too costly and that the benefits of the FAA Reauthorization bill are too numerous to allow Rep. Mica and his ideological cohorts to continue to hold up legislative passage. Removing the contentious and unrelated NMB provision and passing the FAA Reauthorization bill is sensible, fair, and good for the economy, job seekers, travelers, and the aviation industry.

Listen to the July 29^th Press Call on the FAA Shutdown, Featuring Veda Shook :

The Association of Flight Attendants is the world’s largest Flight Attendant union. Focused 100 percent on Flight Attendant issues, AFA has been the leader in advancing the Flight Attendant profession for over 65 years. Serving as the voice for Flight Attendants in the workplace, in the aviation industry, in the media and on Capitol Hill, AFA has transformed the Flight Attendant profession by raising wages, benefits and working conditions. Nearly 60,000 Flight Attendants at 23 airlines come together to form AFA, part of the 700,000-member strong Communications Workers of America (CWA), AFL -CIO. Visit us at www.afacwa.org.