September 19, 2019
Contact: Denise Romano, TWU Communications, 202-719-3837
Aircraft Maintenance Outsourcing Disclosure Act of 2019 Prioritizes Safety, American Jobs
Washington, DC – Representatives John Garamendi (D-CA) and Lee Zeldin (R-NY) put aviation passengers, workers and safety first by introducing the Aircraft Maintenance Outsourcing Disclosure Act of 2019 (H.R. 4374) earlier today.
This commonsense, bipartisan legislation requires public reporting of U.S. airline maintenance practices. The Transport Workers Union of America (TWU), which represents thousands of workers who maintain U.S. aircraft, is proud to endorse this bill.
Each year, millions of air travelers that fly U.S. airlines are in the dark about where their plane’s mechanical maintenance was performed – and there’s a strong probability the aircraft they’re flying on was repaired on foreign soil. This is especially concerning because overseas aircraft maintenance facilities held to a significantly lower safety standard than their U.S. counterparts. Yet, U.S. airlines regularly offshore to these facilities. This bill allows air travelers to make educated decisions before they purchase a ticket about where they prefer the aircraft they fly on to be maintained. The bill would require airlines to list on their websites the cities and countries in which their aircraft undergo heavy maintenance.
“The American public deserves to know the truth when flying. When deciding which airline to fly or which flight to buy, it shouldn’t be a privilege to know where airlines are maintaining their aircraft,” said TWU International President John Samuelsen. “This legislation allows the flying public to make informed purchasing decisions.”
“When airlines offshore this work, it puts the safety and security of both the flying public and aviation workers at risk: Foreign stations are not subject to the same, strict FAA and TSA regulations,” Samuelsen said. “American families fly on these planes, and they simply deserve better. The thousands of highly-skilled American aviation mechanics who have been competing on this uneven playing field deserve better – and the working communities that are built on solid, blue-collar jobs like these deserve better.”
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The Transport Workers of America, AFL-CIO, represents more than 150,000 members across the airline, railroad, transit, universities, utilities and services sectors