FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 23, 2023
Contact: Jonna Huseman, jhuseman@twu.org
The Global Aircraft Maintenance Standards Act Will Close Safety Loopholes, Return Union Jobs to the U.S.
WASHINGTON, DC—The Transport Workers Union of America, AFL-CIO—the largest airline union in the United States—has been a leader in the fight to end the unsafe practice of offshoring of aircraft repair and overhaul.
Today, the TWU is encouraged by the re-introduction of the bipartisan Global Aircraft Maintenance Standards Act, which will close the loopholes that incentivize air carriers to offshore aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul work into foreign facilities where U.S. standards are not being met. When this bill becomes law, it should return thousands of good union jobs to the U.S. and ensure one safety standard for all U.S.-based air carrier maintenance, repair, and overhaul work.
“The offshoring of U.S. air carrier aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul work has been a dirty little secret of the airline industry for decades,” said TWU International President John Samuelsen. “The Global Aircraft Maintenance Standards Act will make our skies safer for the flying public and ensure that aircraft mechanics have a level playing field against foreign workers, ending the scourge of offshoring in the airline maintenance industry. We are closer than ever to making it a reality. Representatives Marc Molinaro (R-NY), Julia Brownley (D-CA), Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), and John Garamendi (D-CA) are leading this fight for U.S.-based aircraft mechanics and the TWU is grateful for their steadfast leadership on this issue.”
The Global Aircraft Maintenance Standards Act addresses the regulatory gaps that allow a lower safety standard for aircraft maintenance and incentivize airlines to offshore this work, including:
- Drug and alcohol testing for safety-sensitive personnel
- Background checks for workers at maintenance facilities
- Security threat assessments for these facilities
- Unannounced inspections for maintenance operations
- Minimum qualifications for aircraft mechanics
“Our historic American Airlines contract, signed in 2020, includes provisions that brought back aircraft maintenance jobs to U.S. soil. We are the only airline mechanics’ union who has successfully rolled back the outsourcing and offshoring of aircraft maintenance work, returning jobs to America,” Samuelsen said. “It’s long past time for the FAA to take their role seriously and move to close these loopholes, so that all aircraft mechanics will be held to the same standards. We look forward to this bill moving through Congress and becoming law.”
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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.