FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 30, 2023
Contact: Jonna Huseman, jhuseman@twu.org
The Transport Workers Union Urges Both Chambers of Congress to Close Safety Gaps By Approving Full FAA Reauthorization
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Testifying at a House of Representatives subcommittee in Washington, D.C., today, TWU Executive Director Gary Peterson cited several alarming situations requiring immediate attention through reauthorization legislation:
- Four airport workers have died on the job this year after suffering fatal injuries on the tarmac.
- The FAA outrageously is encouraging U.S. airlines to have their commercial aircraft repaired and overhauled in China and other countries where workers are not held to the same standards as American mechanics.
- Incidents of unruly passengers – who pose a threat to flight attendants, gate agents, and passengers – are up 63% from pre-pandemic levels.
Peterson told members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Aviation about ramp worker Michal Ingraham, a TWU member, and an American Airlines employee. Ingraham, 37, was crushed by a malfunctioning service vehicle and pinned to a jet bridge at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport earlier this year.
“This tragedy was the result of a failure of oversight at all levels – including at the FAA,” Peterson said. “It has been far too long since the rules keeping these workers safe have been reviewed and updated.”
Just last month, another airport employee in Austin was struck by a fuel truck and pronounced dead at the scene. Two other ramp workers also died recently after being ingested by jet engines: one in Montgomery, Alabama, on New Year’s Eve in December 2022, the other in San Antonio in June.
The House of Representatives has passed reauthorization legislation, H.R. 3935, mandating the FAA review ramp worker safety practices and deficient policies. The legislation also directs the FAA to update training programs, increase the visibility of tarmac safety markings, and oversee other improvements.
“For ground workers, these changes cannot come soon enough,” Peterson said.
The FAA, which oversees all commercial airline activity, is operating on a short-term extension that is set to expire in four weeks. Another short-term extension will not address problems as H.R. 3935 does, Peterson said, urging the Senate to pass companion legislation.
H.R. 3935, for example, would require workers repairing and overhauling U.S. commercial aircraft in foreign facilities be held to the same standards as mechanics here in the U.S. Lower standards permitted by the FAA encourages outsourcing on a large scale.
“It is at best disingenuous and more often an outright lie when most airlines tell the FAA or the public that they maintain the highest maintenance standards,” Peterson said. “The truth is that no one has any insight into the work performed at many facilities outside of the U.S. There are no random inspections, no minimum qualifications for mechanics, and absolutely no expectation that the work will be done to U.S. standards.”
In addition, H.R. 3935 directs meaningful steps be taken to end the threat of assault on airline workers, including updates to employer assault prevention and response plans. This year alone, the FAA is on pace to record nearly 2,000 incidents of unruly behavior in our air system.
“Every day that the FAA continues to run on a short-term extension is another day that our members face assault, unsafe working conditions, and impossible economic standards that are incentivizing companies to offshore good jobs,” Peterson said.
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The TWU represents more than 155,000 workers across the airline, railroad, transit, universities, utilities and service sectors. The TWU is the largest airline workers union in the United States.