WASHINGTON, D.C. — The following statement was issued today by Sonny Hall, President of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO, in support of the Airline Worker Relief Act, introduced by U.S. Representative James Oberstar (D-MN), Ranking Member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
“I want to thank Representative James Oberstar and the 28 cosponsors for introducing this important legislation. Transportation labor pledges its full resources on behalf of this effort to provide assistance to the over 150,000 laid-off airline industry workers. I urge all transportation workers to contact their lawmakers in Washington in support of the Oberstar bill.
“The airline industry is still reeling from the September 11 terrorist attacks. And with the economy still mired in a slump – and the likely prospect of war with Iraq – these workers have little hope of getting called back to work anytime soon. Congress must act immediately, as several thousand of these workers are now running out of unemployment benefits and can’t afford health care premiums.
“The Airline Worker Relief Act extends unemployment insurance modeled after the Rangel bill, assists workers with skyrocketing health care costs, funds training and retraining programs, and gives laid-off aviation workers hiring preference for the thousands of unfilled federal security positions at the Transportation Security Administration.
“Ultimately, what laid-off aviation workers want is a job. But the benefits in the Oberstar bill will strengthen a safety net that has failed these workers since 9/11. And this legislation recognizes the economic upheaval that workers in this struggling industry face in the months ahead.
“Just days after the September 11 attacks, Congress gave the airline industry a $15 billion bailout. But because of a minority bloc of unsympathetic legislators, airline workers didn’t see a nickel of that assistance. Over a year later, these workers and their families are wondering why their government has failed to act. It’s time our lawmakers and the President did the right thing for workers who are enduring economic hardship of unprecedented proportions.
“As he has throughout his distinguished career, Representative Oberstar is once again leading the charge to help workers who are truly hurting. We call upon the House to pass this important legislation. Laid-off workers cannot wait until lawmakers get around to it next year.”
TTD represents 35 member unions in the aviation, rail, transit, bus, trucking, highway, longshore, maritime and related industries. For more information, log on to www.ttd.org.