Government Affairs Report: August 2003
Author: Debbie Golombek, UAL MEC Government Affairs Committee Chair
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Attachments |
FAA Reauthorization
For the past several months, AFA has worked, on a bi-partisan basis, to address a number of our legislative goals in this year's FAA Reauthorization legislation. We were successful in convincing both the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives to include language on Flight Attendant certification and a provision that would improve and monitor cabin air quality in their versions of the FAA Reauthorization bills. These were major victories for AFA.
The Senate and House versions of the FAA Reauthorization were sent to a conference committee to work out the differences between the two bills before the legislation can go to the president for his signature. In the final stages of the conference committee negotiations, meddling by the White House and the Republican leadership has resulted in a dangerous and controversial bill. The Conference Report, as currently crafted, guts Flight Attendant security training requirements, jeopardizes aviation safety by allowing the privatization of our air traffic control system and grants foreign cargo air carries an exemption to evade cabotage laws.
AFA is now working with all of organized labor and the democratic leadership to kill the bill or send it back to conference committee. The Bush Administration has asked the airline industry to lend their lobbying weight to get the bill passed.
These controversial sections of the conference report on FAA Reauthorization which set a dangerous precedent and must be defeated. AFA will be activating our E-Activist system alerting AFA members about this issue and allowing them to send a message to urge their Members of Congress to vote against the Conference Report on FAA Reauthorization.
Since Flight Attendants must sign up to receive these E-Activist alerts, Local Councils may also want to post the link on their web sites or through their Local Council E-newsletters.
Security Training
The FAA Reauthorization conference report dramatically undermines our efforts on Flight Attendant security training. The Reauthorization bill originally did include provisions that modify our training. Several Republicans on the Committee had been approached by certain carriers to make Flight Attendant security training completely voluntary and paid for by the Flight Attendants. The carriers argued that Flight Attendant security training would be too costly and their Flight Attendants believed that the training should not be mandatory.
Since it was clear that changes would be made, the Democrats worked with the Republicans to make the changes as minimal as possible, keep as much of the training as possible mandatory, and guarantee that a Flight Attendant would not have to pay for any training themselves. Finally, language was written that AFA was not completely satisfied with, but it protected as much of our training as possible.
At the last minute, Continental Airlines went to House Republican Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) to make further changes to the security training language. Congressman DeLay ordered the conference committee make a change that would leave it up to the discretion of the TSA and the Administration as to whether or not they would issue guidelines for Flight Attendant security training.
ATC Privatization
The House and Senate versions of the reauthorization bill contained language banning any ATC privatization, which the Administration vehemently opposed. but in the conference report Republicans lawmakers substituted a new proposal that would allow for expansion of the federal contract tower program and would “sunset” the privatization ban after four years. This proposal would allow the Administration to contract our air traffic controllers and support staff at the towers to the lowest bidder.
Cabotage
The conference report contains a special interest exemption that would allow foreign cargo air carriers to engage in cabotage. Cabotage is the ability for a foreign carrier to serve and fly domestic routes and is currently prohibited in the United States.
This provision would allow a foreign cargo carrier to fly domestic routes, as long as that carrier first lands at Ted Stevens International Airport in Anchorage, Alaska.
Air Line Pension Funding
The Air Line Pension Funding Act of 2003, H.R. 2719, introduced by Congressman Dave Camp (R-MI) continues to be a priority. This legislation would provide airlines with a temporary deferral of deficit reduction contributions until 2007. After 2007, plans may elect to pay interest on their 2008 unfunded liability for five years and then fund the 2008 unfunded liability with equal annual payments for the following fifteen years. During the temporary deferral period airlines would still be required to make their normal minimum funding contributions.
Please continue your lobby efforts on this bill. I have sent a “sample” letter by e-mail and if you have not received it please let me know. There are currently 17 cosponsors for HR 2719 and the cosponsor list will be not be updated until after the recess. A cosponsor list is included as an attachment to this report.
