For years, Congress has tried to pass a long-term funding bill called “FAA Reauthorization” that would provide stable funding for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and allow it to focus on modernizing the nation’s air traffic control system, rebuild the nation’s airports and keep air travel the safest in the world. But each time the bill gets close to passage, special interests attach unrelated conditions that prevent passage of a “clean” long-term bill.
Congress is close to passing a four-year “FAA Reauthorization” but the current bill contains politically-motivated provisions inserted by House Republicans to hamper airline and railroad workers’ rights in union representation elections. These changes are unnecessary and have absolutely nothing to do with aviation safety or job creation.
The political motivation behind the proposed changes to voting rules for airline and rail workers in the current flawed FAA bill are evidenced by the fact that the language was developed without hearings, deliberation or any consultation with labor, a process completely opposite to the way changes to the Railway Labor Act have been done historically. The Railway Labor Act was first developed through a cooperative process between transportation management and labor and subsequent changes have followed a similar pattern.
Please urge your Senators and member of Congress to vote “NO” on S. 223/H.R. 658 and insist on a “clean” FAA Reauthorization bill instead. You can contact your Senators and member or Congress directly thgrough the IAM website here.
