(The TTD issued the following press release on May 15.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The following statement was issued today by Sonny Hall, President of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO in reaction to the House Aviation Subcommittee’s action requiring strict safety audits and security assessments of FAA-certified repair facilities overseas that perform maintenance on U.S. aircraft.
“Today s action by the House Aviation Subcommittee was a strong recognition of the dangerous security risks and lax oversight involving repair work done on U.S. aircraft at foreign repair stations. With airlines facing such intense pressure to cut costs — and with the world still a far too dangerous place — we must keep a close eye on the repair work that is sent to other countries.
“Airline mechanics and their AFL-CIO unions — the International Association of Machinists, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and the Transport Workers Union — have long been concerned that foreign companies can receive an FAA certificate to work on U.S. aircraft without meeting the same safety and security standards required here at home. For example, workers at foreign facilities are not required to undergo drug and alcohol tests, the training and certification standards at these stations are inadequate, and FAA inspectors have dramatically less access to foreign repair stations, particularly in making the unannounced safety inspections which are common in the U.S. Inexplicably, the Bush Administration recently granted an industry petition to delay implementing an even modest tightening of federal regulations in this area.
“But at the worst possible time, this dangerous practice has actually been expanding. Northwest Airlines was given an ill-advised concession from its non-AFL-CIO union to send up to 40 percent of its major overhaul and repair work to a Singapore-based company and around the globe. This dangerous move threatens aviation safety, and also sets skilled aircraft maintenance down the ‘race to the bottom’ price war that has ravaged American industry in recent years.”
TTD represents 35 member unions in the aviation, rail, transit, trucking, highway, longshore, maritime and related industries. For more information, visit www.ttd.org