To further complicate the issue, Senator Peter Fitzgerald (R-IL) is planning on introducing “pensions before pavement” legislation to block United Airlines from diverting more funds from worker pensions. Sen. Fitzgerald believes that United hopes to skip required pension contributions so that it can free up cash to pay its share of O'Hare reconstruction (the financing agreement actually saves United money in the short term). United contends that there is no basis for the Fitzgerald legislation.
Sen. Fitzgerald has been a long time opponent of expansion at O'Hare. Sen. Fitzgerald issued his press release on his proposed legislation the day after an event at O'Hare, celebrating the airport's expansion plan.
Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act
Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) introduced legislation which would require group and individual health plans to provide a minimum hospital stay for mastectomies and lymph node dissections performed for the treatment of breast cancer. This legislation would eliminate the “drive through mastectomy” where patients are forced to go home hours after surgery against the wishes of their doctor.
The Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act of 2003, H.R. 1886, has 149 cosponsors. A cosponsor list is included as an attachment to this report. If your US House member is not a cosponsor of this legislation pleas e contact her/his office and urge them to cosponsor this important piece of legislation.
Presidential Campaign 2004
AFL-CIO Hosts Presidential Forum
On Tuesday, August 5, the AFL-CIO hosted a Presidential candidate forum focusing on working family issues. The nine democratic contenders presented diverse approaches to America's health care crisis, promised to protect the rights of workers who want to join unions and agreed that the current Administration's economic and tax policy are not worker friendly.
In video taped segments union workers from across the country shared their concerns and posed questions for the candidates on issues ranging from jobs, health care, retirement security, trade, education and the right-to-organize.
All nine democratic candidates were present, which says that support from the AFL-CIO and individual unions, is high on their priority list. All nine Democrats and President Bush were invited to answer a detailed AFL-CIO questionnaire on working family issues. President Bush did not respond to the questionnaire and declined an invitation to appear before the AFL-CIO's Executive Council meeting in Chicago or at any other time this summer in Washington, D.C.
The Democratic candidates' answers to the questionnaire can be found at www.aflcio.org/candidates2004.
Union Endorsements
Democratic Presidential candidate Congressman Richard Gephardt (MO) currently is the only candidate to receive endorsements from individual unions. The AFL-CIO will decide at their October Executive Board meeting if there is sufficient support for one of the nine Democratic candidates to receive an AFL-CIO endorsement. President Bush's failure to respond to the AFL-CIO questionnaire has eliminated any chance he had at an endorsement (not too mention his pro-corporate, anti-worker agenda).
Our membership is quite diverse and we know that we have a high percentage of Flight Attendants who are registered Republicans. When discussing the upcoming 2004 elections, we should stress that on many issues which affect our safety, health and security, and even the future of United Airlines, the current Administration and Republican leadership do not share our viewpoint.
In addition, President Bush and his Republican allies are pursuing a relentless assault on working families. Their top priority, anti-employee initiatives include (to list a few):
- A plan to eliminate overtime pay for at least 8 million hard working Americans.
- Opposition to providing low and middle income working families a fair share of tax cuts.
- Overturning safeguards designed to prevent the country's leading workplace hazard: ergonomic injuries.
- Plans to impose new reporting and disclosure requirements that will cost national and local unions an estimated $1 billion a year to comply, but rejected any similar financial disclosures for corporations.
- Repealed rules that require companies receiving federal government contracts to have a solid track record on employee health and safety, the environment, civil rights and responsible corporate practices.
- Reversed restrictions on cash bonuses, allowing over 2100 political appointees to be eligible for up to $25,000 in bonuses.
- Refusal to approve an increase in the minimum wage.
- Proposed changes to retirement policy.
As always, if you have any questions regarding this report or our legislative, political or grassroots activities, please feel free to contact me.
In Solidarity,
Debbie Golombek
AFA UAL MEC Government Affairs Committee
legislative@unitedafa.org
