Unions Pressure Congress to Act Now on Permanent FAA Funding

Joint Letter Demands GOP Drop Anti-Worker Demands, Focus on Jobs, Safety

In a joint letter to Congress this week, CWA, AFA-CWA and a dozen other unions urged lawmakers to pass a clean, multi-year Federal Aviation Administration budget bill that brings stability to the critical agency without tying its funds to Republicans' anti-worker demands.

"Passage of an FAA bill is critical to air safety, will create more than 300,000 good jobs and will modernize our aging air traffic control system," the unions' letter stated. "Failure 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."

The FAA hasn't had a permanent budget since 2007, surviving only on temporary funding extensions. The latest extension passed last week and will expire Jan. 31, 2012. House Republicans' refusal to pass a previous extension led the agency to shut down for two weeks this summer, furloughing 4,000 employees and more than 70,000 construction workers on airport projects.

Pressured by Delta Airlines, House Republicans demanded the repeal of an unrelated new rule that finally ensures fair and democratic union elections for airline and railway workers. Until the National Mediation Board changed the rule last year, workers who didn't vote in union representation elections were counted as "no" votes. Now, like all American elections, only the votes cast are counted.

"Any attempt to repeal NMB union election rules for aviation and rail employees or to amend the Railway Labor Act does not belong in FAA reauthorization," the letter continued. "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."

Despite rhetoric claiming they want to pass a long-term FAA reauthorization bill, Republican leaders in Congress have so far failed to appoint conference committee members to reconcile House and Senate versions of the legislation.

CWA said it's time for House Transportation Committee Chairman John Mica, whose demands and inaction forced the FAA's summer shutdown, and other GOP leaders to show they're serious.

"We will know that Republican leadership is serious about delivering the jobs and economic growth afforded by the FAA reauthorization when and if they actually appoint conference committee members. Until then, they are complicit in Rep. Mica's willingness to place extreme ideology over vital upgrades and job growth."

The unions joining with CWA and AFA-CWA to sign the letter were AFSCME, Air Line Pilots, Machinists, Professional and Technical Engineers, Air Traffic Controllers, Laborers, OPEIU, Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, TWU, the AFL-CIO's Transportation Trades Department, Steelworkers, and the United Transportation Union.