(The TTD distributed the following news release on June 12.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The following statement was issued today by Sonny Hall, President of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO, praising Senate approval of an amendment led by Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) requiring that repair stations conducting maintenance on U.S. aircraft overseas meet the same standards as operations located within the U.S.
“Today the safety of the flying public took a giant step forward with the Senate vote curbing dangerous security risks and lax oversight involving repair of U.S. aircraft at foreign repair stations. And at the same time, a bipartisan Senate fought off, 42-52, an effort to water down this measure.
“At a time when airlines face such strong pressures to cut costs, and with threats to U.S. interests remaining high around the globe, this vote came not a day too soon. Today’s Senate vote, on the heels of action by a House committee last month, makes it crystal clear that aviation safety and security are not for sale to the lowest bidder.
“Airline mechanics and their AFL-CIO unions – the International Association of Machinists, the Transport Workers Union and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters – mobilized to tell Capitol Hill that the FAA freely issues its coveted seal of approval to foreign repair companies without requiring them to meet the same high standards we demand here at home. And this dangerous loophole has become even more perilous with the recent action by Northwest Airlines to send up to 40 percent of its major overhaul work to a Singapore-based company, a move that has certainly caught the eye of its cash-strapped competitors.
“I thank this bipartisan group of Senators for their bold action to protect the safety of the flying public and to defend our nation’s skilled aircraft mechanics.”
TTD represents 35 member unions in the aviation, rail, transit, trucking, highway, longshore, maritime and related industries. For more information, visit www.ttd.org